Command Palette

Think of the Command Palette as the ultimate shortcut tool, letting you do more with less clicks and without needing to remember where each option might be. It’s available across the editing experience, whether you’re switching between templates in the Site Editor or toggling open settings in the Post Editor, with specific contextual options depending on where you are. You can use the keyboard shortcut Cmd+K on Mac or Ctrl+K on Windows to activate it and get started. 

If you think of a command that doesn’t exist yet that would help with your workflow, open a feature request issue so we can consider adding it.

Read more about everything you can do with the Command Palette, including a list of available commands. 

Style Book

The Style Book helps you see all the blocks on your site as you style them. It’s built into the Styles section and can be toggled on/off as you’d like. This is especially useful when you’re aiming for design consistency for a client, trying to see how a change might impact a block that might not be visible, or wanting to get a different look at how a style variation will switch things up.

Work is also underway for the next WordPress release to integrate the Style Book into Style revisions to allow for an at-a-glance view of changes made. 

Learn more about how best to use the Style Book.

Styling shortcuts

Sometimes you get a design just right—the color contrast, the perfect padding, the exact font size. Instead of needing to manually recreate the design or copy/paste the block to fill in with new content, you have two powerful options built into the editing experience: copy/paste styles and apply styles globally for all instances of the desired block. 

Copying and pasting styles is perfect for more nuanced and smaller changes, like headings on a landing page that you intentionally want to be distinct. Applying changes globally is best for blocks like buttons and for changes that are likely to work well across layouts, like setting a specific border radius and color. This helps keep the creativity flowing and makes achieving design consistency across your site much easier.

Read more about the various styling options available. 

Distraction free mode

Just like an artist might need to take a few steps back to view their in-progress artwork, sometimes we need to get a different view of our site before diving back in. Distraction free offers you that alternate perspective with a pared-down experience that lets you focus purely on creating, like:

• Hiding the top toolbar until one intentionally hovers over where it typically sits.
• Removing many of the top toolbar buttons.
• Automatically closing any open sidebars, like block settings and list view. 
• Hiding the insertion point indicator, reducing visual clutter. 
• Hiding the block toolbar for individual blocks.

It’s worth noting that this mode can be used when writing posts and pages too! For an added bonus and more views of your site, you can use the preview options to see how your site might look across different devices.

Learn more about making the most out of Distraction free mode. 

Patterns

Patterns are a collection of blocks that make it simple to add complex layouts and designs to any WordPress site without starting from scratch. They save time by reducing duplication and ensuring consistency. You can create your own, use theme-provided patterns, or lean on the Pattern Directory. 

You can also specify whether to sync your patterns so that one change applies to all parts of your site, or to keep them unsynced so you can customize each instance. For any patterns you create, you can assign categories to make them easy to find and organize. Use the Inserter with easy filtering options to add patterns to your content, and head to the dedicated Patterns section in the Site Editor to create or edit patterns to your liking. 

Learn more about creating patterns. 

List View

List View is the go-to tool for navigating between layers of your content, selecting exactly what you need, and getting a sense of how everything fits together. Similar to the Style Book and Distraction free mode, you can toggle it on/off as you’d like. It’s currently visible in the Top Toolbar and will remain open as you navigate through your site. Beyond providing a simple view of the layers of your site, there are more recent additions to List View that makes the tool even more powerful:

• See previews of your images for Image and Gallery blocks reflected in List View to make it easier to find what you need.
• The Escape key deselects blocks to make it easier to purely preview your content without any blocks selected. 
• Lean on a keyboard shortcut for duplicating blocks quickly: CMD+Shift+D for Mac or Control + Shift + D for Windows. 
• Drag and drop blocks at any level directly within List View.
• Rename Group blocks and have the custom name reflected in List View for improved organization.

Here’s how a few of these improvements come together:

Learn more about using List View. 

As you explore these tools, remember that, except for the Style Book, you can use these features when writing posts and pages too. Expect the Site Editor and other tools to evolve with each release. To get a sneak peek at what’s planned for the next major WordPress release in March, check out the roadmap and stay tuned. 

Subscribe to WordPress News

Join other subscribers and receive WordPress news directly in your inbox.

