--- title: WordPress 7.1: What's actually changing for editors and... description: WordPress 7.1, scheduled for August 19, 2026, brings notable changes for both editors and developers. The headline technical feature is client-side media... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/wordpress-7-1-what-s-actually-changing-for-editors-and-developers-koahkf6io twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: WordPress 7.1: What's actually changing for editors and developers | daily.dev og:description: WordPress 7.1, scheduled for August 19, 2026, brings notable changes for both editors and developers. The headline technical feature is client-side media... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/wordpress-7-1-what-s-actually-changing-for-editors-and-developers-koahkf6io og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/kOahkF6iO.png og:image:alt: WordPress 7.1: What's actually changing for editors and developers og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # WordPress 7.1: What's actually changing for editors and developers **[Collections](https://daily.dev/sources/collections)** · 5 min read · 3 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary WordPress 7.1, scheduled for August 19, 2026, brings notable changes for both editors and developers. The headline technical feature is client-side media processing using WebAssembly (wasm-vips/libvips), moving image compression, resizing, format conversion, and thumbnail generation from the server to the browser — enabled by default in Chromium 137+ with automatic server-side fallback. This yields ~15% smaller JPEGs, eliminates PHP memory limit failures on large uploads, and adds HEIC/AVIF support. Editor improvements include an upgraded Notes system with @mentions and inline annotations, responsive block styling without CSS, interactive state styling for hover/focus, and two new blocks (Tabs and Playlist). A new `background.gradient` block support allows gradients and background images to coexist on the same block. Component changes include the finalization of the 40px default height, deprecation of the `size` prop on several controls, a migration from Emotion to SCSS modules, and removal of the deprecated `Navigation` component. The post editor now requires an iframe, and a new public Icons API and design token support are included. Real-time collaborative editing and Unicode email support did not make this release. ## Content WordPress 7.1 is scheduled for release on August 19, 2026, coinciding with WordCamp US. Here's a rundown of what's coming, from user-facing features to developer APIs. ## User-facing features ### Notes and collaboration The Notes system gets a significant upgrade: @mentions, inline annotations, and support for multiple threads. Real-time collaborative editing didn't make the cut for this release. ### Responsive and interactive styling Editors can now control block appearance on tablets and phones without writing CSS. There's also interactive state styling for hover and focus on buttons. ### New blocks Two new blocks arrive in 7.1: Tabs and Playlist. ### Image editor and uploads The image editor modal has been redesigned. More on the underlying upload changes in the developer section below. ### Admin toolbar improvements Some cleanup to the admin toolbar, though specifics are minor. --- ## Client-side media processing This is one of the bigger under-the-hood changes. WordPress 7.1 moves image compression, resizing, format conversion, thumbnail generation, and EXIF rotation from the server to the browser using WebAssembly (via wasm-vips/libvips). It's enabled by default in Chromium 137+ and falls back to server-side processing in Firefox and Safari. Practical benefits: - JPEGs come out roughly 15% smaller (MozJPEG-style encoding) - No more PHP memory limit failures on large uploads - HEIC and AVIF support regardless of server capabilities - Animated GIF-to-video conversion - Resumable uploads with retry logic - Reduced server load Existing PHP filters (`big_image_size_threshold`, `image_editor_output_format`, `wp_editor_set_quality`) are honored client-side. The `wp_generate_attachment_metadata` hook still fires as before. Plugin developers should verify their hooks handle both `create` and `update` context passes, check cross-origin isolation compatibility, and test with custom image sizes, HEIC, AVIF, HDR, and animated GIF uploads. --- ## Design system theming WordPress 7.1 adds foundational design system theming support for wp-admin. A new `wp-theme` stylesheet exposes semantic design tokens as CSS custom properties covering color, typography, spacing, and more. A companion `ThemeProvider` React component (in the `wp-theme` script handle) lets plugin authors wrap UI sections to override default token values. It generates accessible color ramps from seed colors and supports customization of corner radius, cursor style, and root-level theming. The goal is to let plugins express brand identity while staying visually consistent with the WordPress admin. --- ## Block support: background.gradient A new `background.gradient` block support stores gradient values at `style.background.gradient` and renders them via the `background-image` CSS longhand property rather than the `background` shorthand. The key distinction: gradients and background images can now coexist on the same block, output as comma-separated values in a single `background-image` declaration. The `safecss_filter_attr()` function is updated to allow combined gradient + `url()` values. Existing blocks using `color.gradient` are unaffected. This also lays groundwork for a future migration of gradient handling from `color.gradient` to `background.gradient`. --- ## Site Editor screen filters Four new PHP filters let developers configure Site Editor screens for Pages, Templates, Parts, and Patterns: - Customize DataViews and DataForm components - Set default view settings and available layouts - Configure preconfigured sidebar views - Adjust Quick Edit form fields The API is designed to expand over time toward a single unified configuration point for entities across screens and components. --- ## Abilities