WordPress 5.9 Beta 3

WordPress 5.9 Beta 3 is now available for testing!

This software version is still under development. Please do not run this software on a production site; install it on a test site, where you can try out the newest features and get a feel for how they will work on your site.

You can test the WordPress 5.9 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 version .

Option 3: If you use WP-CLI to upgrade from Beta 1 or Beta 2 to Beta 3 on a case-insensitive filesystem, please use the following command sequence:

Command One:

wp core update --version=5.9-beta2

Command Two:

wp core update --version=5.9-beta3 --force

The current target for the final release of 5.9 is January 25, 2022, which gets closer every minute. Your help testing this beta is vital: the more testing that happens, the more stable the release, and the better the experience for users and developers—and the entire WordPress community.

Some Highlights

Since Beta 2 , 14 bugs have been fixed. Here are a few of the changes you will find in Beta 3:

• Editor: Add FSE infrastructure from Gutenberg plugin into Core ( #54335 ).
• Formatting: Allow PDFs to embedded as objects ( #54261 )
• Language switcher on the login screen ( #43700 )
• REST API: Add navigation areas REST API endpoint from Gutenberg plugin ( #54393 )
• Themes: Live Preview button bug ( #54578 )

How You Can Help

Do some testing!

Testing for bugs is vital for polishing the release in the beta stage and a great way to contribute.

If you think you've found a bug, please post to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If you're comfortable writing a reproducible bug report , file one on WordPress Trac . That's also where you can find a list of known bugs .

For even more ways to test, you can also refer to this official Full Site Editing post from @annezazu .

Got questions? Here are some answers

In the coming weeks, follow the Make WordPress Core blog for 5.9-related developer notes that cover these items in detail. So far, contributors have fixed 316 tickets in WordPress 5.9 , including 100 new features and enhancements . More bug fixes are on the way with your help through testing.

Props to @psykro , @estelaris , @hellofromtonya , @marybaum , @webcommsat , @cbringmann , @ costdev , and @audrasjb for contributions to this post.

Filed under #release, #5.9, #beta