Thank you to the contributors who collaborated on this post: Nicholas Garofalo, Lauren Stein, Joen Asmussen.

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it’s recommended that you evaluate RC3 on a test server and site.

WordPress 6.4 is slated for release on November 7, 2023—less than a week away. If you haven’t tried it, now is the time.

You can test WordPress 6.4 RC3 in three ways:

1. Plugin: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
2. Direct download: Download the RC3 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress site.
3. Command line: Use the following WP-CLI command:
   wp core update --version=6.4-RC3

Read the RC1 announcement for featured highlights, and check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.4-related posts. If you are looking for detailed technical notes on new features and improvements, the WordPress 6.4 Field Guide is for you.

The WordPress 6.4 release is brought to you by an underrepresented gender release squad to welcome the participation and partnership of those who identify as gender-underrepresented in the WordPress open source project.

What’s in WordPress 6.4 RC3?

Thanks to everyone who has tested the beta and RC releases. Since RC2 was released on October 24, there have been more than 25 issues resolved. You can browse the technical details for all recent updates using these links:

• GitHub commits for 6.4
• Closed Trac tickets since RC2
• GitHub commits for Twenty Twenty-Four

PHP compatibility update

It’s recommended to use PHP 8.1 or 8.2 with the upcoming 6.4 release. Refer to WordPress 6.4’s PHP compatibility post for more details.

Contributing to 6.4

WordPress is open source software made possible by a community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline various ways you can help, regardless of your technical expertise.

Get involved in testing

Your feedback and help in testing are vital to developing the WordPress software and ensuring its quality. It’s also a meaningful way for anyone to contribute. Check out this guide for instructions on testing WordPress 6.4 features.

The core Query block requires more testing and feedback to ensure the latest changes to prevent full page reloads work smoothly. Please note that this setting was called “Enhanced pagination” but has recently been renamed, and it’s now referred to as “Force page reload” instead.

If you encounter an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums or directly to WordPress Trac if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.

Curious about testing releases in general? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

Search for vulnerabilities

During the release candidate phase of WordPress 6.4, the monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled. Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.

Update your theme or plugin

Do you build themes and plugins? Your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for users worldwide.

Hopefully, you have already tested your themes and plugins with WordPress 6.4 betas. With RC3, you will want to continue your testing and update the “Tested up to” version in your plugin’s readme file to 6.4.

Please post detailed information to the support forums if you find compatibility issues.

Documentation

Help the Docs team put the finishing touches on end-user documentation in time for the 6.4 release. Find out what’s needed and how you can help in this post.

Help translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? ¿Español? Français? Português? Русский? 日本? Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages.

A RC3 haiku

One more week of prep
One more week to test the code
One more week til launch

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @meher, @rmartinezduque, @sereedmedia, @jorbin, @luisherranz, @marybaum.

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it’s recommended that you evaluate RC2 on a test server and site.

WordPress 6.4 is slated for release on November 7, 2023—two weeks from today. If you haven’t tried it, now is the time.

You can test WordPress 6.4 RC2 in three ways:

1. Plugin: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
2. Direct download: Download the RC2 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress site.
3. Command line: Use the following WP-CLI command:
   wp core update --version=6.4-RC2

Read the RC1 announcement for featured highlights, and check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.4-related posts. If you are looking for detailed technical notes on new features and improvements, the WordPress 6.4 Field Guide is for you.

The WordPress 6.4 release is brought to you by an underrepresented gender release squad to welcome the participation and partnership of those who identify as gender-underrepresented in the WordPress open source project.

What’s in WordPress 6.4 RC2?

Thanks to everyone who has tested the beta and RC releases. Since RC1 was released on October 17, there have been more than 25 issues resolved. You can browse the technical details for all recent updates using these links:

• GitHub commits for 6.4
• Closed Trac tickets since RC1
• GitHub commits for Twenty Twenty-Four

Contributing to 6.4

WordPress is open source software made possible by a community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline various ways you can help, regardless of your technical expertise.

Get involved in testing

Your feedback and help in testing are vital to developing the WordPress software and ensuring its quality. It’s also a meaningful way for anyone to contribute. Check out this guide for instructions on testing WordPress 6.4 features.

