WordPress.org

As teased earlier, the first release candidate for WordPress 3.9 is now available for testing!

We hope to ship WordPress 3.9 next week, but we need your help to get there. If you haven’t tested 3.9 yet, there’s no time like the present. (Please, not on a production site, unless you’re adventurous.)

To test WordPress 3.9 RC1, try the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (you’ll want “bleeding edge nightlies”). Or you can download the release candidate here (zip). If you’d like to learn more about what’s new in WordPress 3.9, visit the work-in-progress About screen in your dashboard ( → About in the toolbar) and check out the Beta 1 post.

Think you’ve found a bug? Please post to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If any known issues come up, you’ll be able to find them here.

If you’re a plugin author, there are two important changes in particular to be aware of:

• TinyMCE received a major update, to version 4.0. Any editor plugins written for TinyMCE 3.x might require some updates. (If things broke, we’d like to hear about them so we can make adjustments.) For more, see TinyMCE’s migration guide and API documentation, and the notes on the core development blog.
• WordPress 3.9 now uses the MySQLi Improved extension for sites running PHP 5.5. Any plugins that made direct calls to mysql_* functions will experience some problems on these sites. For more information, see the notes on the core development blog.

Be sure to follow along the core development blog, where we will be continuing to post notes for developers for 3.9. (For example, read this if you are using Masonry in your theme.) And please, please update your plugin’s Tested up to version in the readme to 3.9 before April 16.

Release candidate
This haiku’s the easy one
3.9 is near

WordPress 3.8.2 is now available. This is an important security release for all previous versions and we strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately.

This releases fixes a weakness that could let an attacker force their way into your site by forging authentication cookies. This was discovered and fixed by Jon Cave of the WordPress security team.

It also contains a fix to prevent a user with the Contributor role from improperly publishing posts. Reported by edik.

This release also fixes nine bugs and contains three other security hardening changes:

• Pass along additional information when processing pingbacks to help hosts identify potentially abusive requests.
• Fix a low-impact SQL injection by trusted users. Reported by Tom Adams of dxw.
• Prevent possible cross-domain scripting through Plupload, the third-party library WordPress uses for uploading files. Reported by Szymon Gruszecki.

We appreciated responsible disclosure of these security issues directly to our security team. For more information on all of the changes, see the release notes or consult the list of changes.

Download WordPress 3.8.2 or venture over to Dashboard → Updates and simply click “Update Now.”

Sites that support automatic background updates will be updated to WordPress 3.8.2 within 12 hours. If you are still on WordPress 3.7.1, you will be updated to 3.7.2, which contains the same security fixes as 3.8.2. We don’t support older versions, so please update to 3.8.2 for the latest and greatest.

Already testing WordPress 3.9? The first release candidate is now available (zip) and it contains these security fixes. Look for a full announcement later today; we expect to release 3.9 next week.

The third (and maybe last) beta of WordPress 3.9 is now available for download.

Beta 3 includes more than 200 changes, including:

• New features like live widget previews and the new theme installer are now more ready for prime time, so check ‘em out.
• UI refinements when editing images and when working with media in the editor. We’ve also brought back some of the advanced display settings for images.
• If you want to test out audio and video playlists, the links will appear in the media manager once you’ve uploaded an audio or video file.
• For theme developers, we’ve added HTML5 caption support (#26642) to match the new gallery support (#26697).
• The formatting function that turns straight quotes into smart quotes (among other things) underwent some changes to drastically speed it up, so let us know if you see anything weird.

We need your help. We’re still aiming for an April release, which means the next week will be critical for identifying and squashing bugs. If you’re just joining us, please see the Beta 1 announcement post for what to look out for.

If you think you’ve found a bug, you can post to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums, where friendly moderators are standing by. Plugin developers, if you haven’t tested WordPress 3.9 yet, now is the time — and be sure to update the “tested up to” version for your plugins so they’re listed as compatible with 3.9.

