The WordPress coreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. development team builds WordPress! Follow this site for general updates, status reports, and the occasional code debate. There’s lots of ways to contribute:
Found a bugbugA bug is an error or unexpected result. Performance improvements, code optimization, and are considered enhancements, not defects. After feature freeze, only bugs are dealt with, with regressions (adverse changes from the previous version) being the highest priority.?Create a ticket in the bug tracker.
The live meeting will focus on the discussion for upcoming releases, and have an open floor section.
Additional items will be referred to in the various curated agenda sections, as below. If you have ticketticketCreated for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. requests for help, please do continue to post details in the comments section at the end of this agenda.
Next major releasemajor releaseA release, identified by the first two numbers (3.6), which is the focus of a full release cycle and feature development. WordPress uses decimaling count for major release versions, so 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, and 3.1 are sequential and comparable in scope.: 6.7
We are currently in the WordPress 6.7 release cycle. WordPress 6.7 BetaBetaA pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. 1 is scheduled for Tuesday, October 1.
Next maintenance release: 6.6.2
The next maintenance release will be 6.6.2. We can dedicate some discussion time to any issues that may need to go into the next maintenance release.
Next GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ release: 18.9
Let’s get an update on the release squad for 6.7, including what the next steps are to finalizing volunteers for key roles for the release. If time allows, we can have some discussion on the proposal to adjust the Dev Chat time for this release.
A new tracking issue for audit block transforms seeks to both add any missing transforms and remove any confusing ones, alongside a new issue that ponders how to better elevate the blockBlockBlock is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. transforms menu to encourage greater usage.
Broader interface: new issues seek to audit the current use of the buttons component, radii, and shadows / elevation across the interface as part of broader Admin Redesign efforts. Noting that this definitely needs accessibilityAccessibilityAccessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) feedback in particular.
Components: an issue and discussion has been started around the high-level API strategy for compound components as some of the components are being rewritten to use ariakit. At the root: do we offer high level monolithic components or a low level modular set?
Images: as part of adding HEIC support to CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress., a PR is underway to show a placeholder when uploading and converting a HEIC image to JPEG.
Any topic can be raised for discussion in the comments, as well as requests for assistance on tickets. Tickets in the milestone for the next major or maintenance release will be prioritized.
Please include details of tickets / PRs and the links in the comments, and if you intend to be available during the meeting for discussion or if you will be async.
The weekly WordPress Dev Chat meeting is a tradition that dates back to the days when WordPress contributors primarily communicated via IRC. Since that time, these meetings have continued to serve as a regular time each week where contributors working on CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. releases could gather to have synchronous conversations about important matters related to the upcoming releases or to discuss general team processes.
Given the global nature of the WordPress community, the current time for these Dev Chats are not inclusive to everyone to attend. We experimented with a second APAC Dev Chat starting in 2020 as a way of creating opportunities for folks who could not attend the current time to still participate in a weekly Dev Chat. However, those were not well attended and were eventually abandoned.
Scheduling Dev Chats for WordPress 6.7
Given that the primary purpose of Dev Chats is to have a time for synchronous conversations about the upcoming release, holding them at a time where the majority of named the release squad members for 6.7 are unable to attend isn’t ideal. Let’s consider moving them to a more APAC friendly time during this release.
If we’re trying to find a time that is inclusive to folks from India Standard Time (UTC +5:30) to Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC +10) then the best times for rescheduling seem to be between 3–10 UTC. The early part of that range could cover some folks in the Americas but not folks in EMEA. Likewise, the latter part of this range could work for a majority of folks from EMEA, but is not ideal for folks in the Americas. Moving the time range earlier, to 0:00 UTC would allow participation from more folks in the Americas, but would exclude folks from EMEA and folks around IST as well. With that in mind, I’m proposing a few options for consideration to gather feedback.
Proposed time options
Wednesdays at 3:00 UTC (Ex: Wednesday, August 7, 3:00 UTC): India, Japan, Australia with some late Americas overlap (no EMEA)
Feedback Deadline: July 31, 2024 Please provide feedback to this proposal before Wed., July 31. In your feedback, let us know if you regularly attend Dev Chats and if you have a role for 6.7 that would be impacted (positively or negatively) by your preferred time. We’ll collect responses and plan to announce an updated schedule before Aug. 7, 2024.