If you encounter an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums or directly to WordPress Trac if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.

Curious about testing releases in general? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

Search for vulnerabilities

During the release candidate phase of WordPress 6.4, the monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled. Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.

Update your theme or plugin

Do you build themes and plugins? Your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for users worldwide.

Hopefully, you have already tested your themes and plugins with WordPress 6.4 betas. With RC2, you will want to continue your testing and update the “Tested up to” version in your plugin’s readme file to 6.4.

Please post detailed information to the support forums if you find compatibility issues.

Help translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? ¿Español? Français? Português? Русский? 日本? Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages.

A RC2 haiku

You have been waiting
Download and give it a test
RC2 is here

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @meher, @rmartinezduque, @michelleames, @cbringmann

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it’s recommended that you evaluate RC1 on a test server and site.

Reaching this phase of the release cycle is an important milestone. While release candidates are considered ready for release, testing remains vital to ensure that everything in WordPress 6.4 is the best it can be.

You can test WordPress 6.4 RC1 in three ways:

1. Plugin: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
2. Direct download: Download the RC1 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress site.
3. Command line: Use the following WP-CLI command:
   wp core update --version=6.4-RC1

The current target for the WordPress 6.4 release is November 7, 2023. Get an overview of the 6.4 release cycle, and check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.4-related posts.

The WordPress 6.4 release is brought to you by an underrepresented gender release squad to welcome the participation and partnership of those who identify as gender-underrepresented in the WordPress open source project.

What’s in WordPress 6.4 RC1?

This release contains 420 enhancements and 445 bug fixes for the editor, including more than 260 tickets for WordPress 6.4 core. Browse the technical details for all issues recently addressed using these links:

• GitHub commits for 6.4
• Closed Trac tickets since Beta 4
• GitHub commits for Twenty Twenty-Four

Highlights

WordPress 6.4 is the third and last major release of 2023. It introduces a multi-purpose default theme, new features, and a keen focus on details to enhance every aspect of your creation journey—from site editing and design to writing flows.

• A new flexible default theme brings together the latest and greatest of WordPress. Discover its vast collection of templates and patterns to tweak and match your brand. Built for versatility, Twenty Twenty-Four is an ideal fit for nearly any type of website.
• Enable lightbox functionality in images for immersive viewing experiences.
• Organize your patterns with your own custom categories. Find them all more intuitively with advanced filtering in the Patterns section of the inserter.
• Enjoy more writing improvements, including new keyboard shortcuts, smoother list merging, and enhanced control over your link settings. A revamped toolbar experience for Navigation, List, and Quote blocks ensures cohesive and organized access to the tooling options you work with.
• A redesigned Command Palette with new commands helps you find what you need, perform tasks efficiently, and speed up your workflow.
• Rename Group blocks to organize and distinguish areas of your content easily.
• See and locate your content’s media assets at a glance with new gallery and image previews in List View.
• Build beautiful yet functional layouts with an expanded set of design tools. Play with background images in Group blocks for unique creative designs, keep image dimensions consistent with placeholder aspect ratios, and effortlessly add buttons to your Navigation block without custom CSS—among other new capabilities.
• Block Hooks enable developers to automatically insert blocks at their chosen content locations, enriching the extensibility of block themes through plugins. While developer-centric, this new feature improves your building experience with blocks and gives you complete control to customize Block Hooks to your needs.
• Over 60 accessibility updates, including significant List View enhancements, aria-label support for the Navigation block, and upgrades to the admin user interface.
• More than 100 performance updates, focusing on template loading performance for classic and block themes, usage of the script loading strategies “defer” and “async,” and optimization of autoloaded options.

Are you looking for a deeper dive into details and technical notes? These recent posts cover a few of the latest updates:

• Changes to attachment pages for improved SEO
• Miscellaneous Editor changes in WordPress 6.4
• Introducing Block Hooks for dynamic blocks
• Script loading changes in WordPress 6.4
• Improvements to template loading in WordPress 6.4
• Introducing admin notice functions in WordPress 6.4
• Updates to user-interface components in WordPress 6.4
• New `registerInserterMediaCategory` API

Ways to contribute

WordPress is open source software made possible by a community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline various ways you can help, regardless of your technical expertise.

