This post was written in collaboration with Lauren Stein (@laurlittle) and Anne McCarthy @annezazu).

Twenty Twenty-Three is here, alongside WordPress 6.1! The new default theme offers a clean, blank canvas bundled with a collection of style variations.

Style variations are predefined design options that give you the opportunity to alter the appearance of your site without having to change your theme. This means that you can keep your template structure but change the visual details of your site with ease.

For a truly diverse collection, Twenty Twenty-Three’s featured style variations were submitted by members of the WordPress community, resulting in 38 submissions from 19 people in 8 different countries. From those submissions, a curated collection of ten was chosen and bundled with the new theme.

This approach to style variations ushers in the next generation of block themes, able to harness the potential of the platform’s latest design capabilities and tools directly in the Site Editor. Since style variations don’t require any code experience, you’re encouraged to tweak and/or create your own.

Thank you to everyone who contributed.

Useful links:
Download Twenty Twenty-Three
Twenty Twenty-Three Documentation
Twenty Twenty-Three Project Kick Off
Twenty Twenty-Three Selected Style Variations

This RC3 release is the final opportunity for you to test and help to ensure the resilience of the 6.1 release by performing a final round of reviews and checks. Since the WordPress ecosystem is vast and composed of thousands of plugins and themes the entire project benefits from the time you take to assist.

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it is recommended that you test RC3 on a test server and site. 

You can test WordPress 6.1 RC3 in three ways:

Option 1: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).

Option 2: Direct download the RC3 version (zip).

Option 3: Use the WP-CLI command:

wp core update --version=6.1-RC3

Additional information on the 6.1 release cycle is available here.

Check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.1-related developer notes in the coming weeks detailing all upcoming changes.

What’s in WordPress 6.1 RC3?

Since Release Candidate 2, approximately 60 items have been addressed. 

• GitHub tickets
• Trac tickets 

WordPress 6.1 is the third major release for 2022, following 5.9 and 6.0, released in January and May of this year, respectively.

To learn more about the highlights for both end-users and developers, you’re invited to read more about them in the RC1 announcement post and review the WordPress 6.1 Field Guide.

Plugin and theme developers

All plugin and theme developers should test their respective extensions against WordPress 6.1 RC3 and update the “Tested up to” version in their readme file to 6.1. If you find compatibility problems, please post detailed information to the support forums, so these items can be investigated further prior to the final release date of November 1st.

Translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages. 

Keep WordPress bug-free – help with testing

Testing for issues is critical for stabilizing a release throughout its development. Testing is also a great way to contribute. This detailed guide is an excellent start if you have never tested a beta release.

Testing helps ensure that this and future releases of WordPress are as stable and issue-free as possible. Anyone can take part in testing – regardless of prior experience.

Want to know more about testing releases like this one? Read about the testing initiatives that happen in Make Core. You can also join a core-test channel on the Making WordPress Slack workspace.

If you have run into an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can file one on WordPress Trac. This is also where you can find a list of known bugs.

To review features in the Gutenberg releases since WordPress 6.0 (the most recent major release of WordPress), access the What’s New In Gutenberg posts for 14.1, 14.0, 13.9, 13.8, 13.7, 13.6, 13.5, 13.4, 13.3, 13.2, and 13.1.

RC3, A Penultimate Haiku

The time ticks forward
Release nears ever closer
Download and review

Props to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: Dan Soschin, Jonny Harris

The second release candidate (RC2) for WordPress 6.1 is now available!

“Release Candidate” means that this version of WordPress is ready for release and it is a key milestone in the 6.1 release cycle! Before the official release date, the community sets aside time to perform final reviews and help test. Since the WordPress ecosystem includes thousands of plugins and themes, it is important that everyone checks to see if anything has been missed along the way. That means the project would greatly benefit from your assistance.

WordPress 6.1 is planned for official release on November 1st, 2022, two weeks from today. 

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it is recommended that you test RC2 on a test server and site. 