Changing the time following the 6.7 release
Currently, WordPress 6.7 is scheduled for release on Nov 12, 2024. Following this release, we will maintain the updated Dev Chat time to address any post-release wrap up, including confirming another time change for the 6.8 release based on the success of this experiment and the needs of the release squad for that release.
Next minor releaseMinor ReleaseA set of releases or versions having the same minor version number may be collectively referred to as .x , for example version 5.2.x to refer to versions 5.2, 5.2.1, 5.2.3, and all other versions in the 5.2 (five dot two) branch of that software. Minor Releases often make improvements to existing features and functionality.: 6.6.1
WordPress 6.6.1 will be the first maintenance release following the 6.6 major releasemajor releaseA release, identified by the first two numbers (3.6), which is the focus of a full release cycle and feature development. WordPress uses decimaling count for major release versions, so 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, and 3.1 are sequential and comparable in scope.. Here are the tickets currently set for that milestone.
There are multiple reports of CSSCSSCascading Style Sheets. specificity issues – causing all links to be underlined. A fix is ready. A test pluginPluginA plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party is available. Have multiple test reports showing it fixes the issue with no side effects. But would be good to get more reports on affected sites.
2 reports of fatal errors. One has a fix and the other is being investigated (I have a fix in mind).
@jorbin mentioned that there is also the $_old_files issue that is ready for a backportbackportA port is when code from one branch (or trunk) is merged into another branch or trunk. Some changes in WordPress point releases are the result of backporting code from trunk to the release branch. in this release.
We discussed that a good time to release 6.6.1 would be sometime next week, as none of the issues mentioned are security-related, and this also gives us time to make sure there aren’t any further high-impact bugs.
Next major release: 6.7
We are currently in the WordPress 6.7 release cycle. WordPress 6.7 BetaBetaA pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. 1 is scheduled for Tuesday, October 1.
It looks as though there are still some members of the release squad that need to be confirmed from this post. @priethor mentioned that all the volunteers can be seen in the comments section of the call for volunteers post; nobody else volunteered via DM or similar.
@joemcgill followed up on a topic from last week, suggesting that for the 6.7 release, we move the time of these Dev Chats to a more APAC friendly-time since many of the release squad members in this release are located in that region and are unable to make these meetings.
I’ve followed up in #6-7-release-leads (reference) and there is interest in finding a more friendly time. Given the global nature of the project, there isn’t a perfect time that works for everyone to attend, so we’ll need to decide whether to move the time to later in the day (worse for folks in EMEA) or much earlier (worse for folks in the Americas).
@joemcgill will follow up with a post to make/coreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. about this.
Discussion
@afragen raised this ticketticketCreated for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. for 6.7: #53323. This places Hello Dolly in a containing folder to improve consistency with other plugins. Please leave any feedback directly on the ticket.
Note: Anyone reading this summary outside of the meeting, please drop a comment in the post summary, if you can/want to help with something.
The live meeting will focus on the discussion for upcoming releases, and have an open floor section.
Additional items will be referred to in the various curated agenda sections, as below. If you have ticketticketCreated for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. requests for help, please do continue to post details in the comments section at the end of this agenda.
Next major releasemajor releaseA release, identified by the first two numbers (3.6), which is the focus of a full release cycle and feature development. WordPress uses decimaling count for major release versions, so 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, and 3.1 are sequential and comparable in scope.: 6.7
We are currently in the WordPress 6.7 release cycle. WordPress 6.7 BetaBetaA pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. 1 is scheduled for Tuesday, October 1.
Next maintenance release: 6.6.1
WordPress 6.6.1 will be the first maintenance release following the 6.6 major release. Here are the tickets currently set for that milestone. We plan to confirm the release squad for this release during the meeting.
Next GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ release: 18.9
Gutenberg 18.9 is scheduled for July 31. RCrelease candidateOne of the final stages in the version release cycle, this version signals the potential to be a final release to the public. Also see alpha (beta). 1 is scheduled for July 24.