Get involved in testing

Testing for issues is critical to developing the software and ensuring its quality. It’s also a meaningful way for anyone to contribute—whether you have experience or not. Check out this guide for detailed instructions on testing key features in WordPress 6.4.

If you encounter an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums or directly to WordPress Trac if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.

Curious about testing releases in general? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

Search for vulnerabilities

During the release candidate phase of WordPress 6.4, the monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled. Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.

Update your theme or plugin

Do you build themes and plugins? Your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for users worldwide.

You most likely have already been testing your latest themes and plugins with the WordPress 6.4 betas. With RC1, you will want to complete your testing and update the “Tested up to” version in your plugin’s readme file to 6.4.

Please post detailed information to the support forums if you find compatibility issues.

Help translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? ¿Español? Français? Português? Русский? 日本? Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages. This release also marks the hard string freeze point of the 6.4 release cycle.

A haiku for RC1

RC1 in hand
WordPress evolves and takes shape
Testing, a sneak peek, in place

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @meher, @rmartinezduque, @webcommsat, @annezazu, @cbringmann, @priethor.

This beta version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it is recommended that you evaluate Beta 3 on a test server and site.

You can test WordPress 6.4 Beta 3 in three ways:

1. Plugin: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
2. Direct download: Download the Beta 3 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress website.
3. Command line: Use the following WP-CLI command:
   wp core update --version=6.4-beta3

The current target for the final release of WordPress 6.4 is November 7, 2023. Get an overview of the 6.4 release cycle, and check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.4-related posts in the coming weeks for more information.

The WordPress 6.4 release is brought to you by an underrepresented gender release squad to welcome the participation and partnership of those who identify as gender-underrepresented in the WordPress open source project.

Want to know what’s new in WordPress 6.4? Read the Beta 1 announcement for details.

Get involved in testing

Your help testing WordPress 6.4 Beta 3 is key to ensuring its quality. While testing the upgrade process is essential, trying out new features is equally important. This detailed guide will walk you through testing features in WordPress 6.4.

If you encounter an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums or directly to WordPress Trac if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.

Learn more about Gutenberg updates debuting in WordPress 6.4 by reviewing prior editions of What’s New in Gutenberg posts for 16.2, 16.3, 16.4, 16.5, 16.6, and 16.7.

Curious about testing releases in general? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

Vulnerability bounty doubles during Beta 3

Between Beta 1 and the final release candidate (RC) for each new WordPress version, the monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled. Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.

Update on the Font Library

The Font Library feature, initially planned for WordPress 6.4, is now set to release in 6.5. WordPress is committed to delivering the best possible experience. This decision allows time to address enhancement opportunities, test, and get enough feedback to meet WordPress’s quality standards. Thanks for your support as contributors work towards an exceptional Font Library experience.

Beta 3 highlights

WordPress 6.4 Beta 3 contains more than 60 updates since the Beta 2 release, including 29 tickets for WordPress core.

Each beta cycle focuses on bug fixes; more are on the way with your help through testing. You can browse the technical details for all issues addressed since Beta 2 using these links:

• GitHub commits for 6.4
• Closed Trac tickets since Beta 2
• GitHub commits for Twenty Twenty-Four

A Beta 3 haiku

Beta 3 arrives
Testing where progress derives
Iterate, it thrives

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @meher, @rmartinezduque, @cbringmann, @sereedmedia and @michelleames

This beta version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it is recommended you evaluate Beta 2 on a test server and site.

You can test WordPress 6.4 Beta 2 in four ways:

1. Plugin: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
2. Direct download: Download the Beta 2 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress website.
3. Command line: Use the following WP-CLI command:
   wp core update --version=6.4-beta2

The current target for the final release of WordPress 6.4 is November 7, 2023. Get an overview of the 6.4 release cycle, and check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.4-related posts in the coming weeks for more information.

The WordPress 6.4 release is brought to you by an underrepresented gender release squad to increase participation and partnership with those who identify as gender-underrepresented in the WordPress open source project.