You can test WordPress 6.1 RC2 in three ways:

Option 1: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).

Option 2: Direct download the RC2 version (zip).

Option 3: Use the WP-CLI command:

wp core update --version=6.1-RC2

Additional information on the 6.1 release cycle is available here.

Check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.1-related developer notes in the coming weeks detailing all upcoming changes.

What’s in WordPress 6.1 RC2?

Since Release Candidate 1, approximately 65 items have been addressed, bringing the total count to more than 2,000 updates since WordPress 6.0 in May of 2022. 

• GitHub tickets
• Trac tickets 

WordPress 6.1 is the third major release for 2022, following 5.9 and 6.0, released in January and May of this year, respectively.

To learn more about the highlights for both end-users and developers, you’re invited to read more about them in the RC1 announcement post and review the WordPress 6.1 Field Guide.

Plugin and theme developers

All plugin and theme developers should test their respective extensions against WordPress 6.1 RC2 and update the “Tested up to” version in their readme file to 6.1. If you find compatibility problems, please post detailed information to the support forums, so these items can be investigated further prior to the final release date of November 1st.

Translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages. 

Keep WordPress bug-free – help with testing

Testing for issues is critical for stabilizing a release throughout its development. Testing is also a great way to contribute. This detailed guide is an excellent start if you have never tested a beta release.

Testing helps ensure that this and future releases of WordPress are as stable and issue-free as possible. Anyone can take part in testing – regardless of prior experience.

Want to know more about testing releases like this one? Read about the testing initiatives that happen in Make Core. You can also join a core-test channel on the Making WordPress Slack workspace.

If you have run into an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can file one on WordPress Trac. This is also where you can find a list of known bugs.

To review features in the Gutenberg releases since WordPress 6.0 (the most recent major release of WordPress), access the What’s New In Gutenberg posts for 14.1, 14.0, 13.9, 13.8, 13.7, 13.6, 13.5, 13.4, 13.3, 13.2, and 13.1.

Haiku Fun for RC2

Two weeks from the launch 
Constant improvements we make 
Great outcomes await 

Update Oct 25 12:45 UTC: This post has been updated to remove the reference to Gutenberg versions 14.3 and 14.2 being included in the 6.1 release. They will be included in a future release.

This is an important milestone in the 6.1 release cycle. “Release Candidate” means that this version of WordPress is ready for release! Before the official release date, time is set aside for the community to perform final reviews and help test. Since the WordPress ecosystem includes thousands of plugins and themes, it is important that everyone checks to see if anything was missed along the way. That means the project would love your help.

WordPress 6.1 is planned for official release on November 1st, 2022, three weeks from today. 

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it is recommended that you test RC1 on a test server and site. 

You can test WordPress 6.1 RC1 in three ways:

Option 1: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).

Option 2: Direct download the RC1 version (zip).

Option 3: Use the following WP-CLI command:

wp core update --version=6.1-RC1

Additional information on the 6.1 release cycle is available here.

Check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.1-related developer notes in the coming weeks detailing all upcoming changes.

What’s in WordPress 6.1 RC1?

Since Beta 3, approximately 100 items have been addressed, bringing the total count to more than 2,000 updates since WordPress 6.0 in May of 2022. 

• GitHub tickets
• Trac tickets 

WordPress 6.1 is the third major release for 2022, following 5.9 and 6.0, released in January and May of this year, respectively.

