Enjoy your weekend and these notes. <\/p>\n
Yours, WordCamp Asia heads to Mumbai on April 10\u201311, and I shared my personally curated session picks<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 leaning heavily into block editor, themes, and AI. Highlights include Ryan Welcher on the Interactivity API, a Playground + AI testing pipelines talk by Fellyph Cintra, and a closing keynote from Matt Mullenweg. I will also be leading a Contributor Day workshop on building a block theme from scratch. The schedule<\/a> still has several TBD slots, so it\u2019s worth checking back. <\/p>\n Get your WordCamp Asia 2026 event pass<\/a> and join the WordPress community in Mumbai on April 9\u201311!<\/em><\/p>\n WordPress 7.0 Beta 3 <\/strong><\/a>is now available for testing. The final release is coming closer. It\u2019s the time of the release cycle when Developer Notes<\/strong> are published ahead of Release Candidate 1.<\/p>\n For the new Breadcrumbs block<\/a><\/strong>, Nik Tsekouras<\/strong> documents the two PHP filters developers will want to know. Dave Smith<\/strong> details one of the more exciting 7.0 additions for theme developers: Customisable Navigation Overlays<\/a>.<\/strong> Mobile hamburger menus were previously locked to a fixed default design \u2014 now you can build your overlay from any blocks and patterns directly in the Site Editor. Themes can bundle overlays as template parts registered with a new Luis Herranz<\/strong> outlines key updates in the Interactivity API changes in WordPress 7.0<\/strong><\/a>. The main highlight is the new Andr\u00e9 Maneiro<\/strong> rounds up 166 contributions from 35 authors landing in the DataViews space for WordPress 7.0<\/a>.<\/strong> Highlights include a new Miguel Fonseca<\/strong> documents one of the most warmly received 7.0 additions: PHP-only block registration<\/a>.<\/strong> Pass Ryan Welcher<\/strong> and Ciprian Popescu<\/strong> went deeper on this topic and provided you with examples and explanations on their personal blogs. (See links below.) <\/p>\n In the video, 7.0 Beta, Gutenberg 22.5, Studio & AI: WordPress for Developers in February<\/strong><\/a> Ryan Welcher<\/strong> walks you through the February edition of the round-up series What\u2019s new for Developers. You\u2019ll get the highlights from Gutenberg 22.4 and 22.5: per-instance custom CSS, viewport-based block visibility, anchor support for dynamic blocks, and the long-awaited removal of extra editor wrapper divs. The iFrame enforcement planned for 7.0 has been delayed \u2014 more breathing room, but time to prepare is now.<\/p>\n WordPress lead developer Dion Hulse<\/strong> has shipped something quietly useful: WordPress.org now serves clean Markdown output<\/a> <\/strong>for every page, built on Dennis Snell\u2019s html-to-md plugin. You can access it by appending In this brief video, Jonathan Bossenger<\/strong> demonstrates WordPress 7.0 Beta 2\u2019s new WP AI Client and Connectors<\/strong> settings page<\/a>, explaining how connectors can install plugins and how developers can create AI features without tying users to a specific provider. A live CLI demo showcases this approach. Bossenger also discusses connector discovery UX and areas where core improvements are needed before 7.0 is released.<\/p>\n WordPress contributor Nick Hamze <\/strong>has quietly improved the Featured Plugins tab in wp-admin<\/a>,<\/strong> replacing a list that hadn\u2019t changed in eight years with a rotating selection of eight lesser-known plugins, refreshed every two weeks. The goal, as Matt Cromwell<\/strong> reports for The Repository, is to surface genuinely promising newcomers \u2014 \u201cnot the giants, not the household names\u201d \u2014 that you\u2019d never stumble across through search or popularity rankings. Early results are striking; Ollie Menu Designer tripled its biggest download day within hours of appearing in the tab.<\/p>\n Marko Ivanovic<\/strong> and Noam Almosnino<\/strong> shared their Telex experiments on the Automattic Design blog<\/strong><\/a>, showcasing what happens when designers get to build WordPress blocks by simply describing an idea. Telex, Automattic\u2019s AI-powered tool, handles the technical wiring so you can focus on creative exploration. The pair built a text-scrambling interaction inspired by Flash-era pioneer Yugop and an image carousel\u2014all without writing block code themselves. It\u2019s a compelling glimpse at how your design-to-block workflow could change.<\/p>\n Derek Hanson<\/strong> shares how he shipped Tufte Blocks<\/strong><\/a>, a WordPress block theme he couldn\u2019t build a year ago, drawing on Edward Tufte\u2019s typography-first aesthetic. After two failed attempts, the right combination \u2014 WordPress Agent Skills<\/a><\/em> and Shaun Andrews<\/strong>\u2018 design-system-first<\/a> approach \u2014 finally unlocked it. You don\u2019t need to be a designer or developer; Hanson\u2019s project management and rhetoric background turned out to be exactly the right skills for directing AI through a complete, polished theme. Does it sound attractive to you? Download it from GitHub<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cKeeping up with Gutenberg \u2013 Index 2026\u201d<\/a> <\/strong> The previous years are also available: Ciprian Popescu <\/strong>walks you through PHP-only block registration in WordPress<\/strong><\/a>, the new approach landing in 7.0 that lets you build Gutenberg blocks without JavaScript build tools. By setting Ryan Welcher<\/strong> also explains how PHP-only block registration in WordPress 7.0<\/strong><\/a> lets you skip Paulo Carvajal<\/strong>\u2018s guide on mastering event handling and DOM interactions with the Interactivity API<\/strong><\/a> takes you through the If you use Cursor for WordPress block development, JuanMa Garrido<\/strong> explains how to enable JSON schema validation in Cursor<\/strong><\/a>, which is disabled by default due to a security vulnerability where the AI agent could trigger outbound requests via Need a plugin .zip from Gutenberg\u2019s master branch?<\/a><\/strong> Now also available via WordPress Playground<\/a>. There is no need for a test site locally or on a server. Have you been using it? Email me <\/a>with your experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Questions? Suggestions? Ideas? <\/em> For questions to be answered on the Gutenberg Changelog<\/a>, ![\"\ud83d\udc95\"](\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/72x72\/1f495.png\")