This software is still in development, so we don’t recommend you run it on a production site. Consider setting up a test site just to play with the new version. To test WordPress 3.9, try the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (you’ll want “bleeding edge nightlies”). Or you can download the beta here (zip).

WordPress 3.9
Let’s make the date official
It’s April 16

WordPress 3.9 Beta 2 is now available for testing!

We’ve made more than a hundred changes since Beta 1, but we still need your help if we’re going to hit our goal of an April release. For what to look out for, please head on over to the Beta 1 announcement post. Some of the changes in Beta 2 include:

• Rendering of embedded audio and video players directly in the visual editor.
• Visual and functional improvements to the editor, the media manager, and theme installer.
• Various bug fixes to TinyMCE, the software behind the visual editor.
• Lots of fixes to widget management in the theme customizer.

As always, if you think you’ve found a bug, you can post to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. Or, if you’re comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, file one on the WordPress Trac. There, you can also find a list of known bugs and everything we’ve fixed so far.

This software is still in development, so we don’t recommend you run it on a production site. Consider setting up a test site just to play with the new version. To test WordPress 3.9, try the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (you’ll want “bleeding edge nightlies”). Or you can download the beta here (zip).

I’m excited to announce that the first beta of WordPress 3.9 is now available for testing.

WordPress 3.9 is due out next month — but in order to hit that goal, we need your help testing all of the goodies we’ve added:

• We updated TinyMCE, the software powering the visual editor, to the latest version. Be on the lookout for cleaner markup. Also try the new paste handling — if you paste in a block of text from Microsoft Word, for example, it will no longer come out terrible. (The “Paste from Word” button you probably never noticed has been removed.) It’s possible some plugins that added stuff to the visual editor (like a new toolbar button) no longer work, so we’d like to hear about them (#24067). (And be sure to open a support thread for the plugin author.)
• We’ve added widget management to live previews (the customizer). Please test editing, adding, and rearranging widgets! (#27112) We’ve also added the ability to upload, crop, and manage header images, without needing to leave the preview. (#21785)
• We brought 3.8′s beautiful new theme browsing experience to the theme installer. Check it out! (#27055)
• Galleries now receive a live preview in the editor. Upload some photos and insert a gallery to see this in action. (#26959)
• You can now drag-and-drop images directly onto the editor to upload them. It can be a bit finicky, so try it and help us work out the kinks. (#19845)
• Some things got improved around editing images. It’s a lot easier to make changes to an image after you insert it into a post (#24409) and you no longer get kicked to a new window when you need to crop or rotate an image (#21811).
• New audio/video playlists. Upload a few audio or video files to test these. (#26631)

If you think you’ve found a bug, you can post to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. We’d love to hear from you! If you’re comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, file one on the WordPress Trac. There, you can also find a list of known bugs and everything we’ve fixed so far.

This software is still in development, so we don’t recommend you run it on a production site. Consider setting up a test site just to play with the new version. To test WordPress 3.9, try the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (you’ll want “bleeding edge nightlies”). Or you can download the beta here (zip).

DEVELOPERS! Hello! There’s lots for you, too.

Please test your plugins and themes! There’s a lot of great stuff under the hood in 3.9 and we hope to blog a bit about them in the coming days. If you haven’t been reading the awesome weekly summaries on the main core development blog, that’s a great place to start. (You should definitely follow that blog.) For now, here are some things to watch out for when testing:

• The load process in multisite got rewritten. If you notice any issues with your network, see #27003.
• We now use the MySQL Improved (mysqli) database extension if you’re running a recent version of PHP (#21663). Please test your plugins and see that everything works well, and please make sure you’re not calling mysql_* functions directly.
• Autosave was refactored, so if you see any issues related to autosaving, heartbeat, etc., let us know (#25272).
• Library updates, in particular Backbone 1.1 and Underscore 1.6 (#26799). Also Masonry 3 (#25351), PHPMailer (#25560), Plupload (#25663), and TinyMCE (#24067).
• TinyMCE 4.0 is a major update. Please see TinyMCE’s upgrade guide and our implementation ticket for more. If you have any questions or problems, please open a thread in the support forums.