WordPress 6.1 highlights for end-users

• Default theme powered by 10 unique style variations (learn more)
• More design tools in more blocks (learn more)
• Expanded and refined template experience and template options
• More intuitive document settings experience
• Improved quote and list blocks with inner block support
• More robust placeholders for various blocks
• New modal interfaces and preferences improvements
• Automatic navigation block selection with fallbacks and easier menu management
• Apply locking settings to all inner blocks in one click
• Improvements to the block theme discovery experience
• Accessibility updates, with more than 60 resolved tickets
• Performance updates, with more than 25 resolved tickets

WordPress 6.1 highlights for developers

• Opt into appearance tools to make any theme more powerful
• New iteration on the style system
• Add starter patterns to any post type (learn more)
• Evolution of layout options including a new constrained option and the ability to disable layout options
• Content lock patterns for more curation options
• Expanded support for query loop blocks
• Allow the use of block-based template parts in classic themes (give feedback)
• Filter theme.json data (learn more)
• Fluid typography allows for more responsiveness (give feedback)
• Ability to style elements inside blocks like buttons, headings, or captions in theme.json

Please note that all features listed in this post are subject to change before the final release.

Plugin and theme developers

All plugin and theme developers should test their respective extensions against WordPress 6.1 RC1 and update the “Tested up to” version in their readme file to 6.1. If you find compatibility problems, please post detailed information to the support forums, so these items can be investigated further prior to the final release date of November 1st.

Translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages. This release also marks the hard string freeze point of the 6.1 release cycle.

Keep WordPress bug-free – help with testing

Testing for issues is critical for stabilizing a release throughout its development. Testing is also a great way to contribute. This detailed guide is an excellent start if you have never tested a beta release.

Testing helps ensure that this and future releases of WordPress are as stable and issue-free as possible. Anyone can take part in testing – regardless of prior experience.

Want to know more about testing releases like this one? Read about the testing initiatives that happen in Make Core. You can also join a core-test channel on the Making WordPress Slack workspace.

If you have run into an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can file one on WordPress Trac. This is also where you can find a list of known bugs.

To review features in the Gutenberg releases since WordPress 6.0 (the most recent major release of WordPress), access the What’s New In Gutenberg posts for 14.1, 14.0, 13.9, 13.8, 13.7, 13.6, 13.5, 13.4, 13.3, 13.2, and 13.1.

Haiku Fun for RC1

Languages abound
Test today, releases soon
Freedom to publish

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @webcommsat

WordPress 6.1 Beta 3 is now available for download and testing.

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it is recommended that you test Beta 3 on a test server and site. 

You can test WordPress 6.1 Beta 3 in three ways:

Option 1: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).

Option 2: Direct download the Beta 3 version (zip).

Option 3: Use the following WP-CLI command:

wp core update --version=6.1-beta3

The current target for the final release is November 1, 2022, which is about four weeks away. 

Additional information on the 6.1 release cycle is available.

Check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.1-related developer notes in the coming weeks detailing all upcoming changes.

Keep WordPress bug-free – help with testing

Testing for issues is critical for stabilizing a release throughout its development. Testing is also a great way to contribute. This detailed guide is an excellent start if you have never tested a beta release before.

Testing helps ensure that this and future releases of WordPress are as stable and issue-free as possible. Anyone can take part in testing – especially great WordPress community members like you.

Want to know more about testing releases like this one? Read about the testing initiatives that happen in Make Core. You can also join a core-test channel on the Making WordPress Slack workspace.

If you have run into an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can file one on WordPress Trac. This is also where you can find a list of known bugs.

To review features in the Gutenberg releases since WordPress 6.0 (the most recent major release of WordPress), access the What’s New In Gutenberg posts for 14.1, 14.0, 13.9, 13.8, 13.7, 13.6, 13.5, 13.4, 13.3, 13.2, and 13.1.

This release contains more than 350 enhancements and 350 bug fixes for the editor, including more than 300 tickets for WordPress 6.1 core. More fixes are on the way in the remainder of the 6.1 release cycle.

Some highlights

Want to know what’s new in version 6.1? Read the initial Beta 1 announcement for some details, or check out the product walk-through recording.

What’s new in Beta 3

Nearly 100 issues have been resolved since Beta 2 was released last week.

• Github tickets
• Trac tickets (may include some overlap with Github)

A Beta 3 haiku for thee

Beta time done soon
Gather up your WordPress sites
RC then we ship

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it is recommended that you test Beta 2 on a test server and site. 