Birgit<\/em><\/p>\n
\n![\"Networking](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gutenbergtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WordCamp-Asia-Schedule-2026.jpg?resize=652%2C364&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nDeveloping Gutenberg and WordPress<\/h2>\n
\nblock_core_breadcrumbs_items<\/code> lets you modify, add, or remove items just before rendering \u2014 handy for prepending a custom \u201cShop\u201d crumb in WooCommerce. block_core_breadcrumbs_post_type_settings<\/code> gives you control over which taxonomy and term appear in the trail, with sensible fallback behavior when your preferred term isn\u2019t assigned. Props to Karol Manijak for the implementation.<\/p>\n
\nnavigation-overlay<\/code> area in theme.json<\/code>. The feature is opt-in currently full-screen only, and props go to Mike McAlister<\/strong>, whose Ollie Menu Designer plugin<\/a> helped validate the community demand.<\/p>\n
\nwatch()<\/code> function, which helps developers to track state changes outside the DOM for tasks like logging and analytics. Additionally, state.url<\/code> in core\/router<\/code> will now be filled by the server, improving navigation tracking. Note that the state.navigation<\/code> properties are outdated and will be removed in a future version.<\/p>\n
\nactivity<\/code> timeline layout, expanded field validation rules, a combobox<\/code> control for large datasets, and a groupBy<\/code> object replacing the old groupByField<\/code> string \u2014 a breaking change worth noting. DataForm gains a new details<\/code> layout and collapsible card controls. A lot here for plugin developers building data-rich admin interfaces.<\/p>\n
\n'autoRegister' => true<\/code> in the supports<\/code> array alongside a render_callback<\/code>, and your block appears in the editor without a single line of JavaScript. WordPress automatically generates Inspector Controls for supported attribute types \u2014 string, integer, boolean, and enum. Implemented by Ricky Pena, the comments section alone tells you how long PHP-first developers have been waiting for this one.<\/p>\n![\"\ud83c\udf99\"](\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/72x72\/1f399.png\")
The latest episode is Gutenberg Changelog #127 \u2013 WordPress 7.0 Beta and Gutenberg 22.6<\/a> with special guest Jessica Lyschik<\/strong>, senior developer at Greyd<\/p>\n![\"Jessica](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gutenbergtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-27-at-12.47.56.png?resize=652%2C184&ssl=1\")
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\n?output_format=md<\/code> to any URL or sending an Accept: text\/markdown<\/code> header. The efficiency gains are real \u2014 one developer reported a WordPress docs page shrinking from 68k tokens to 11k. It\u2019s a direct response to Mullenweg\u2019s push to make WordPress.org a canonical knowledge source for AI agents. Ray Morey reporting for The Repository<\/em><\/p>\n
\nPlugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners<\/h2>\n
Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks<\/h2>\n
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A chronological list of the WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS, Test, and Meta team from Jan. 2024 on. Updated by yours truly.\u2002<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/strong>2020<\/a> | 2021<\/a><\/strong> | 2022<\/a><\/strong> | 2023<\/a><\/strong> | 2024<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nBuilding Blocks and Tools for the Block editor.<\/h2>\n
autoRegister<\/code> to true in the supports array, WordPress auto-generates inspector controls from your attributes and uses ServerSideRender for previews. You\u2019ll find practical guidance on block supports, asset enqueueing caveats, and where this approach fits best\u2014think author boxes, CTA banners, and theme-specific components rather than richly interactive blocks.<\/p>\n
\nblock.json<\/code> entirely and define block metadata directly in your register_block_type()<\/code> call. You\u2019ll see how to enable it with the autoRegister<\/code> support flag, define attributes that auto-generate inspector controls, and wire up render callbacks with get_block_wrapper_attributes()<\/code>. The tutorial covers asset registration via handle arrays and helps you streamline your workflow for server-rendered blocks ahead of the April 9 release.<\/p>\n
\ndata-wp-on<\/code> directive for declarative event management. You\u2019ll learn how to handle mouse, keyboard, form, and touch events while connecting them to store actions that update state reactively. The piece covers withSyncEvent()<\/code> for synchronous access, automatic event delegation, and performance patterns like debouncing and throttling, wrapping up with a complete to-do app that ties it all together.<\/p>\nAI and WordPress <\/h2>\n
$schema<\/code> fields. You\u2019ll need to add json.schemaDownload.enable<\/code> to your settings\u2014ideally at the project level in .vscode\/settings.json<\/code> to limit exposure. A quick fix that restores autocompletion and validation for your block.json<\/code> and theme.json<\/code> files.<\/p>\n
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Gutenberg Times provides daily build for testing and review.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gutenbergtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Screenshot-2025-11-15-at-12.06.44.png?resize=196%2C45&ssl=1\")
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Don\u2019t hesitate to send them via email<\/a> or<\/em>
send me a message on WordPress Slack or Twitter @bph<\/em>.<\/p>\n
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send them to changelog@gutenbergtimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n
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