Want to know what’s new in WordPress 6.4? Read the Beta 1 announcement and tune into Episode 63 of the WP Briefing podcast for details.

How to get involved with testing

Your help testing the WordPress 6.4 Beta 2 version is key to ensuring everything in the release is the best it can be. While testing the upgrade process is essential, trying out new features is equally important. This guide will walk you through testing features in WordPress 6.4.

The Font Library feature, currently available in Gutenberg 16.7, requires more testing and feedback to ensure it is ready for inclusion in the upcoming 6.4 release. Check out this guide for detailed test instructions.

If you encounter an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums or directly to WordPress Trac if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.

Learn more about Gutenberg updates debuting in WordPress 6.4 by reviewing prior editions of What’s New in Gutenberg posts for 16.2, 16.3, 16.4, 16.5, 16.6, and 16.7.

Curious about testing releases in general? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

Vulnerability bounty doubles during Beta 2

Between Beta 1 and the final release candidate (RC) for each new WordPress version, the monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled. Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.

Beta 2 highlights

WordPress 6.4 Beta 2 contains more than 50 updates since the Beta 1 release, including 18 tickets for WordPress core.

Each beta cycle focuses on bug fixes; more are on the way with your help through testing. You can browse the technical details for all issues addressed since Beta 1 using these links:

• GitHub commits for 6.4
• Closed Trac tickets since Beta 1
• GitHub commits for Twenty Twenty-Four

Note on Twenty Twenty-Four

Please note that some images in the Twenty Twenty-Four theme may not load correctly. A fix is in the works! Learn more on this Trac ticket.

Note on pattern management improvements in non-block themes

While WordPress 6.4 will bring several exciting pattern advancements, improvements to pattern management in non-block themes will eventually be addressed in WordPress 6.5. The Beta 1 announcement has been updated to reflect this change accordingly.

A Beta 2 haiku

Not the first, nor last
A second space to reflect
Both new and not new

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @meher, @sereedmedia, @rmartinezduque, @cbringmann, @priethor, @annezazu, @ironprogrammer.

This beta version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it is recommended you evaluate Beta 1 on a test server and site.

You can test WordPress 6.4 Beta 1 in three ways:

1. Plugin: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
2. Direct download: Download the Beta 1 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress website.
3. Command line: Use the following WP-CLI command:
   wp core update --version=6.4-beta1

The current target for the final release of WordPress 6.4 is November 7, 2023. Your help testing this version is key to ensuring everything in the release is the best it can be.

The WordPress 6.4 release is brought to you by an underrepresented gender release squad to increase participation of and partnership with those who identify as gender-underrepresented in the WordPress open source project.

Get an overview of the 6.4 release cycle, and check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.4-related posts in the coming weeks for further details.

This post has been updated as of October 5, 2023, to reflect the latest changes.

How you can help: Testing

Testing for issues is a critical part of developing any software, and it’s a meaningful way for anyone to contribute—whether you have experience or not. This detailed guide will walk you through testing key features in WordPress 6.4.

If you encounter an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can file one on WordPress Trac. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.

Curious about testing releases in general? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

Learn more about Gutenberg updates that have debuted since WordPress 6.3 by reviewing prior editions of What’s New in Gutenberg posts for 16.2, 16.3, 16.4, 16.5, 16.6, and 16.7.

WordPress 6.4 Beta 1 contains over 400 enhancements and 370 bug fixes for the editor, including more than 190 tickets for WordPress 6.4 core.

Vulnerability bounty doubles during Beta 1

Between Beta 1 and the final release candidate (RC) for each new WordPress version, the monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled. Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.

A first look at WordPress 6.4

WordPress 6.4 will introduce a versatile default theme, new features, and numerous updates designed to enhance your WordPress experience across multiple areas—from writing and design to workflow efficiency. All while the foundational work continues for Phase 3 of the WordPress roadmap. Read on for some highlights.