You can test WordPress 6.1 Beta 2 in three ways:

Option 1: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).

Option 2: Direct download the Beta 2 version (zip).

Option 3: Use the following WP-CLI command:

wp core update --version=6.1-beta2

The current target for the final release is November 1, 2022, which is about five weeks away. 

Additional information on the 6.1 release cycle is available.

Check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.1-related developer notes in the coming weeks detailing all upcoming changes.

Keep WordPress bug-free – help with testing

Testing for issues is critical for stabilizing a release throughout its development. Testing is also a great way to contribute. This detailed guide is an excellent start if you have never tested a beta release before.

Testing helps ensure that this and future releases of WordPress are as stable and issue-free as possible. Anyone can take part in testing – especially great WordPress community members like you.

Want to know more about testing releases like this one? Read about the testing initiatives that happen in Make Core. You can also join a core-test channel on the Making WordPress Slack workspace.

If you have run into an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can file one on WordPress Trac. This is also where you can find a list of known bugs.

To review features in the Gutenberg releases since WordPress 6.0 (the most recent major release of WordPress), access the What’s New In Gutenberg posts for 14.1, 14.0, 13.9, 13.8, 13.7, 13.6, 13.5, 13.4, 13.3, 13.2, and 13.1.

This release contains more than 350 enhancements and 350 bug fixes for the editor, including more than 300 tickets for WordPress 6.1 core. More fixes are on the way in the remainder of the 6.1 release cycle.

Some highlights

Want to know what’s new in version 6.1? Read the initial Beta 1 announcement for some details, or check out the product walk-through recording.

What’s new in Beta 2

Here are some updates since last week’s Beta 1 release:

• 24 issues addressed in GitHub

A haiku for Beta 2

WordPress six-point-one,
Please help test Beta 2 now.
Best release ever.

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @dansoschin, @robinwpdeveloper, @webcommsat, @jeffpaul, and @cbringmann.

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it is recommended that you test Beta 1 on a test server and site. 

You can test WordPress 6.1 Beta 1 in three ways:

Option 1: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).

Option 2: Direct download the Beta 1 version (zip).

Option 3: Use the following WP-CLI command:

wp core update --version=6.1-beta1

The current target for the final release is November 1, 2022, which is about six weeks away. 

Additional information on the 6.1 release cycle is available.

Check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.1-related developer notes in the coming weeks detailing all upcoming changes.

Keep WordPress bug-free – help with testing

Testing for issues is critical for stabilizing a release throughout its development. Testing is also a great way to contribute. If you have never tested a beta release before, this detailed guide is a great start.

Testing helps make sure that this and future releases of WordPress are as stable and issue-free as possible. Anyone can do it – especially great WordPress community members like you.

Want to know more about testing releases like this one? Read about the testing initiatives that happen in Make Core. You can also join a publicly-accessible channel on the Making WordPress Slack workspace.

If you think you have run into an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can file one on WordPress Trac. This is also where you can find a list of known bugs.

To review features in the Gutenberg releases since WordPress 6.0 (the most recent major release of WordPress), access the What’s New In Gutenberg posts for 14.1, 14.0, 13.9, 13.8, 13.7, 13.6, 13.5, 13.4, 13.3, 13.2, and 13.1.

This release contains more than 350 enhancements and 350 bug fixes for the editor, including more than 250 tickets for the WordPress 6.1 core.

Some highlights

Want to know what’s new in WordPress version 6.1? Read on for some highlights.

