16.9.0 RC1

Changelog

Features

Create Block

• [Create Block] Introduce the transformer property. (55423)

Data Views

• Enable users to sort by date. (55388)

Block Library

• Enable Block Renaming support for (almost) all blocks. (54426)

Enhancements

Command API

• Add block-specific commands as contextual suggestions [#53539]. (53974)

Components

• Add Tabs (a composable TabPanel v2). (53960)
• Add type="button" to vanilla <button> elements. (55125)
• ConfirmDialog: Ts unit test storybook. (54954)
• GradientPicker: Remove padding and disable overflow of color picker popovers. (55265)
• Migrate Composite component from reakit to ariakit. (54225)
• Remove margins from Notice component. (54800)

Patterns

• Add duplicate pattern command. (55292)
• Add rename command. (55188)
• Add rename/delete options for pattern categories in site editor. (55035)
• Register new media related categories. (55236)
• Use modal for pattern duplication flow as workaround for changing sync status. (54764)

Block Editor

• Migrating DownloadableBlocksList to use updated Composite implementation. (55272)

Block Library

• Improve DimensionsTool control layout. (55060)
• Template Part block: Fall back to current theme if no theme attribute is given. (55217)

Post Editor

• Editor: Introduce PluginPostExcerpt slot. (55200)
• Editor: Use hooks instead of HoCs in PostExcerpt. (55189)

Design Tools

• Allow using CSS level 4 viewport-relative units. (54415)
• Add changelog entry for #54415. (55201)
• Remove 16:10 from 10:16 options from AspectRatioDropdown. (55053)

Data Views

• [Data Views]: Add drop down with action in headers. (55293)

Icons

• Update fullscreen icon. (55021)

Format Library

• Link format: Auto link pasted urls. (55195)

Site Editor

• Migrating AddCustomTemplateModalContent to use updated Composite implementation. (55256)

Private APIs

• Update consent string for using private APIs. (55182)

New APIs

• Core Data: Retrieve the pagination totals in the getEntityRecords calls. (55164)

Bug Fixes

Block Library

• Bug: PHP notice when an image with lightbox is deleted. (55370)
• Cover Block: Check for previously uploaded media before setting the dimRatio. (55422)
• Cover: Fix media type check in the onSelectMedia hook. (55168)
• Fix Block Rename UI perf regression. (55250)
• Fix PHP notice when an image with lightbox is deleted in the behaviors file. (55385)
• Fix: Wrong condition on cover block dimRatioToClass. (55356)
• Focus submenu button when clicked. (55198)
• Hide footnotes block from the inserter. (55058)
• Image: Fix Lightbox display bug in Classic Themes. (54837)
• Latest Posts: Add screen reader title text to Read more links and use alternative to excerpt_more filter. (55029)
• Latest Posts: Sync updates from Core (6.4). (55181)
• List View: Change the aria-description attribute to aria-describedby. (55264)
• Query Loop block: Reuse existing screen-reader-text CSS class for the enhanced pagination aria-live region. (55309)

Site Editor

• Alternative: Fix template part area listing when a template has no edits. (55115)
• Do not display 'trashed' navigation menus in Sidebar. (55072)
• Pages list: Set status as no sortable. (55210)
• Remove duplicate template areas from the site view sidebar. (54942)
• Site Editor Styles Screen: Fix dancing styles previews. (55183)
• Use accessorFn instead of cell to render status. (55196)
• [Data views]: Make date header translatable. (55445)

Interactivity API

• Add aria-label attribute to navigation block only when it is open. (54816)
• Fix server processing of wp-context getting out of sync. (55436)
• Image: Disable lightbox editor UI for linked images. (55141)
• Image: Reimplement lightbox trigger as a minimal button in corner of image. (55212)
• Image: Stop crashing with Lightbox on image blocks without an image. (55269)
• Remove the lightbox filter and view file when the lightbox setting is disabled. (55120)
• Reset "Expand on click" image styles when window is resized. (55077)

Components

• Changing Button component toggled style selector. (55065)
• ColorPicker: Improve UX of dragging the handle when in popover on top of the editor. (55149)
• Colors: Fix color button border radii. (55207)
• Iframe / block drag chip: Fix positioning when dragging over an iframe. (55150)
• ProgressBar: Use text color to ensure enough contrast against background. (55285)
• Toolbar: Add unstyled variant. (55139)
• useBlockPreview: Try outputting EditorStyles to ensure local style overrides are rendered. (55288)

