Getting involved with WordPress testing is a great way to contribute and also a chance to learn.
Trying to reproduce bugs and testing patches exposes you to real bugs, edge cases, and development decisions that sharpen your skills and deepen your understanding of how WordPress is built.
And regardless of your experience level or how much time you have, there is always a ticket to pick up.
What Would You Like to Test?
Testing in the WordPress project covers several areas. Choose the section that matches your interests:
- WordPress Core – Patches, tickets, and automated test suites for WordPress coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress..
- Gutenberg / Block Editor – Features and releases from the GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party..
- Calls for Testing – Curated, focused testing tasks published by the Test Team.
Test WordPress Core
WordPress core development happens in the wordpress-develop repository. Core tickets live on Trac. The guides below will walk you through setting up and contributing to core testing.
Step 1 – Set Up a Testing Environment
Before testing core tickets, you need an environment where you can apply patches. There are two approaches:
| Option | Best For |
|---|---|
| WordPress Playground (browser-based) | Quick visual verification of a PR; no local installLocal Install A local install of WordPress is a way to create a staging environment by installing a LAMP or LEMP stack on your local computer. needed |
| Local development environment (Docker-based) | Running automated tests, applying .patch and .diff files, complex testing |
👉 Set Up a Testing Environment
Step 2 – Apply and Test a Patch
Once your environment is ready, pick a ticket to test:
- Test Core Tickets with Playground – Use this for tickets linked to a GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged by the repository owner. https://github.com/ Pull Request (PR). No local setup required. (Note:
.patchand.difffiles from TracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.https://core.trac.wordpress.org/. are not supported in Playground.) - Test Core Tickets with Grunt – Use this to apply
.patchand.difffiles from Trac, or patches from GitHub Pull Requests, to your local environment.
Step 3 – Run Automated Tests
After applying a patch, running the automated test suites helps catch regressions before code is merged. Ensure you have completed Steps 1 and 2 above — automated tests require a local environment with a patch already applied.
👉 Run Automated Tests
Finding Tickets to Test
A great place to start is the Needs Patch Testing queue on Core Trac. These are tickets with patches that need a fresh set of eyes.
Test Gutenberg
The Gutenberg plugin ships blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. editor features before they land in WordPress core. You can test pre-release versions of Gutenberg in a few ways:
Install Gutenberg as a Plugin
Use this option to test the latest betaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. or release candidateRelease Candidate A beta version of software with the potential to be a final product, which is ready to release unless significant bugs emerge. of Gutenberg on an existing site:
- Go to https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/releases.
- Download the latest
gutenberg.zipfile. - Go to WP Admin Plugins Add New Upload Plugin.
- Select the file and follow the prompts to install and activate.
Run Gutenberg Locally
Use this option if you want to test pull requests or work with the bleeding-edge development version:
- Make sure you have git, Node.js (v20+), and npm (v10+) installed.
- Install Docker Desktop.
- Fork and clone the gutenberg repository locally.
- Run
npm installto install dependencies. - Run
npm run devto build Gutenberg in development mode (continuous rebuild on file changes). - Make sure Docker is running, then start the local WordPress environment:
npm run wp-env start. - Open http://localhost:8888 in your browser (username:
admin, password:password).
The Gutenberg plugin will be installed and activated automatically in the local environment.
Resources:
- Getting Started with Code Contribution – Block Editor Handbook
- Testing Overview – Block Editor Handbook
Calls for Testing
The WordPress Test Team regularly publishes Calls for Testing — focused tasks that guide testers through specific features or bug fixes. These posts include step-by-step instructions and are a great starting point for new contributors.
👉 View all Calls for Testing
Recent examples include:
- It’s time to test real-time collaboration! (March 2026)
- Call for Testing – Pattern editing and content-only interactivity in WordPress 7.0 (February 2026)
- Help Test WordPress 7.0 (February 2026)
Get Involved
- Join the conversation: Testing discussions happen in the #core-test channel on the WordPress SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/.
- Weekly meetings: Check the Make/Test calendar for meeting times.
- Stay updated: Follow the Make WordPress Test blog for announcements and testing posts.
Thank you for helping test WordPress! 🎉