Features for end-users

• Default theme powered by 10 unique style variations (learn more)
• More design tools in more blocks (learn more)
• Expanded and refined template experience and template options
• More intuitive document settings experience
• Header and footer patterns for all themes
• Improved quote and list blocks with inner block support
• More robust placeholders for various blocks
• New modal interfaces and preferences improvements
• Automatic navigation block selection with fallbacks and easier menu management
• Apply locking settings to all inner blocks in one click
• Improvements to the block theme discovery experience
• Accessibility updates, with more than 60 resolved tickets
• Performance updates, with more than 25 resolved tickets

For developers

• Opt into appearance tools to make any theme more powerful
• New iteration on the style system
• Add starter patterns to any post type (learn more)
• Evolution of layout options including a new constrained option and the ability to disable layout options
• Content lock patterns for more curation options
• Expanded support for query loop blocks
• Allow the use of block-based template parts in classic themes (give feedback)
• Filter theme.json data (learn more)
• Fluid typography allows for more responsiveness (give feedback)
• Ability to style elements inside blocks like buttons, headings, or captions in theme.json

Please note that all features listed in this post are subject to change before the final release.

A Haiku for you

Twenty Twenty-Three
10 style variations
The new default theme

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @dansoschin, @annezazu, @cbringmann, @davidbaumwald, @priethor, and @jeffpaul.

You can view changes since the RC2 release via Gutenberg and Trac.

Installing RC3

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, and test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it is recommended that you install RC3 on a test server and site. 

You can test WordPress 6.0 RC3 in three ways:

Option 1: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).

Option 2: Direct download the release candidate (zip).

Option 3: When using WP-CLI to upgrade from Beta 1, 2, 3, 4, RC1, or RC2 on a case-insensitive filesystem, please use the following command:

wp core update --version=6.0-RC3

Plugin and Theme Developers

All plugin and theme developers are encouraged to complete testing of their respective extensions against WordPress 6.0 RC3 and update the “Tested up to” version in their readme file to 6.0 this week. If you find compatibility problems, please be sure to post detailed information to the support forums, so these items can be investigated further prior to the final release date of May 24.

Review the WordPress 6.0 Field Guide, for more details on this release.

Review additional information on the full 6.0 release cycle.

Check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.0-related developer notes in the coming weeks which will detail upcoming changes.

Translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages.

How to Help Test WordPress

Testing for issues is critical for stabilizing a release throughout its development. Testing is also a great way to contribute to WordPress. If you are new to testing, check out this detailed guide that will walk you through how to get started.

If you think you have run into an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can file one on WordPress Trac. This is also where you can find a list of known bugs.

RC3, An (Almost) Final Haiku

It’s near time for six
The reward is the journey
Just one week to go

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @dansoschin, @webcommsat. 

WordPress 6.0 is scheduled for release on May 24th, 2022 – just two weeks from today.

“Release Candidate” means that this version of WordPress is ready for release! Since the WordPress ecosystem includes thousands of plugins and themes, it is important that everyone within the WordPress community check to see if anything was missed along the way. That means the project would love your help.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed towards testing and logging issues to help make WordPress 6.0 stable (and awesome). WordPress still needs your help testing, especially theme and plugin developers.

Since the RC1 release on May 3rd, 2022, there have been approximately 40 issues resolved in Gutenberg and Trac.

Installing RC2

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, and test this version of WordPress on a production or mission-critical website. Instead, it is recommended that you RC2 on a test server and site. 

You can test WordPress 6.0 RC2 in three ways:

• Option 1: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).

• Option 2: Direct download the release candidate version here (zip).

• Option 3: When using WP-CLI to upgrade from Beta 1, 2, 3, 4, or RC1 on a case-insensitive filesystem, please use the following command:
  wp core update --version=6.0-RC2

Additional information on the full 6.0 release cycle is available here.

Check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.0-related developer notes in the coming weeks, which will detail all upcoming changes.

Plugin and Theme Developers

All plugin and theme developers should test their respective extensions against WordPress 6.0 RC2 and update the “Tested up to” version in their readme file to 6.0. If you find compatibility problems, please be sure to post detailed information to the support forums so that these items can be investigated further prior to the final release date of May 24th.

Review the WordPress 6.0 Field Guide for more details on this release.

Translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages.

How to Help Test WordPress

Testing for issues is critical for stabilizing a release throughout its development. Testing is also a great way to contribute to WordPress. If you are new to testing, check out this detailed guide that will walk you through how to get started.

