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 Presence APIAPIAn API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. meeting took place on Monday, October 12, 2026 at 15:00 UTC in #feature-presence-api. It also hosts the real-time collaboration (RTC) work. This week’s focus was the feature pluginFeature PluginA plugin that was created with the intention of eventually being proposed for inclusion in WordPress Core. See Features as Plugins merge criteria, and which gaps are left before a coreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. proposal.
Presence API 0.17.0 shipped October 8. A site can now switch off each piece it doesn’t want, and the presence functions take an $args array (#789).
The debugger and DB viewer moved into their own presence-debugger 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. (#760), and Presence Scenes gained arrivals, coming-back and fading-out scenes (#775).
Follow-ups
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/ Sync Engines (GSE) is drafting a Make post to be published this week.
The collaborator-liveness work left over from #647 now lives in GSE: a second tab is GSE#147, and another device is GSE#148. #815 gives GSE#148 a way to tell a second browser from a second tab.
@iamchitti is taking Firefox and WebKit end-to-end runs, scoped to the tab coordination specs (#808).
Inline CSS in the PHPPHPThe web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 7.4 or higher files moves into stylesheets (#807).
@iamchitti took touch devices (#821), keyboard-only checks (#822) and the feature with JavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript or JS is an object-oriented computer programming language commonly used to create interactive effects within web browsers. WordPress makes extensive use of JS for a better user experience. While PHP is executed on the server, JS executes within a user’s browser.
https://www.javascript.com off (#823).
Nobody has claimed HTMLHTMLHyperText Markup Language. The semantic scripting language primarily used for outputting content in web browsers. validation or a security audit yet, and neither has an issue. Comment on #550 to take one.
Path to core
Post locks are the first consumer, and GSE is the first outside project on the API. The readiness gate on #550 asks for three outside projects and eight weeks without a breaking API change, counted from 0.17.0, so December 3 at the earliest. Anyone building on the API, or considering it for a plugin or host, is welcome to get in touch.
Open floor
Private security reporting is now enabled on the repository, thanks to @huzaifaalmesbah.
@iamchitti asked where the TracTracAn open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. proposal draft is, and offered to review it this week.
Since the meeting
Presence API 0.18.0 shipped with the session hash (#815) and core’s copy of each API function winning once it exists (#805).
Since WordPress 7.1 the Toolbar is also displayed in the Post Editor and the Site Editor (#65091, dev note). That change made an old problem more visible: the first two items of the Toolbar, the W and the site name, do not behave the same everywhere. #66258 proposes to fix that. This post outlines the change, the reasons, and asks for feedback before a patchpatchA special text file that describes changes to code, by identifying the files and lines which are added, removed, and altered. It may also be referred to as a diff. A patch can be applied to a codebase for testing. is written.
TracTracAn open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress.ticketticketCreated for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker.: core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/66258
A click on the W goes to the About WordPress page.
A click on the site name goes to the site in the adminadmin(and super admin), and to the Dashboard on the front end.
The site name menu also changes. In the admin it has only Visit Site. On the front end it has Dashboard, Plugins and Themes.
In the editors, the Toolbar has no link to the Dashboard.
The proposal
Two fixed links.
The W always goes to the Dashboard. Dashboard is the first item of the W menu. About WordPress and the other items stay in the menu. On small screens the W stays visible. Today it is hidden under 600px.
The site name always goes to the site. The menu is the same everywhere: Visit Site, Plugins and Themes. On multisitemultisiteUsed to describe a WordPress installation with a network of multiple blogs, grouped by sites. This installation type has shared users tables, and creates separate database tables for each blog (wp_posts becomes wp_0_posts). See also network, blog, site, Manage Site comes after Visit Site. Classic themes keep Widgets, Menus, Background and HeaderHeaderThe header of your site is typically the first thing people will experience. The masthead or header art located across the top of your page is part of the look and feel of your website. It can influence a visitor’s opinion about your content and you/ your organization’s brand. It may also look different on different screen sizes..
The Dashboard has one place, under the W. Please, check following images:
Why
The W is the most visible item of the Toolbar, and today it goes to a page people rarely need. With this change it gets a useful click. There is no learned behavior to unlearn.
One click to the Dashboard from everywhere. So, we can build the right mental model.
One behavior to learn. People do not need to check where they are before they click.
Two clear places. The W is the admin. The site name is the site front end.
It works on multisite. My Sites stays next to the W, as today. In the Networknetwork(versus site, blog) Admin, the W goes to the network Dashboard.
How to test it
Open the Playground link. It loads WordPress with the 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. active and lands on the Dashboard. Or download the plugin and install it on a test site. Deactivate it to compare with the current behavior. It stores nothing in the database.
What to look for:
The admin, the front end, the Post Editor and the Site Editor. The W and the site name do the same thing in all of them.
A window under 600px. The W is visible and goes to the Dashboard.
A multisite, if you have one. The Network Admin and a sub site.
A classic theme. Widgets, Menus, Background and Header stay in the site name menu.
A plugin that adds items to the W menu or the site name menu. The node IDs do not change, so they should keep working.
Leave feedback by October 16th
Please leave feedback in the Trac ticket, so it stays in one place. Comments on this post are welcome too. The deadline is October 16th, ahead of the 7.2 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 October 20th 😊