Each WordPress release celebrates an artist who has made an indelible mark on the world of music. WordPress 6.9, code-named “Gene,” honors the American Jazz pianist Gene Harris.
A piano veteran, self taught at the age of six, Harris infused mainstream jazz with elements of soul, blues, and gospel, creating a warm, signature sound that is both elegant and iconic. Harris’ bluesy jazz lived at the intersection of worlds, weaving a rich landscape of texture and mood, with a thread of soulfulness that ignited listeners.
Welcome to WordPress 6.9
WordPress 6.9 brings major upgrades to how teams collaborate and create. The new Notes feature introduces block-level commenting when writing posts and pages that streamlines reviews, while the expanded Command Palette makes it faster for power users to navigate and operate across the entire dashboard. The new Abilities API provides a standardized, machine-readable permissions system that opens the door for next generation AI-powered and automated workflows. This release also delivers notable performance improvements for faster page loads and adds several practical new blocks alongside a more visual drag and drop to help creators build richer, more dynamic content.
Introducing Notes: Seamless, Block-Level Collaboration
Collaborate Smarter : Leave Feedback Right Where You’re Working
With notes attached directly to blocks in the post editor, your team can stay aligned, track changes, and turn feedback into action all in one place. Whether you’re working on copy or refining design in your posts or pages, collaboration happens seamlessly on the canvas itself.
Command Palette Throughout the Dashboard
Your tools are always at hand.
Access the Command Palette from any part of the dashboard, whether you’re writing your latest post, deep in design in the Site Editor, or browsing your plugins. Everything you need, just a few keystrokes away.
Fit text to container
Content that adapts.
There’s a new typography option for text-based blocks that’s been added to the Paragraph and Heading blocks. This new option automatically adjusts font size to fill its container perfectly, making it ideal for banners, callouts, and standout moments in your design.
The Abilities API
Unlocking the next generation of site interactions.
WordPress 6.9 lays the groundwork for the future of automation with the unified Abilities API. By creating a standardized registry for site functionality, developers can now register, validate, and execute actions consistently across any context—from PHP and REST endpoints to AI agents—paving the way for smarter, more connected WordPress experiences.
Accessibility Improvements
More than 30 accessibility fixes sharpen the core WordPress experience. These updates improve screen reader announcements, hide unnecessary CSS-generated content from assistive tech, fix cursor placement issues, and make sure typing focus stays put even when users click an autocomplete suggestion.
Performance enhancements
WordPress 6.9 delivers significant frontend performance enhancements, optimizing the site loading experience for visitors. 6.9 boasts an improved LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) through on-demand block styles for classic themes, minifying block theme styles, and increasing the limit for inline styles – removing blockages to page rendering and clearing the rendering path by deprioritizing non-critical scripts. This release comes with many more performance boosts, including optimized database queries, refined caching, improved spawning of WP Cron, and a new template enhancement output buffer that opens the door for more future optimizations.
And much more
For a comprehensive overview of all the new features and enhancements in WordPress 6.9, please visit the feature-showcase website.
Learn more about WordPress 6.9
Learn WordPress is a free resource for new and experienced WordPress users. Learn is stocked with how-to videos on using various features in WordPress, interactive workshops for exploring topics in-depth, and lesson plans for diving deep into specific areas of WordPress.
Read the WordPress 6.9 Release Notes for information on installation, enhancements, fixed issues, release contributors, learning resources, and the list of file changes.
Explore the WordPress 6.9 Field Guide. Learn about the changes in this release with detailed developer notes to help you build with WordPress.
The 6.9 release squad
Every release comes to you from a dedicated team of enthusiastic contributors who help keep things on track and moving smoothly. The team that has led 6.9 is a cross-functional group of contributors who are always ready to champion ideas, remove blockers, and resolve issues.
- Release Lead: Matt Mullenweg
- Release Coordination: Akshaya Rane, Amy Kamala
- Tech Leads: David Baumwald, Ella van Durpe, Héctor Prieto
- Design Lead: Francisco Vera
- Triage Leads: Aki Hamano, Ryan Welcher
- Test Leads: Jonathan Bossenger, Krupa Nanda
Thank you, contributors
The mission of WordPress is to democratize publishing and embody the freedoms that come with open source. A global and diverse community of people collaborating to strengthen the software supports this effort.