Meet the Twenty Twenty-Four theme

Twenty Twenty-Four is a new default theme that will launch with 6.4. With a versatile collection of templates and patterns, this theme covers a diverse range of use cases, from entrepreneurs to small businesses to artists and writers. Twenty Twenty-Four also emphasizes the latest design tooling and site editing features, enabling you to leverage the flexibility of blocks and unlock numerous creative possibilities with just a few tweaks. Follow the theme’s progress and report any issues on this GitHub repo.

Manage fonts across your site

WordPress 6.4 will introduce new font management features:

The Font Library enables you to handle fonts across your site, regardless of your active theme—just like you manage assets in the Media Library. Easily install local and Google Fonts and choose which to activate for each theme. This new font manager is a powerful way to control a fundamental piece of your site’s design and branding without coding. Thanks to its extensibility, custom typographic collections can expand your font choices.

On the other hand, Font Face provides server-side @font-face style generation and printing support. It introduces a new global function called wp_print_font_faces(), which processes font data received from styles set in the editor or by the active theme.

Update (October 5, 2023): The Font Library feature will not debut in WordPress 6.4. Instead, it has been postponed to the next major release, 6.5. WordPress is committed to delivering the best possible experience, meaning this feature requires more feedback and testing to shine. Thank you for your understanding!

Add lightbox functionality to your images

Showcase your images in an interactive fashion with lightbox functionality. This new core feature will be available for Image blocks, allowing visual assets to be opened and enlarged on top of the existing content.

Enjoy new writing improvements

Many enhancements in 6.4 will ensure that your WordPress writing experience remains smooth and enjoyable, from new keyboard shortcuts to more reliable pasting from other sources. Moreover, a fresh toolbar experience will be available for the Navigation, List, and Quote blocks, making working with their tooling options more efficient and intuitive.

More design tools, greater creativity

New design tools will improve the overall creation experience with WordPress while providing greater layout control and flexibility. Some updates include:

• Background images for Group blocks, allowing for creative and customized layouts.
• Aspect ratios for image placeholders—a new feature that’s particularly useful when creating and using patterns. After setting a placeholder’s desired aspect ratio, you can drag and drop an image, which will adjust to maintain the design consistency.
• Button and heading color customization in Group and Columns blocks, enabling you to define the appearance of these elements when placed within these container blocks. This feature takes a step towards allowing section-specific styling, which will continue to develop in upcoming releases.
• Alignment settings in synced patterns. When creating and converting a synced pattern with wide, full-width, left or right-aligned blocks, this improvement ensures alignment attributes remain intact for a seamless site editing and pattern creation experience.

Upgrades for smoother workflows

As the Site Editor continues to evolve and expand its capabilities, so do the interface and tools that support it.

First introduced in WordPress 6.3, the Command Palette helps you perform actions, search, and quickly navigate your site’s content and settings. It will receive significant updates in 6.4, featuring an updated design, new commands to accomplish block-specific actions, and better command language and action consistency.

List View provides a great way to browse and work with the blocks that make up your site. This release will introduce enhancements to its interface and usability, making it even more powerful. You can rename Group blocks, view media previews for Gallery and Image blocks, and duplicate blocks with a keyboard shortcut.

Pattern advancements

Patterns play an essential role in site editing, and its importance remains prominent in the upcoming release.

6.4 will allow you to better organize your synced and unsynced patterns with categories as part of the creation process. These categories are available for sorting within the insertion flow to make discovering and adding patterns easier. In addition, you can conveniently access all your custom patterns from the same place—the Patterns section of the Block Inserter, which removes the separate tab for synced patterns.

Other improvements include importing and exporting patterns as JSON files, ensuring backward compatibility with Reusable blocks, and enabling pattern transfer across sites.

Lastly, building on the groundwork laid in WordPress 6.3, this release will improve the pattern management experience for non-block themes by adding a Patterns tab under the Appearance menu, allowing access to the Pattern list page of the admin screen.

Update (October 2, 2023): While 6.4 will bring several exciting pattern advancements, the previously mentioned improved pattern management experience for non-block themes will regrettably not be included in the 6.4 release. Thank you for your understanding, and be on the lookout for it in WordPress 6.5.

Introducing Block Hooks

Block Hooks is a new powerful feature that enriches the extensibility of block themes, drawing inspiration from the familiar WordPress Hooks concept. Upon activation, plugins can automatically insert blocks into content relative to another block. For example, a “Like” button block can automatically be inserted after the Post Content block.

