WordPress 7.2 Beta 1 is now available for testing on VIP. This is the first beta of the WordPress 7.2 development cycle and can now be deployed to all non-production WordPress environments.
7.2 is this year’s final major release and it’s currently planned for December 8, 2026.
Key dates & recommended actions
- October 21: Beta 1 available for testing on WordPress VIP.
- Before November 17: Test the Beta on non-production sites and report any issues.
- November 17: Release Candidate 1 available for testing on WordPress VIP.
- Before December 8: Test the Release Candidate on non-production sites and turn on Managed Updates if everything is working as expected.
- December 8: WordPress 7.2 releases.
Note that the release schedule can change materially over the next few weeks.
What’s new in WordPress 7.2
Here are some highlights included in the WordPress 7.2 beta:
- Secrets API: a standard way to store API keys and authentication tokens in WordPress, with encryption at rest, credential rotation and customizable storage providers.
- Improvements to the Interactivity and Abilities APIs, and hardening of the HTML API
- Post inspector on DataForm: the post settings sidebar (status, visibility, publish date, author, featured image, excerpt, template) moves to an extensible DataForm component. See the Call for Testing: DataForm Editor Inspector.
- Media handling: redesigned media inserter built for large libraries, client-side media processing extended the media library
- Notes: block notes gain Emoji reactions, a new toolbar icon for easier access, and the ability to keep Notes and block settings open at the same time.
Learn more about what’s included in the beta in the WordPress.org blog.
How to test the upgrade on a local environment
The quickest way to test locally is to use the VIP Local Development Environment.
To update an existing environment:
vip dev-env update -w=7.2 --slug=mytestsite
To create a new one:
vip dev-env create -w=7.2 --slug=mytestsite
How to test the upgrade on a VIP Platform environment
You can update your non-production environments by running the trunk version of WordPress from within the Software Management section of the VIP Dashboard or by running the vip config software update command with VIP-CLI.
For example:
vip @mytestsite.develop config software update wordpress trunk