Discussions
The focus of today’s discussion will be to celebrate the 6.6 release and to discuss any important topics that need follow-up for 6.6.1 and 6.7.
Please suggest other important topics for the agenda in the comments of this post.
You can keep up to date with the major Editor features that are currently in progress by viewing these Iteration issues.
Open floor
Any topic can be raised for discussion in the comments, as well as requests for assistance on tickets. Tickets in the milestone for the next major or maintenance release will be prioritized.
Please include details of tickets / PRs and the links in the comments, and if you intend to be available during the meeting for discussion or if you will be async.
Please leave your feedback about the schedule and release squad size in the comments by July 19th.
If you are interested in participating in WordPress 6.7’s release squad as a lead, please show interest in the comments below, clearly specifying the role.
With WordPress 6.6 almost ready, it’s time to start planning WordPress 6.7 so that the release leads can participate from the start of the release cycle.
The timeline for the third release of 2024 takes into consideration WordCampWordCampWordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. US in mid-September. To avoid having major milestones (Beta1, RC1) conflictconflictA conflict occurs when a patch changes code that was modified after the patch was created. These patches are considered stale, and will require a refresh of the changes before it can be applied, or the conflicts will need to be resolved. with flagship events, this proposal suggests having WordPress 6.7 BetaBetaA pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. 1 after WordCamp US with a small buffer in between.
According to the schedule proposed below and the GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ release cadence, WordPress 6.7 would include up to Gutenberg 19.3 for a total of 8 Gutenberg releases.
Proposed WordPress 6.7 Schedule
Milestone
Date
Alpha (trunktrunkA directory in Subversion containing the latest development code in preparation for the next major release cycle. If you are running "trunk", then you are on the latest revision. open for 6.7 release)
June 25, 2024
Last Gutenberg RCrelease candidateOne of the final stages in the version release cycle, this version signals the potential to be a final release to the public. Also see alpha (beta). before Beta 1
September 18, 2024
Beta 1
October 1, 2024
Beta 2
October 8, 2024
Beta 3
October 15, 2024
Release Candidaterelease candidateOne of the final stages in the version release cycle, this version signals the potential to be a final release to the public. Also see alpha (beta). 1
October 22, 2024
Release Candidate 2
October 29, 2024
Release Candidate 3
November 5, 2024
Dry Run
November 11, 2024
WordPress 6.7 General Release
November 12, 2024
Please leave your feedback about the schedule in the comments by July 19th.
Release Leads call for volunteers
With the recent switch to using the microsite as the base for the About page, some of the Marcomms lead’s responsibilities increasingly overlap with the Design Lead. Considering recurring feedback about the excessive number of release roles, we propose experimenting with combining the Marcomms and Release Coordination roles. This new consolidated role would absorb the duties of the Marcomms lead, streamline communication, and enhance collaboration, addressing the feedback on role complexity and redundancy while improving overall efficiency.
Leads in the squad should have proven experience and availability during the release cycle. Less experienced folks and newcomers are still welcome to followalong the process in preparation for future releases.
Some roles have already been filled by volunteers from the previous call, while others remain open. The TBDs in the list below indicate the number of spots that still need to be filled.
Release LeadRelease LeadThe community member ultimately responsible for the Release.: Matt Mullenweg
Release Coordination and Communications: TBD
CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Tech Leads: Peter Wilson, Kira Schroder
TriagetriageThe act of evaluating and sorting bug reports, in order to decide priority, severity, and other factors. Leads: TBD
Documentation Leads: TBD
Test Lead: TBD
Design Lead: TBD
Performance Lead: TBD
Default Themes Lead: TBD
All release decisions will ultimately be this release team’s to make and communicate while gathering input from the community.
As a reminder, if you are interested in participating in WordPress 6.7’s release squad as a lead or as a cohort, please show interest in the comments below, specifying the desired role and level of involvement (lead/cohort).
Based on the previous proposal around the 2024 Major Release Timing, it’s time to call for volunteers. Since there are release dates for the upcoming three releases, let’s formalize the 6.5 release squad and begin shaping the other two squads of the year ahead. Knowing who will participate in 6.6 and 6.7 in advance will let folks shadow previous releases and allow for better preparation and mentoring.
