# Roadmap to 7.1 (Make WordPress Core) > [!question] Lingering Questions > - Will RTC land as full feature or just architecture in 7.1, and who gets access? > - Which storage mechanism wins for real-time collaboration, and what are its tradeoffs? > - How disruptive is the React 18→19 jump for the plugin ecosystem in practice? > - Does the expanding AI surface (Client/Connectors/Guidelines) raise data-governance concerns worth flagging before 7.1 ships? > [!tip] Article Ideas > - "Get your blocks to Block API v3 before the iframe enforcement" — a practical migration explainer for extenders ahead of 7.1. > - A short piece on the "style states" primitive as a case study in platform leverage (one mechanism → responsive + interactive-state styling). > [!link] Cross Reference > - [[3. Resources/Literature Notes/WordPress 7.1 Roadmap Focuses on Collaboration (The Repository)]] — secondary coverage of this same roadmap, adds the RTC-unresolved framing > - [[3. Resources/Literature Notes/Core Committers Meeting – WordCamp Europe 2026]] — the primary source behind the RTC architecture-vs-feature debate this roadmap leaves open > [!quote] Vocabulary > - *style states* — the shared mechanism behind both responsive styling and interactive-state (hover/focus/active) styling in the Site Editor > - *embeddings* — content represented as vectors for meaning-based search, landing in the AI Client > - *iframed editor* — enforcing the block editor canvas to run inside an iframe, required for viewport-relative responsive styling; requires Block API v3 ## Metadata - Source: [[3. Resources/Readwise/Full Document Contents/Articles/Roadmap to 7.1]] - Author: Anne McCarthy, on behalf of the WordPress 7.1 release squad - Published: 2026-06-19, Make WordPress Core - Target release: August 19, 2026 ## Author's thesis WordPress 7.1 is a collaboration-and-styling release: it advances how people (and AI) work together in WordPress — Notes, real-time collaboration, an expanding AI surface (Client, Connectors, Guidelines) — while also making responsive and interactive-state styling possible without hand-written CSS, and hardening developer-facing APIs (enforced iframe, React 19, Icon/Abilities/Block Bindings). Every item carries the standard caveat that "actively pursued" doesn't guarantee shipping. ## Key arguments (≤3) 1. **Real-time collaboration is the headline unknown.** Two strategic decisions — what to ship (full feature vs. underlying architecture) and which storage mechanism to use — remain open and require project-leadership alignment; they gate access and UX. 2. **A single "style states" mechanism unlocks two long-requested features at once.** Responsive styling and interactive-state (hover/focus/active) styling both build on the same underlying primitive, rather than being built as separate features. 3. **The AI surface is expanding on three fronts simultaneously.** AI Client (streaming, embeddings), Connectors (auth beyond API keys, starting with app passwords), and Guidelines (editorial rules that feed AI tooling, import/export between sites) all advance in 7.1 — a coordinated deepening of AI inside Core worth watching for AI-cautious site owners. ## Claim atoms ### WordPress 7.1 targets August 19, 2026, centered on collaboration > [!quote] ID:rw_pending > "WordPress 7.1 is set to be released on August 19th, 2026. This release advances how people work together in WordPress" Opening line; sets the release date and the collaboration theme that anchors all downstream scope discussion. ### Real-time collaboration has two unresolved strategic decisions > [!quote] ID:rw_pending > "What to land in this release (full feature vs the underlying architecture)? ... What storage mechanism to use? There's a clear winner that still needs to be decided upon." The headline collaboration feature is gated on scope + storage decisions needing leadership alignment; surfaced at a WCEU Core Committer meeting (see [[3. Resources/Literature Notes/Core Committers Meeting – WordCamp Europe 2026]]). ### Enforced iframing requires blocks on Block API version 3 > [!quote] ID:rw_pending > "the current plan is to enforce iframing for block-based themes in this release, then extend it to all themes in a future release. In both cases, blocks need to be on Block API version 3 to work in the iframed editor" Concrete migration burden for plugin/theme authors; gradual rollout (block themes first), paired with the React 19 upgrade as the two big extender-readiness tasks. ### Responsive and interactive-states styling come without writing CSS > [!quote] ID:rw_pending > "you can apply responsive styles, like a font size at a certain viewport, directly in the editor without writing custom CSS." Both responsive and pseudo-state styling build on the same "style states" mechanism — a long-requested site-builder win for Global Styles and individual block instances. ### Guidelines encodes editorial rules into WordPress for AI collaboration > [!quote] ID:rw_pending > "A new Guidelines feature adds a persistent, structured way to encode editorial rules into WordPress, helping you keep your voice and preferences when collaborating with AI." Import/export between sites; ties into AI tooling for brand-voice consistency — a key item for AI-cautious site owners to scrutinize. ## Permanent candidates - **A shared styling primitive lets one mechanism deliver several editor features** — promoted, see [[3. Resources/Permanent Notes/A Shared Styling Primitive Lets One Mechanism Deliver Several Editor Features]]. - RTC's architecture-vs-full-feature split is the deeper pattern here but is better sourced from the primary committer meeting — see [[3. Resources/Permanent Notes/WordPress Ships a Risky Feature's Architecture Into Core While Withholding the Full Feature Set]] (origin: [[3. Resources/Literature Notes/Core Committers Meeting – WordCamp Europe 2026]]). ## Processing checklist - [ ] Watch Make/Core for the RTC scope + storage decision posts before Beta 1 - [ ] Audit which of Courtney's plugins/themes are on Block API v3 ahead of iframe enforcement - [x] Connect into the relevant MOC — [[3. Resources/MOCs/Open Source Governance MOC]] ## Links - [[3. Resources/MOCs/Open Source Governance MOC]] — this is the primary scope document governing how WordPress Core decides what to build and ship in 7.1