Happy testing!

Lots of improvements
Little things go a long way
Please test beta one

After six weeks and more than 9.3 million downloads of WordPress 3.8, we’re pleased to announce WordPress 3.8.1 is now available.

Version 3.8.1 is a maintenance releases that addresses 31 bugs in 3.8, including various fixes and improvements for the new dashboard design and new themes admin screen. An issue with taxonomy queries in WP_Query was resolved. And if you’ve been frustrated by submit buttons that won’t do anything when you click on them (or thought you were going crazy, like some of us), we’ve found and fixed this “dead zone” on submit buttons.

It also contains a fix for embedding tweets (by placing the URL to the tweet on its own line), which was broken due to a recent Twitter API change. (For more on Embeds, see the Codex.)

For a full list of changes, consult the list of tickets and the changelog. There’s also a detailed summary for developers on the development blog.

If you are one of the millions already running WordPress 3.8, we will start rolling out automatic background updates for WordPress 3.8.1 in the next few hours. For sites that support them, of course.

Download WordPress 3.8.1 or venture over to Dashboard → Updates and simply click “Update Now.”

Thanks to all of these fine individuals for contributing to 3.8.1:

Aaron Jorbin, Allan Collins, Andrew Nacin, Andrew Ozz, Aubrey Portwood, Ben Dunkle, Connor Jennings, Dion Hulse, Dominik Schilling, fboender, Janneke Van Dorpe, janrenn, Joe Dolson, John Blackbourn, José Pino, Konstantin Kovshenin, Matias Ventura, Matthew Haines-Young, Matt Thomas, Mel Choyce, Mohammad Jangda, Morgan Estes, nivijah, Scott Taylor, Sergey Biryukov, undergroundnetwork, and Yuri Victor.

WordPress three eight one
We heard you didn’t like bugs
So we took them out

Version 3.8 of WordPress, named “Parker” in honor of Charlie Parker, bebop innovator, is available for download or update in your WordPress dashboard. We hope you’ll think this is the most beautiful update yet.

▶

Introducing a modern new design

WordPress has gotten a facelift. 3.8 brings a fresh new look to the entire admin dashboard. Gone are overbearing gradients and dozens of shades of grey — bring on a bigger, bolder, more colorful design!

Modern aesthetic

The new WordPress dashboard has a fresh, uncluttered design that embraces clarity and simplicity.

Clean typography

The Open Sans typeface provides simple, friendly text that is optimized for both desktop and mobile viewing. It’s even open source, just like WordPress.

Refined contrast

We think beautiful design should never sacrifice legibility. With superior contrast and large, comfortable type, the new design is easy to read and a pleasure to navigate.

WordPress on every device

We all access the internet in different ways. Smartphone, tablet, notebook, desktop — no matter what you use, WordPress will adapt and you’ll feel right at home.

High definition at high speed

WordPress is sharper than ever with new vector-based icons that scale to your screen. By ditching pixels, pages load significantly faster, too.

Admin color schemes to match your personality

WordPress just got a colorful new update. We’ve included eight new admin color schemes so you can pick the one that suits you best.

Color schemes can be previewed and changed from your Profile page.

Refined theme management

The new themes screen lets you survey your themes at a glance. Or want more information? Click to discover more. Then sit back and use your keyboard’s navigation arrows to flip through every theme you’ve got.

Smoother widget experience

Drag-drag-drag. Scroll-scroll-scroll. Widget management can be complicated. With the new design, we’ve worked to streamline the widgets screen.

Have a large monitor? Multiple widget areas stack side-by-side to use the available space. Using a tablet? Just tap a widget to add it.