Block Editor

• LinkControl: Prevent horizontally long preview image from being stretched vertically. (55156)
• List: Fix forward merging of nested list. (55121)
• Paste: Fix MS Word list paste. (55127)
• Writing flow: Fix selecting synced pattern. (55221)
• Writing flow: Preserve block when merging into empty paragraph. (55134)
• url: Update filterURLForDisplay to include all image, video, and audio file types. (54920)
• Block Styles: Display default style label correctly in the block sidebar. (55008)
• useBlockSettings: Add missing useMemo dependencies. (55204)

Data Views

• Add linked title fallback. (55248)
• PagePages: Fix unintended object mutation inside component. (55314)
• [Data views]: Fix pagination. (55387)

Patterns

• Add category selector to pattern creation modal. (55024)
• Fix scrollbars on pattern transforms. (55069)

HTML API

• Fix: Directive processor failing on updated HTML API. (55404)

Widgets Editor

• Only suppress admin notices when JavaScript is enabled. (55403)

Data Layer

• Data: Fix combineReducers() types. (55321)
• Get the page count as derived data. (55316)

Layout

• Add selector as id to layout style overrides. (55291)

History

• Try: Only render LastRevision component if plugin is active. (55253)

Block Directory

• Fix filtering for downloadable blocks in inserter. (55243)

Global Styles

• Use all the settings origins for a block that consumes paths with merge. (55219)

Post Editor

• Fix wrong notification message shown when an entity is moved to trash. (55155)

Typography

• Font Library: Show error if fetching collection fails. (54919)

Colors

• I18n Make No color selected translatable text. (54814)

Rich Text

• Paste: Only link selection if URL protocol is http(s). (53000)

Patterns

• Patterns: Remove the version enforcement for npm in engines field. (55245)

Code Quality

• Fix: Use y-webrtc room name terminology instead of docName. (55260)

Accessibility

Global Styles

• Fix flickering when focusing on global style variations. (55267)

Interactivity API

• Fix Image block lightbox missing alt attribute and improve accessibility. (55010)

Components

• Modal: Fix closing when contained iframe is focused. (51602)

Block Library

• Cover: Add aria-label to fixed and repeated image backgrounds. (50990)

Performance

Block Editor

• Rich Text: Cleanup excess focusin/focusout listeners. (55382)
• Block Editor: Optimize 'customClassName' controls. (55345)
• useBlockControlsFill: Avoid unneeded store subscriptions. (55340)

Parsing

• Remove empty attrs. (54496)

Data Layer

• Fix resolver resolution status key types mismatch causing unwanted resolver calls for identical state data. (52120)

Experiments

Data Views

• Add status entity and use it in "admin views" experiment. (55050)
• DataViews: Add Grid Layout. (55353)
• DataViews: Add featured image field to the page list. (55246)
• DataViews: Adds a control to the views actions to switch layouts. (55311)
• DataViews: Fix the actions menu in the list view. (55426)

Block Library

• Introduce experimental form & inputs blocks to allow building basic forms. (44214)
• Mark forms blocks as experimental in block.json files. (55187)
• Update the apiVersion in experimental blocks block.json files. (55186)

Components

• Expose Tabs as private API. (55327)

Site Editor

• Add author and status filter to the page list. (55270)