API improvements ### New filters and actions Several new hooks give plugins more control over the Abilities API execution lifecycle: - `wp_pre_execute_ability` - short-circuit the full pipeline before validation or permission checks - `wp_ability_normalize_input` - transform normalized input before schema validation - `wp_ability_permission_result` - modify or override permission check results - `wp_ability_execute_result` - transform or recover results before output validation - `wp_ability_validate_input` and `wp_ability_validate_output` - add custom validation logic beyond JSON Schema - `wp_ability_invoked` action - fires at the start of every ability execution, useful for auditing, telemetry, and tracing These complement the existing `wp_before_execute_ability` and `wp_after_execute_ability` actions, which could only observe execution. ### core/get-user-info updates The `core/get-user-info` ability now returns five additional profile fields and supports a `fields` input parameter for selective responses. ### Schema consistency Core abilities (`get-site-info`, `get-user-info`, `get-environment-info`) now share consistent schema conventions with translatable titles and descriptions. ### Automatic type coercion REST requests using GET or DELETE now automatically coerce query string values to the types declared in the ability's input schema, eliminating manual casting in callbacks. A new `WP_Filter_Sentinel` class is used internally to distinguish an unchanged default from any user-supplied value. All changes are backward-compatible. --- ## JSON Schema preparation for client compatibility A new `wp_prepare_json_schema_for_client()` function converts internal WordPress schemas into portable JSON Schema Draft 4 representations before exposing them to REST clients, JavaScript applications, and AI tools. It strips PHP-specific keywords like `sanitize_callback` and `validate_callback`, normalizes the `required` property syntax to Draft 4 conventions, and fixes empty object defaults for correct JSON serialization. Two built-in profiles are available: `draft-04` (default, broader keyword set) and `rest-api` (narrower, matching REST route conventions). Core applies this automatically to Abilities API REST responses and AI Client function declarations. Plugin developers only need to call it manually when exposing WordPress-style schemas through custom REST endpoints, JavaScript config objects, MCP tool declarations, or AI function declarations. --- ## Editor component changes ### 40px default height finalized The 40px default height for `@wordpress/components` form controls is now the standard. The `__next40pxDefaultSize` prop is a no-op and can be safely removed from your code. ### Deprecated props The `size` prop is deprecated on `BorderBoxControl`, `BorderControl`, `FontSizePicker`, and `ToggleGroupControl`. ### Emotion to SCSS migration A migration from Emotion-based styles to SCSS modules has begun, affecting `View`, `Flex`, `Divider`, `Surface`, `Truncate`, and `Spacer` components. If you're using Emotion's `css` prop or `cx()` with separate fragments on these components, you'll need to update your code. ### Removals The deprecated `Navigation` component and `__experimentalApplyValueToSides` utility are fully removed in 7.1. --- ## jQuery UI updated to 1.14.2 WordPress 7.1 updates jQuery UI from 1.13.3 to 1.14.2. This version drops support for all versions of Internet Explorer and Edge Legacy. --- ## Other developer notes - The post editor iframe is now mandatory - A public Icons API is available - Unicode email support did not make this release ## Questions this post answers ### What changes in WordPress 7.1 for how image uploads are processed? WordPress 7.1 moves image compression, resizing, format conversion, thumbnail generation, and EXIF rotation from server-side PHP to the browser using WebAssembly via wasm-vips/libvips. It's enabled by default in Chromium 137+ and falls back to server-side processing in Firefox and Safari. Benefits include roughly 15% smaller JPEGs, no more PHP memory limit failures, HEIC/AVIF support regardless of server capabilities, and resumable uploads. _Teams planning WordPress upgrades can track release breakdowns like this one on daily.dev._ ### Is the __next40pxDefaultSize prop still needed in WordPress 7.1's @wordpress/components? No, the 40px default height for @wordpress/components form controls is now the standard as of WordPress 7.1, making the __next40pxDefaultSize prop a no-op. It can be safely removed from existing code. Separately, the size prop is deprecated on BorderBoxControl, BorderControl, FontSizePicker, and ToggleGroupControl in this release. _Plugin developers cleaning up component code follow changes like this via daily.dev._ ### What version of jQuery UI does WordPress 7.1 ship with and what does it drop support for? WordPress 7.1 updates jQuery UI from 1.13.3 to 1.14.2. This version drops support for all versions of Internet Explorer and Edge Legacy, which plugin and theme authors relying on older browser compatibility should account for before upgrading. _Developers auditing browser support before a WordPress upgrade can follow such changes on daily.dev._ --- Tags: [#css](https://daily.dev/tags/css), [#php](https://daily.dev/tags/php), [#wordpress](https://daily.dev/tags/wordpress), [#webassembly](https://daily.dev/tags/webassembly) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/wordpress-7-1-what-s-actually-changing-for-editors-and-developers-koahkf6io) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"WordPress 7.1: What's actually changing for editors and developers","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/wordpress-7-1-what-s-actually-changing-for-editors-and-developers-koahkf6io","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/wordpress-7-1-what-s-actually-changing-for-editors-and-developers-koahkf6io"},"datePublished":"2026-07-27T10:17:35.654Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T19:40:38.333Z","description":"WordPress 7.1, scheduled for August 19, 2026, brings notable changes for both editors and developers. 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