WordPress 6.5 Schedule
Milestone
Date
Alpha (trunktrunkA directory in Subversion containing the latest development code in preparation for the next major release cycle. If you are running "trunk", then you are on the latest revision. open for 6.5 release)
October 17, 2023
BetaBetaA pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. 1
February 13, 2024
Beta 2
February 20, 2024
Beta 3
February 27, 2024
Release Candidaterelease candidateOne of the final stages in the version release cycle, this version signals the potential to be a final release to the public. Also see alpha (beta). 1
March 5, 2024
Release Candidate 2
March 12, 2024
Release Candidate 3
March 19, 2024
Dry Run
March 25, 2024
WordPress 6.5 General Release
March 26, 2024
WordPress 6.5 call for volunteers
The WordPress 6.5 release squad is still looking for diverse volunteers in every role.
Ultimately, each volunteer will only participate in a single role, and each role aims to have two to three people; past releases have shown that while it’s beneficial to share the responsibility with other people, there are diminishing returns when there are too many folks involved.
The following names are not assignments, only the summary of folks who have volunteered so far:
Release Coordinator: Héctor Prieto
CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Tech Lead: Pascal Birchler*
Editor Tech Lead: Dave Smith
Core TriagetriageThe act of evaluating and sorting bug reports, in order to decide priority, severity, and other factors. Lead: Rajin Sharwar
Editor Triage Lead: Anne McCarthy*
Documentation Lead:
Marketing & Communications Lead:
Test Lead: Anne McCarthy*, Vipul Ghori, Patrick
Design Lead:
Performance Lead: Pascal Birchler*
(*) People who have volunteered for more than one role. Their participation will be adjusted to a single focus depending on the release squad’s needs.
As of today, every role has openings; if you are interested in participating, please leave a comment below by January 12th.
WordPress 6.6 and 6.7 timeline
These are the updated release dates for WordPress 6.6 and 6.7:
WordPress 6.6 Beta 1 is planned for June 4, and the general release for July 16 (no changes since the original proposal).
WordPress 6.7 Beta 1 is planned for October 1, and the general release for November 12. The dates have been pushed one week to consider WordCamp US 2024 (September 17-20) and give some breathing room in between.
Please bear in mind these dates are not fixed and might change as the year progresses. This early planning aims to provide clarity around the release timeline and shape the upcoming release squads in advance.
WordPress 6.6 and 6.7 call for volunteers
Since we have a rough idea of the WordPress 6.6 and 6.7 dates, let’s start shaping their release squads. Please volunteer in the comments below if you would like to participate in these releases, being mindful of your availability throughout the year before committing. Needless to say, if your availability changes later due to unforeseen circumstances, adjustments to the squads can be made.
Thanks to this early planning, we will experiment with starting the next default theme as early as 6.6, so if you are interested in working on the successor of the amazing Twenty Twenty-Four, please raise your hand in the comments.
Following the conversation in CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. chat a few weeks back (Oct. 25, Nov. 1), here are some proposed dates for releases in 2024. These are open to adjustment, but the current dates attempt to account for major holidays and WordPress events.
6.5 – BetaBetaA pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. 1 on Feb. 13, final release on Mar. 26 (WordCampWordCampWordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Asia Mar. 7-9)
6.6 – Beta 1 on Jun. 4, final release on Jul. 16 (WordCamp Europe Jun. 13-15)
6.7 – Beta 1 on Sep. 24, final release on Nov. 5 (WordCamp US still TBD)
Given that 2024 will hold a bulk of the work for Phase 3, I expect that 6.5 and 6.7 will be focused on those Collaborative features. I would like to propose that 6.6 be held specifically for maintenance and general polish of the software (as was wished for earlier this year).
Leave your thoughts in the comments on timing, focus, or anything that you think is key to discuss! And as always If you’re interested in participating in a squad and want to know more, you can pingPingThe act of sending a very small amount of data to an end point. Ping is used in computer science to illicit a response from a target server to test it’s connection. Ping is also a term used by Slack users to @ someone or send them a direct message (DM). Users might say something along the lines of “Ping me when the meeting starts.”@davidbaumwald, @hellofromtonya, @jeffpaul, @priethor or any former release squad member you know!