Twenty Fourteen, a sleek new magazine theme

Turn your blog into a magazine

Create a beautiful magazine-style site with WordPress and Twenty Fourteen. Choose a grid or a slider to display featured content on your homepage. Customize your site with three widget areas or change your layout with two page templates.

With a striking design that does not compromise our trademark simplicity, Twenty Fourteen is our most intrepid default theme yet.

Beginning of a new era

This release was led by Matt Mullenweg. This is our second release using the new plugin-first development process, with a much shorter timeframe than in the past. We think it’s been going great. You can check out the features currently in production on the make/core blog.

There are 188 contributors with props in this release:

Aaron Holbrook, Aaron Jorbin, adamsilverstein, admiralthrawn, Alexander Hoereth, Allan Collins, Amy Hendrix (sabreuse), Andrew Nacin, Andrew Ozz, Andrey Kabakchiev, Andy Peatling, Ankit Gade, Anton Timmermans, Arkadiusz Rzadkowolski, Aubrey Portwood, bassgang, Ben Dunkle, Billy (bananastalktome), binarymoon, Brady Vercher, Brandon Kraft, Brian Richards, Bryan Petty, Calin Don, Carl Danley, Caroline Moore, Caspie, Chris Jean, Clinton Montague, cojennin, Corphi, Dan Bernardic, Daniel Dudzic, Daryl Koopersmith, datafeedr, Dave Martin, Dave Whitley, Dion Hulse, Dominik Schilling, Doug Wollison, Drew Jaynes, dziudek, Eric Andrew Lewis, Eric Mann, Erick Hitter, Evan Solomon, Faison, fboender, Frank Klein, Gary Jones, Gary Pendergast, Gennady Kovshenin, George Stephanis, gnarf37, Gregory Karpinsky, hanni, Helen Hou-Sandi, Ian Dunn, Ipstenu (Mika Epstein), Isaac Keyet, J.D. Grimes, Jack Lenox, janhenckens, Janneke Van Dorpe, janrenn, Jeff Bowen, Jeff Chandler, Jen Mylo, Jeremy Buller, Jeremy Felt, Jeremy Herve, Jeremy Pry, Jesper Johansen (jayjdk), jhned, jim912, Joan Artes, Joe Dolson, Joen Asmussen, John Blackbourn, John Fish, John James Jacoby, Jon Cave, Joost de Valk, Joshua Abenazer, Junko Nukaga, Justin de Vesine, Justin Sainton, K. Adam White, Kailey (trepmal), Kat Hagan, Kate Whitley, Kelly Dwan, Kim Parsell, Kirk Wight, Konstantin Dankov, Konstantin Kovshenin, Konstantin Obenland, Krzysiek Drozdz, Lance Willett, Lee Willis, lite3, Luc Princen, Lutz Schroer, Mako, Mark Jaquith, Mark McWilliams, Marko Heijnen, Matt Mullenweg, Matt Thomas, Matt Wiebe, Matthew Denton, Matthew Haines-Young, Matías Ventura, megane9988, Mel Choyce, micahwave, Michael Cain, Michael Erlewine, Michel - xiligroup dev, Michelle Langston, Mike Burns, Mike Hansen, Mike Little, Mike Schroder, Milan Dinic, Mohammad Jangda, Morgan Estes (morganestes), moto hachi, Naoko Takano, Neil Pie, Nick Daugherty, Nick Halsey, Nikolay Bachiyski, ninio, ninnypants, nivijah, nofearinc, Nowell VanHoesen, odyssey, OriginalEXE, Pascal Birchler, Paul de Wouters, pavelevap, Peter Westwood, Piet, Ptah Dunbar, Raam Dev, Rachel Carden, rachelbaker, Radices, Ram Ratan Maurya, Remkus de Vries, Rescuework Support, Ricky Lee Whittemore, Robert Dall, Robert Wetzlmayr, PHP-Programmierer, Rodrigo Primo, Ryan Boren, Samuel Wood, sanchothefat, sboisvert, Scott Basgaard, Scott Reilly, Scott Taylor, scribu, Sean Hayes, Sergey Biryukov, Shaun Andrews, Sheri Bigelow (designsimply), ShinichiN, Simon Wheatley, Siobhan, Siobhan Bamber (siobhyb), sirbrillig, solarissmoke, Stephen Edgar, Stephen Harris, Steven Word, Takashi Irie, Takayuki Miyauchi, Takuma Morikawa, Thomas Guillot, tierra, Till Krüss, TLA Media, TobiasBg, tommcfarlin, Torsten Landsiedel, Tracy Rotton, trishasalas, Tyler Smith, Ulrich, undergroundnetwork, Vladimir, Weston Ruter, Yoav Farhi, yonasy, Yuri Victor, and Zack Tollman. Also thanks to Ben Morrison and Christine Webb for help with the video.