While developer-centric, Block Hooks enhances the user experience by making block usage more intuitive and allowing for further customization and control over where and how the auto-inserted blocks appear. A new block inspector panel named “Plugins” is designed to respect creators’ preferences, ensuring you can add, dismiss, or relocate Block Hooks as desired.

Accessibility

WordPress 6.4 has 70 accessibility improvements slated for inclusion, 60 of those are included in Beta 1. Notable updates focused on enhancing the user interface (UI) experience include better button placements, improved context for “Add New” admin menu items, and upgraded spoken messages in Site Health.

Additionally, fixes for image editing in the Media Library, error reporting on the login screen, and “no motion” settings for GIFs have been implemented. The cause of some false positives in automated UI tests has been corrected, and users without JavaScript now see a direct link to install the Classic Editor plugin. Learn more about these changes and other accessibility improvements for 6.4 on WordPress Trac.

Performance

WordPress 6.4 will include more than 100 performance-related updates, including improvements to template loading performance for Block Themes and Classic Themes, usage of the new script loading strategies “defer” and “async” in core, blocks, and themes, and new functions to optimize the use of autoloaded options.

Please note that features in this list are subject to change before final release.

A haiku for 6.4

Inline fonts, lightbox
Command blocks like CLI
Almost to 6-4

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @meher, @sereedmedia, @meaganhanes, @rmartinezduque, @annezazu, @cbringmann, @flixos90, @richtabor,  @francina, @joedolson, @priethor, @davidbaumwald, @chanthaboune, @luminuu.

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, you should evaluate RC3 on a test server and site. 

The WordPress 6.3 release is scheduled for August 8, 2023—just one week away. Now is your last opportunity to test it before the general release. 

For a deeper look into this release, read this overview of the 6.3 release cycle, check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.3-related posts, review new features in WordPress 6.3, or watch a recorded demo. 

What’s new since RC2

Since the RC2 release on July 25, 2023, there have been approximately 14 issues resolved in Github and Trac. To prepare for 6.3 general availability, RC3 also addresses several bugs and adds fixes for retrieving templates (#4940) and resolving child theme issues (#53138). Thank you for testing, WordPressers!

Developers and extenders should review the comprehensive WordPress 6.3 Field Guide for detailed technical notes regarding new features and improvements.

Ways to contribute

WordPress is open source software made possible by the community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline a variety of ways you can help, regardless of your technical expertise.

Download RC3 for testing

You can test WordPress 6.3 RC3 in three ways:

• Option 1: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
• Option 2: Direct download the RC3 version (zip).
• Option 3: Use the following WP-CLI command:
  wp core update --version=6.3-RC3

Keep WordPress bug-free—help with testing

Testing for issues is a critical part of developing any software, and it’s a meaningful way for anyone to contribute—whether you have experience or not. While testing the upgrade process is essential, trying out new features is too.  

• Encountered an issue? Please report it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can file one on WordPress Trac. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.
• New to testing? This detailed guide is a great place to start if you’ve never tested a beta/RC release.
• Want to know more about testing releases in general? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel in Making WordPress Slack.

Search for vulnerabilities

The monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled between the Beta 1 release and the final release candidate (RC). Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.

Update your theme or plugin

Do you build themes or plugins? Your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for users of all types worldwide. 

This is your final opportunity to test your latest versions against RC3. You will want to continue your testing and update the “Tested up to” version in your plugin’s readme file to 6.3. 

If you find compatibility problems, please post detailed information to the support forums.

Help translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? ¿Español? Français? Português? Русский? 日本? Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages. 

Release the haiku

Phase two, soon complete
A monumental release
Then onto six-four.

Thank you to the contributors who collaborated on this post: @Meher, @DanSoschin, and @jpantani

Create your own patterns

The ability to create your own patterns, on top of using the ones bundled into each WordPress release, opens up a world of possibilities. Need to repeat the same contact information across your site and keep it up to date? Create a synced pattern with all the details, and say goodbye to repeating yourself, with the ability to quickly insert the synced pattern wherever you need it. If you find yourself creating various banners for your site and want them to have the same layout with unique content, creating an unsynced pattern speeds up your workflow and ensures a level of consistency in approach. While themes and plugins have been able to offer patterns to users and curate the experience, this update allows agencies and site builders to do the same for their clients, directly in the site building process.