Documentation

• Add "Get started with create-block" doc to the Getting Started section. (55373)
• Add a "Get started with wp-scripts" doc to the Getting Started section. (55372)
• Add backgroundImage to the theme json documentation for appearanceTools. (55376)
• Add initial documentation for the DataViews component. (55435)
• Augment Block.Edit filter documentation with performance guidance. (55252)
• Correct the documented type for the $w parameter of block_core_navigation_add_directives_to_submenu(). (53585)
• Document kind, name, plural for entity configuration. (55158)
• Document updating the consent string to unlock private APIs. (55235)
• Explain how to translate Gutenberg in standalone apps using the editor packages. (55080)
• Fix callouts in end-to-end test documentation. (55300)
• Fix code formatting due to bug in the "Get started with wp-env" doc. (55458)
• Fix the position of the callout in the "Get started with wp-scripts" doc. (55457)
• Font Library: Change all references to 6.4.0 by 6.5.0 core version. (55320)
• Initial documentation of entity configuration. (55103)
• PHP lib docs: Update to include information about prefixes in block PHP code. (55402)
• Platform docs: Add a page to explain how to render HTML from a list of blocks. (55140)
• Remove @return void from PHP function docs. (55237)
• Remove the wp-now getting started doc. (55136)
• Update LinkControl documentation with advice to memoize value prop. (54659)
• Update nested-blocks-inner-blocks.md for WP 6.4 release. (55375)
• docs/get-started-with-wp-env: Diagram and links added. (55381)
• docs: Update broken anchor link. (55233)

Code Quality

Data Views

• DataViews: Allow actions to be provided declaratively as a prop. (55192)
• DataViews: In list view, automatically insert header menu separators. (55412)
• DataViews: Update the data views component to pass an view object. (55154)
• DataViews: Update the view actions menu to be independent from current view APIs. (55294)
• [Data views]: Normalize render fields function. (55411)
• [Data views]: Rename accessorFn to getValue. (55434)
• [DataViews]: Update the view configuration to include fields visibility. (55247)

Block Library

• Query block: Remove unnecessary class. (55438)

Site Editor

• Fix: Remove unrequired nullish coalescing operator on canEditCss con…. (55357)

Global Styles

• Update: Unset variable set by reference after a foreach loop. (55261)

Design Tools

• Elements: Add unit tests for class and style generation. (55113)

Block Editor

• Remove value syncing in Link Control. (51387)
• Chore: Fix: Remove third parameter passed to shouldDismissPastedFiles. (55262)
• Chore: Simplify code by removing unnecessary and condition. (55268)
• useBlockSync: Fix typo and simplify test. (55203)

Data Layer

• Update status entity label to Status and plural to getStatuses. (55160)

Gutenberg Plugin

• Text Component: Typescript'n. (54953)

Tools

Testing

• Don't change error handling in WP_Theme_JSON_Gutenberg::Set_spacing_sizes(). (55354)
• E2E: Add missing comment. (55093)
• E2E: Try to fix the flaky autocomplete spec. (55081)
• Migrate 'Post Title block' end-to-end tests to Playwright. (55297)
• Migrate 'text color' end-to-end test to Playwright. (55323)
• Migrate demo page tests to Playwright. (55054)
• Migrate remaining Link UI tests to Playwright. (52828)
• Playwright Utils: Introduce the 'editor.saveDraft' helper. (55308)
• Try to fix flaky synced pattern test. (55406)
• Try to fix multi-block-selection flakiness. (55075)
• WP_Theme_JSON_Gutenberg Unit tests: Fix phpunit warnings about set_spacing_sizes. (55313)
• end-to-end Utils: Use frameLocator for retrieving editor canvas. (54911)

Build Tooling

• Packages: Ensure only changed packages get published for WP releases. (55334)
• WP_Env: tests-cli phpunit executable file not found in $PATH: Unknown. (54508)

First time contributors

The following PRs were merged by first time contributors:

• @unscripted: docs: Update broken anchor link. (55233)

Contributors

The following contributors merged PRs in this release:

@aaronrobertshaw @afercia @andrewhayward @andrewserong @anton-vlasenko @apeatling @aristath @artemiomorales @brookewp @carolinan @chad1008 @ciampo @dcalhoun @dmsnell @ecgan @ellatrix @fluiddot @getdave @glendaviesnz @gziolo @jffng @jhnstn @johnbillion @jorgefilipecosta @jrtashjian @jsnajdr @juanmaguitar @kevin940726 @kishanjasani @luisherranz @MaggieCabrera @Mamaduka @margolisj @matiasbenedetto @mcsf @michalczaplinski @mikachan @ndiego @ntsekouras @oandregal @ockham @peterwilsoncc @ramonjd @retrofox @richtabor @ryanwelcher @SantosGuillamot @scruffian @sethrubenstein @shimotmk @SiobhyB @spacedmonkey @stokesman @t-hamano @talldan @tellthemachines @tyxla @unscripted @WunderBart @youknowriad