WordPress 6.9 reflects the tireless efforts and passion of more than 900+ contributors in countries all over the world. This release also welcomed over 279 first-time contributors!
Their collaboration delivered more than 340 enhancements and fixes, ensuring a stable release for all – a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress open source community.
2046 · Aakash Verma · Aaron Jorbin · Aaron Robertshaw · Aarti Chauhan · Aashish Sharma · aatospaja · Abdur Rahman Emon · Abu Hurayra · Adam Harley (Kawauso) · Adam Silverstein · Adam Zieliński · Aditya Bansode · Aditya Dhade · aditya shah · Aditya Singh · aduth · agulbra · Ahmed · ajaxStardust · Ajit Bohra · Akanshu Singh · Akeda Bagus · Aki Hamano · Akira Tachibana · Akramul Hasan · Akshat Kakkad · Akshay Dhere · Akshaya Rane · Albert Juhé Lluveras · alejandrogonzalvo · Alex Cuadra · Alex Lende · Alex Lion (阿力獅) · Alex Stine · Alexandre Buffet · Alexei Samarschi · Alexis Pandaan · alordiel · Alvaro Gómez · Amber Hinds · Amin · Aminul Islam · Aminul Islam Alvi · Amit Bhosale · Amy Kamala · Anatol Broder · Anders Norén · Andrea Fercia · Andrea Roenning · Andrei Draganescu · Andrew Hoyer · Andrew Nacin · Andrew Ozz · Andrew Serong · André Maneiro · Andy Fragen · Anita C · Ankit K Gupta · Ankit Kumar Shah · Ankit Panchal · Anne McCarthy · Anne-Mieke Bovelett · Anton Vlasenko · Antonio Sejas · Anuj Singh · Anveshika Srivastava · apmeyer · Ari Stathopoulos · Arkadiusz Rzadkowolski · Armando · Artemio Morales · Arthur Chu · Artur Piszek · ArtZ91 · asafm7 · asdofindia · Ashish Kumar (Ashfame) · Ashraful Haque Akash · askapache · Aslam Doctor · Aurooba Ahmed · aut0poietic · Axel DUCORON · Ayesh Karunaratne · Azhar Deraiya · Béryl de La Grandière · bartnv · bchecketts · Beee · Ben Dwyer · Benazeer · Benjamin Denis · Benjamin Zekavica · Benny · Benoit Chantre · Bernhard Kau · Bernhard Reiter · bernhard-reiter · bgermann · bhattaganesh · Bhavesh Desai · BiDbMAK · Bigul Malayi · Birgir Erlendsson (birgire) · Birgit Pauli-Haack · Bishal Shrestha · bobbyleenoblestudios · BogdanUngureanu · bonger · Boro Sitnikovski · Brad Griffin · brad hogan · Brad Jorsch · bradshawtm · Brandon Hubbard · Brandon Kraft · Brandon Zhang · Brennan Goewert · brhodes · Brian Alexander · Brian Coords · Brian Gardner · Brian Haas · brumack · Bryan Schneidewind · bshuchter · burnuser · byteninjaa0 · Cédric Chevillard · Callum Bridgford-Whittick · Calvin Alkan · Carlo Cannas · Carlos Bravo · Carlos G. P. · CarlSteffen · Carolina Nymark · Carolina Romo · Catalin Ciobanu · catgofire · cbirdsong · ccharel · Chad Butler · Chad Chadbourne · Chakrapani Gautam · Chi-Hsuan Huang · Chillifish · ChloeD · Chouby · Chris Zarate · chriscct7 · chrisdotdotdot · chrismattix · christinecooper · Christoph Daum · Christy Nyiri · cikrimcin · Ciprian Popescu · cjhaas · ckoerner · claimableperch · Code Amp · codebuddy · coleatkinson1 · Colin Stewart · ColinD · Cooper Dalrymple · Coralie Tixeront · Corey