If you think you have run into an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can file one on WordPress Trac. This is also where you can find a list of known bugs.

An RC2 Haiku for You

Anticipation
Sprinting toward G/A now
Please — test, translate — thanks!

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @dansoschin, @priethor.  

This is an important milestone on the 6.0 release cycle journey. “Release Candidate” means that this version of WordPress is ready for release! Before the official release date, time is set aside for the community to perform final reviews and help test. Since the WordPress ecosystem includes thousands of plugins and themes, it is important that everyone within the WordPress community check to see if anything was missed along the way. That means the project would love your help.

WordPress 6.0 is planned for official release on May 24th, 2022, three weeks from today. 

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, and test this version of WordPress on a production or mission-critical website. Instead, it is recommended that you RC1 on a test server and site. 

You can test WordPress 6.0 RC1 in three ways:

Option 1: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).

Option 2: Direct download the release candidate version here (zip).

Option 3: When using WP-CLI to upgrade from Beta 1, 2, 3, or 4, on a case-insensitive filesystem, please use the following command:
wp core update --version=6.0-RC1

Additional information on the full 6.0 release cycle is available here.

Check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.0-related developer notes in the coming weeks which will detail all upcoming changes.

What’s in WordPress 6.0 RC1?

Since Beta 4, various items have been addressed, including (but not limited to): 

• Backport updates of Comment blocks tests (#55643)
• Backport a bugfix of Comment Template block pagination (#55658)
• Editor: Backport bug fixes for WordPress 6.0 from Gutenberg (#55567)

WordPress 6.0 is the second major release for 2022, following 5.9 which became generally available in January. This release includes nearly 1,000 fixes and enhancements spanning most areas of the WordPress platform. Some key highlights within the content creation and site-building feature sets include:

• Style Switching: switch up the look and feel of your site, all in one block theme. No need to change themes!
• More template options: use blocks to edit five more templates (author, date, categories, tag, and taxonomy).
• Multi-select: Easily select text across multiple blocks. Edit to your liking.
• Retain Styles: Keep your custom styles in place, whether transforming between blocks or creating new buttons. 
• More patterns in more places: the Quick Inserter surfaces patterns that might work well for the condition you’re in, baking in relevant patterns for template parts and pages you’re working on. 
• List View improvements: New keyboard shortcuts (shift + click) let you select multiple blocks to modify in bulk (reposition, delete, etc.), see your content at a glance with a collapsed by default view, and more.
• Refined design tools: Explore a new color panel, transparency options, more group block variations to create new layout options (Stack, Row), the ability to set your featured image in a Cover block, control the exact size of your featured image, gap support for the Gallery block, and more.
• New blocks: Various Post Comments, Read More, No Results in Query Loop, Post Author Biography, Avatar blocks. 
• Block Locking: Choose to disable the option to remove a block, move it, or both, right in the editor. 
• Export block themes: Explore the improved block theme export tool, as WordPress heads closer to codeless visual block theme building.

Plugin and Theme Developers

All plugin and theme developers should test their respective extensions against WordPress 6.0 RC1 and update the “Tested up to” version in their readme file to 6.0. If you find compatibility problems, please be sure to post detailed information to the support forums, so these items can be investigated further prior to the final release date of May 24th.

Review the WordPress 6.0 Field Guide, for more details on what’s contained in this release.

Translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages. This release also marks the hard string freeze point of the 6.0 release cycle.

How to Help Test WordPress

Testing for issues is critical for stabilizing a release throughout its development. Testing is also a great way to contribute to WordPress. If you are new to testing, check out this detailed guide that will walk you through how to get started.

If you think you have run into an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can file one on WordPress Trac. This is also where you can find a list of known bugs.

Haiku Fun for RC 1

Release candidate 
Our journey nearly done
Get ready, WordPress

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @dansoschin, @webcommsat, and @annezazu.