Dig into the details

Any previously made Reusable blocks will continue to function as they do now, just under the new Synced pattern name. To help adjust to these changes, a few contextual notices will be placed throughout the interface. Specifically, the menu item in the creation flow will show as “Create pattern/reusable block” until the prompt describing the switch is dismissed in one of the various locations, including the naming and syncing modal: 

For folks using block themes, all patterns will be listed alongside template parts in the Site Editor > Patterns section, where you can enter a focused editing mode to make changes. For Classic themes, the prior reusable block management page will now house patterns in a list, similar to the Posts > All Posts view.

For a complete overview of patterns on your site, all patterns provided by themes and plugins will be shown in this section but without the option to edit directly.

Go further

With the ability to create your own patterns baked into the creation experience, remember that you can copy the patterns available in the Pattern Directory and contribute back, an excellent way to democratize design for every WordPress user and the web.

For more exciting features coming to patterns in WordPress 6.3, read on in the Advancing the Power of Patterns post. Thank you to the contributors who collaborated on this post: Chloé Bringmann, Jonathan Pantani, Josepha, Krista Stevens, Nicholas Garofalo, Peter Rubin.

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, or run, or test this version on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, you should evaluate RC2 on a test server and site. 

While release candidates are considered ready for final release, additional testing and use by the community can only make it better.

WordPress 6.3 is scheduled for release on August 8, 2023 – just two weeks from today.

Get an overview of the 6.3 release cycle, check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.3-related posts, review new features in WordPress 6.3, or watch a recorded demo.

Developers and extenders should review the comprehensive WordPress 6.3 Field Guide for detailed technical notes regarding new features and improvements.  

RC2 Highlights

Since the RC1 release on July 18, 2023, there have been approximately 15 issues resolved in Editor and Trac.

Notable updates for this release include:

• Footnotes will be reverted or restored with post revisions (#52686).
• Distraction free adds a missing command in the site editor (#52868).
• Global styles revisions will display text if no revisions are found (#52865).
• The About Page has been completed (#58067).
• The About Page now includes a “Get Involved” section (#23348).
• The dark mode option has been restored in the block editor iframe for Twenty Twenty-One (#58835).
• Max height value was fixed in the image scaling in the Edit Media screen (#50523).
• Additionally, some issues regarding internationalization were addressed (#58879, #58067 and #58864).

Test features in WordPress 6.3

Testing for issues is a critical part of developing any software, and it’s a meaningful way for anyone to contribute—whether you have experience or not. While testing the upgrade process is essential, trying out new features is too. 

• Encountered an issue? Please report it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can file one on WordPress Trac. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.
• New to testing? This detailed guide is a great place to start if you’ve never tested a beta/RC release.
• Want to know more about testing releases in general? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel in Making WordPress Slack.

Vulnerability bounty doubles during the Beta/RC phases

The monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled between the Beta 1 release and the final release candidate (RC). Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.

Get WordPress 6.3 RC2

You can test WordPress 6.3 RC2 in three ways:

• Option 1: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
• Option 2: Direct download the RC2 version (zip).
• Option 3: Use the following WP-CLI command:
  wp core update --version=6.3-RC2

Thanks to WordPress plugin and theme developers

Do you build plugins and themes? Your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for users of all types worldwide. 

Hopefully, you have already tested your themes and plugins with WordPress 6.3 betas by now. With RC2, you will want to continue your testing and update the “Tested up to” version in your plugin’s readme file to 6.3. 

If you find compatibility problems, please post detailed information to the support forums.

Help translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? ¿Español? Français? Português? Русский? 日本? Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages.

Haiku for RC2

Time is nearly here
WordPress shines thanks to you all
Let’s get testing, dear

Thank you to the contributors who collaborated on this post: @Priethor, @AudrasJb, @DavidBaumwald, @DanSoschin, @JPantani and @Meher.