Salzano · Corey Worrell · Cornwell · Cory Hughart · Courtney Robertson · cucocreative · Cullen Whitmore · Cyrille37 · Daan van den Bergh · Dakota Chichester · damchtlv · Damir · Damon Cook · Dan Cameron · Dan Waldschmidt · Daniel Bachhuber · Daniel Iser · Daniel Richards · Daniele Scasciafratte · daniellacatus · danielmorell · Danny Schmarsel · dannyreaktiv · Darren Ethier (nerrad) · Darshit Rajyaguru · Dave Ryan · daveguitaruno · David Aguilera · David Arenas · David Artiss · David Baumwald · David Calhoun · David Herrera · David Levine · David Perez · David Riviera · David Smith · DavidB · dawidadach · Dean Sas · Debabrata Karfa · DEBARGHYA BANERJEE · Denis de Bernardy · Denis Žoljom · Dennis Ploetner · Dennis Snell · Dennys Dionigi · Densi Nakum · derekherman · Devasheesh Kaul · Dhananjay Kuber · Dhrumil Kumbhani · Dhruval Shah · Dhruvang21 · Dhruvik Malaviya · diebombe · Dilip Bheda · Dilip Modhavadiya · Dion Hulse · divinenephron · dj.cowan · Dominik Schilling · dominiquepijnenburg · donalirl · doughamlin · DougMelvin · drawcard · dretzlaff · Drew Jaynes · Drivingralle · dsawyers · dustintechsmith · eclev91 · eduwass · Ehti · elialum · Eliezer Peña · Ella van Durpe · Elvis Morales · emaildano · Emerson Maningo · Emilie LEBRUN · Emran Ahmed · Enaan Farhan · Enrico Battocchi · Enrique Sánchez · epeicher · Eric · Eric Andrew Lewis · Erick Hitter · Erik · Erik Joling · Eshaan Dabasiya · ethanscorey · Evan Mullins · Even Tobiesen · Fabian Kägy · Fabian Todt · Faisal Ahammad · Faisal Alvi · fakhriaz · Falguni Desai · Felix Arntz · Felix Renicks · Fellyph Cintra · Florian TIAR · Francisco Vera · FrogDesk Strategy · Fumiki Takahashi · Gael Denysiak · Gajendra Singh · Gan Eng Chin · Garrett Hyder · Gary Jones · Gary Pendergast · Gaurang Dabhi · Gautam Mehta · Gennady Kovshenin · George Mamadashvili · George Stephanis · Georgi Stoyanov · gernberg · giuliorubelli · Glen Davies · Gopal Krishnan · Grant M. Kinney · Greg Ziółkowski · Guido · Guido Scialfa · Guillaume TURPIN · Gulamdastgir Momin · H. Adam Lenz · H. Kabir · hanimbarek · hanneslsm · Hans-Gerd Gerhards · Hardik Raval · Hareesh S · Harsh Gajipara · Harshal Kadu · harshbhonsle08 · harshdeepgill · Harun · Helen Hou-Sandi · HelgaTheViking · Hidenori ISHIKAWA · Hilay Trivedi · Himani Panchal · Himanshu Pathak · Hiroshi Sato · Hit Bhalodia · Hitendra Chopda · Hitesh Talpada · Hozefa Saleh · Hrohh · hugod · hugosolar · humanify · huubl · Huzaifa Al Mesbah · Héctor Prieto · Ian Dunn · ignatiusjeroe · Igor Radovanov · ikriv · imokweb · Imran · Indira Biswas · Ipstenu (Mika Epstein) · Iqbal Hossain · Isabel Brison · Ishika Bansal · Ivan Ottinger · Jabe · Jacob Cassidy · Jagir Bahesh · Jaimin Prajapati · Jakaria Istauk · Jake Spurlock · jakeparis · James Koster · James LePage · James Monroe · James Sansbury · James Titus · Jamie · Jamie Burchell · Jamie Marsland · janthiel · Jarda Snajdr · jarekmorawski · Jarkko Saltiola · Jason Adams · Jason LeMahieu (MadtownLems) · Jason Sauerwald · Javier Casares · Jay McPartland · Jayaram · Jaydip · Jean-Baptiste Audras · Jeff Chi · Jeff Matson · Jeff Ong · Jeff Paul · Jeffrey de Wit · Jeffro · jeflopo · Jenny Dupuy · Jeremiah Bratton · Jeremy Felt · Jeremy Massel · Jeroen Schmit · jeryj · Jesin A · jessedyck · Jessica Lyschik · Jigar Bhanushali · Jigar Panchal · jikamens · jnweaver · Joan Namunina · JoAnne Obata · JochenT · jodamo5 · Joe Dolson · Joe Hoyle · Joe McGill · Joen Asmussen · Johannes Jülg · John Blackbourn · John Brand · John Godley · John James Jacoby · John Parris · John Regan · JohnVieth · Jon Surrell · Jonathan Bossenger · Jonathan Champ · Jonathan Desrosiers · Joni Erkkilä · Jonny Harris · Jono Alderson · jordesign · Jorge Costa · Jos Velasco · Joseph Scott · Josh Habdas · Joshua Goode · jrmd · Juan Aldasoro · Juan Cook · JuanMa Garrido · juliengardair · Juliette Reinders Folmer · Justin Ahinon · Justin Tadlock · Jyotirmoy Roy · K. Adam White · Kai Hao · Kailey (trepmal) · Kaito Hanamori · Kakoma · Kalpesh · Karin Christen · Karol Manijak · Karthick Murugan · Karthikeya Bethu · Kaspars · Kat Hagan · Kateryna K. a11n · Kathryn Presner · Katrina Massey · Kausar Alam · Kaushik Domadiya · Kawshar Ahmed · kaygee79 · Kazuto Takeshita · Kelly Choyce-Dwan · Kelly Hoffman · Kelly Mears · Kerfred · Kerry Liu · kesselb · Kevin Leary · kgagne · Khoi Pro · Khushi Patel · killerbishop · Kingsley Felix · Kira Schroder · Kishan Jasani · kitchin · Kjell Reigstad · kkmuffme · Kleor · Knut Sparhell · Konstantin Obenland · Konstantinos Xenos · kpapazov · kprocyszyn · krishaamer · Krunal Bhimajiyani · Krupa Nanda · kshaner · kub1x · kubiq · kunalpuri123 · Kush Sharma · Kushagra Goyal · Lachezar Gadzhev · lakrisgubben · Lakshyajeet Singh Goyal · Lalit Kumawat · Lance Willett · Laura Byrne · Lauri Saarni · ldanielgiuliani · Lee Willis · leedxw · leemon · Lena Morita · Leonidas Milosis · Levin Baria · lgseo · LilGames · liviopv · logiclink · LogicRays Technologies · lordandy1984 · Lovro Hrust · Lucas Martins · Luigi Teschio · luisherranz · LukasFritzeDev · Lukasz · Luke Cavanagh · maccyd · Madhavi Shah · Madhu Dollu · Maggie Cabrera · Maikuolan · manfcarlo · manhatthien98 · Manuel Camargo · Manzoor Wani · maorb · Marc · Marc Armengou · Marcio Duarte · Marco Ciampini · Marcus · Marcus Kazmierczak · marian1 · Marie · Marin Atanasov · Mario Santos · mariohamann · mariushosting · Marty · MartyThornley · Mary Baum · Mary Hubbard · Mat Lipe · mathiscode · Matias Benedetto · Matias Ventura · Matt Mullenweg · Matt Robinson · Matt West · Matteo Enna · Matthias Pfefferle · mattryanwalker · Max Schmeling · Maxime Pertici · Mayank Tripathi · Mayur Prajapati · Md Abdullah Al Arif · Md Abdullah Al Fahad · Md Abul Bashar · MD ISMAIL · MD Kawsar Chowdhury · Md Masum Molla Alhaz · Md Obidullah (obiPlabon) · Md Rashed Hossain · Md Sabbir Hossain · Md. Najmul Islam · Md.Mehedi Hasan · mdmoreau · mdviralsampat · Meet Makadia · megane9988 · Meher Bala · Mel Choyce-Dwan · Micha Krapp · Michael Burridge · Michael Keck · Michael Nelson · Michael Sumner · michaelreetz · Michal Czaplinski · Michelle Schulp Hunt · Miguel Fonseca · Miguel Lezama · Mikael Korpela · Mike · Mike Fitzpatrick · Mike Hansen · Mike Jolley · Mike McAlister · Mike Ritter · Mikin Chauhan · Milan Ricoul · Minal Diwan · Miroku · missveronica · Mitchell Austin · mkeck · mlaetitia1986 · mleray · mleraygp · Mobarak Ali · Mohammad Rockeybul Alam · Mohammed Kateregga · Moses Cursor Ssebunya · mrwweb · mtg169 · mujuonly · Mukesh Panchal · Mukul Singh · Mumtahina Faguni · Núria Nadal i Rovira · n8finch · Naman Vyas · NANI SAMIREDDY · Narendra Sishodiya · Naresh Bheda · Nasim Miah · Naveen Dwivedi · Navneet Kaur · Nazar Hotsa · Nazmul Hosen · Ned Zimmerman · nexbridge · Nextendweb · Neycho Kalaydzhiev · Nick · Nick · Nick Diego · Nick Halsey · nickbrazilian · nickjbedford · nickpagz · nickwilmot · Nico · nidhidhandhukiya · Niels Lange · nigelnelles · Nik Tsekouras · Nikan Radan · Nikunj Hatkar · Nimesh · Nino Mihovilic · Ninos · Noah Allen · Noel Santos · Noruzzaman · nosilver4u · oceantober · oferlaor · okat · Okawa Yasuno · Olga Gleckler · Oliver Campion · Omar Alshaker · Ophelia Rose · Optimizing Matters · owi · Paal Joachim Romdahl · Pablo Honey · Palak Patel · Paragon Initiative Enterprises · Parin Panjari · Parth vataliya · Partho Hore · Pascal Birchler · Patel Jaymin · Patricia BT · Patrick Lumumba · Patrick Piwowarczyk · Paul · Paul Bearne · Paul Biron · Paul Bonneau · Paul Kevan · Paulo Trentin · paulstanos · pcarvalho · Pedro Figueroa · Per Egil Roksvaag · Peter Ingersoll · Peter Westwood · Peter Wilson · petitphp · Philip John · Philip Sola · Philipp Bammes · Phill · piskvorky · Pooja Bhimani · poojapadamad · porg · prab18hat · Praful Patel · Pranjal Pratap Singh · Prasad Karmalkar · prasadgupte · Prashant Baldha · Pratik Londhe · Presskopp · prettyboymp · puggan · quentinr64600 · Rachel Baker · Rafiqul Islam · Raluca · Ramanan · Rami Yushuvaev · Ramon Ahnert · Ramon Corrales · Ramon James · Ravi Chudasama · Ravi Gadhiya · rcrdortiz · Rehan Ali · Rejaul Alom Khan · Remy Perona · Renato Alves · renishsurani · retrofox · Rezwan Shiblu · Riad Benguella · riadev · Rich Tabor · Richard Korthuis · Riddhi Dave · Rinat · Rinkal Pagdar · Rishabh Gupta · Rishav Dutta · Rishit Gupta · Risto Jovanovic · Ritoban · Robert Anderson · Robert Chapin · Robert Ghetau · Robert O'Rourke · Robmcclel · Rodrigo Primo · roelof · Rolly Bueno · Ronak prajapati · room34 · Rostislav Wolný · Rotem Gelbart · Rufaro Madamombe · Rutvik Bhambhi · Ryan McCue · Ryan Welcher · S Page · Sören Wünsch · Sabbir Ahmed · Sabbir Sam · SACHINRAJ CP · Sahil Jadhav · Sainath Poojary · Sajjad Hossain Sagor · sakibmoon · Sam · sam_a · Samir Malpande · Sampat Viral · Samuel Paget · Samuel Wood (Otto) · Sandeep Dahiya · Sandip Sinh · Sandy McFadden · Sarah Norris · sarah semark · Sarthak Nagoshe · Satish Prajapati · saurabh.dhariwal · Saxon Fletcher · scholdstrom · Scott Buscemi · Scott Kingsley Clark · Scott Taylor · scribu · Sebastian Pisula · Seif Radwane · Sergey Biryukov · Seth Rubenstein · SH Sajal Chowdhury · Shadi G شادي جـ · Shail Mehta · Shalin Shah · Shane Muirhead · Shashank Jain · Shashank Shekhar · Shazzad Hossain Khan · Sheri Grey · Shipon Karmakar · Shreya Shrivastava · Shubham Patil · Shyamsundar Gadde · sidharthpandita · siliconforks · Silpa TA · simonefontana · Slava Abakumov · smerriman · Sneha Patil · Sophie Dimitrov · Sourabh Jain · Sourav Pahwa · Soyeb Salar · Spenser Hale · spstrap · Sridhar Katakam · stankea · Stanko Metodiev · staurand · Stefan Pasch · Stefan Velthuys · Stephen Bernhardt · Stephen Harris · Steve Dufresne · strarsis · Subrata Sarkar · Sudip Dadhaniya · Sujan Sarkar · Sukhendu Sekhar Guria · Sumit Bagthariya · SunilPrajapati · sunnykasera · sunyatasattva (a11n) · supernovia · SuzuKube · svedish · Svetoslav Marinov · Sybre Waaijer · syhussaini · T4ng · Taco Verdonschot · Takashi Irie · Takuro · Tammie Lister · tatof · tecnogaming · Tetsuro Higuchi · tharsheblows · thelmachido a11n · ThemeAWESOME · theMikeD · Thomas Kräftner · Thorsten Frommen · Till Krüss · Tim Havinga · Tim Sheehan · Timo Tijhof · Timothée Brosille · Timothée Moulin · Timothy Jacobs · TJarrett · Tobias Bäthge · Tobias Zimpel · tobifjellner (Tor-Bjorn “Tobi” Fjellner) · Tom de Visser · Tom J Nowell · Tomoki Shimomura · Toni Viemerö · Tonya Mork · Toro_Unit (Hiroshi Urabe) · Torsten Landsiedel · Travis Smith · traxus · Trevor Mills · tristanleboss · Troy Chaplin · Trupti Kanzariya · tsteel · Tung Du · Tushar Bharti · Tushar Patel · Tussendoor B.V. · Ugyen Dorji · Umesh Nevase · Umesh Singh · Unsal Korkmaz · upadalavipul · Utsav Ladani · Utsav tilava · Valentin Grenier · Vape tsimshatsui · vbbp · Vedansh Mishra · Vegard S. · vgnavada · Vicente Canales · vidugupta · Vijendra Jat · Viktor Szépe · Vinit · Vipul Ghori · Vipul Gupta · Vipul Patil · Vishit Shah · vladimiraus · vortfu · Vrishabh Jasani · Walter Ebert · WebMan Design | Oliver Juhas · websupporter · webwrotter · Weston Ruter · whaze · widhy980 · Will Skora · wplmillet · xate · xavilc · xerpa43 · xipasduarte · Yagnik Sangani · Yash · Yash B · Yash Jawale · Yogesh Bhutkar · YogieAnamCara · Yui · Zebulan Stanphill · Zeel Thakkar · Zunaid Amin · Łukasz Strączyński · 耗子
More than 71 locales have fully translated WordPress 6.9 into their language. Community translators are working hard to ensure more translations are on their way. Thank you to everyone who helps make WordPress available in 200+ languages.
Last but not least, thanks to the volunteers who contribute to the support forums by answering questions from WordPress users worldwide.
Get involved
Participation in WordPress goes far beyond coding. And learning more and getting involved is easy. Discover the teams that come together to Make WordPress and use this interactive tool to help you decide which is right for you.