Thanks for choosing WordPress. See you soon for version 3.9!

Release candidate 2 of WordPress 3.8 is now available for download. This is the last pre-release, and we expect it to be effectively identical to what’s officially released to the public on Thursday.

This means if you are a plugin or theme developer, start your engines! (If they’re not going already.) Lots of admin code has changed so it’s especially important to see if your plugin works well within the new admin design and layout, and update the “Tested up to:” part of your plugin readme.txt.

If there is something in your plugin that you’re unable to fix, or if you think you’ve found a bug, join us in #wordpress-dev in IRC, especially if you’re able to join during the dev chat on Wednesday, or post in the alpha/beta forum. The developers and designers who worked on this release are happy to help anyone update their code before the 3.8 release.

Happy hacking, everybody!

We’re entering the quiet but busy part of a release, whittling down issues to bring you all of the new features you’re excited about with the stability you expect from WordPress. There are just a few days from the “code freeze” for our 3.8 release, which includes a number of exciting enhancements, so the focus is on identifying any major issues and resolving them as soon as possible.

If you’ve ever wondered about how to contribute to WordPress, here’s a time you can: download this release candidate and use it in as many ways as you can imagine. Try to break it, and if you do, let us know how you did it so we can make sure it never happens again. If you work for a web host, this is the release you should test as much as possible and start getting your automatic upgrade systems and 1-click installers ready.

Download WordPress 3.8 RC1 (zip) or use the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (you’ll want “bleeding edge nightlies”).

If you think you’ve found a bug, you can post to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. Or, if you’re comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, file one on the WordPress Trac. There, you can also find a list of known bugs and everything we’ve fixed so far.

We’re so close to the
finish line, jump in and help
good karma is yours.

The first beta of the 3.8 is now available, and the next dates to watch out for are code freeze on December 5th and a final release on December 12th.

3.8 brings together several of the features as plugins projects and while this isn’t our first rodeo, expect this to be more beta than usual. The headline things to test out in this release are:

• The new admin design, especially the responsive aspect of it. Try it out on different devices and browsers, see how it goes, especially the more complex pages like widgets or seldom-looked-at-places like Press This. Color schemes, which you can change on your profile, have also been spruced up.
• The dashboard homepage has been refreshed, poke and prod it.
• Choosing themes under Appearance is completely different, try to break it however possible.
• There’s a new default theme, Twenty Fourteen.
• Over 250 issues closed already.

Given how many things in the admin have changed it’s extra super duper important to test as many plugins and themes with admin pages against the new stuff. Also if you’re a developer consider how you can make your admin interface fit the MP6 aesthetic better.

As always, if you think you’ve found a bug, you can post to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. Or, if you’re comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, file one on the WordPress Trac. There, you can also find a list of known bugs and everything we’ve fixed so far.

Download WordPress 3.8 Beta 1 (zip) or use the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (you’ll want “bleeding edge nightlies”).

Alphabet soup of
Plugins as features galore
The future is here