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Issue #294 - Hidden gems, CloudFest Hackathon record, Yoast × Microsoft, and a new dashboard

Out now: The Repository #294 🗞️

🧩 Features tab rotates "hidden gem" plugins
💡 CloudFest Hackathon's record year for projects
🧠 Yoast launches AI-ready schema map with Microsoft
🧪 Contributor dashboard pilot goes live

Read it here: therepository.email/294

After FAIR’s Co-Founders Step Back, the WordPress Community Weighs In The technical steering committee says the project lives on. Across the community, the reaction ranged from gratitude to frustration to a grudging reckoning with why hosting companies wouldn't back FAIR.

After FAIR’s Co-Founders Step Back, the WordPress Community Weighs In

Yoast Launches Schema Aggregation in Partnership with Microsoft, Giving AI a Site-Wide View of WordPress Content Built with Schema.org co-creator R.V. Guha and Microsoft's NLWeb team, the new feature gives AI systems a complete, connected map of a WordPress site's content in a single request.

Yoast Launches Schema Aggregation in Partnership with Microsoft, Giving AI a Site-Wide View of WordPress Content

The WordPress Featured Plugins Tab Is Now Rotating “Hidden Gems” Every Two Weeks A long-static corner of the WordPress admin is now rotating fresh, lesser-known plugins every two weeks, and the early results are hard to ignore.

The WordPress Featured Plugins Tab Is Now Rotating “Hidden Gems” Every Two Weeks

WordPress Contributor Dashboard Pilot Now Live, Team Proposes Next Phase The pilot maps contributor activity across Make teams into a shared ladder framework, addressing a long-standing visibility gap in the project.

WordPress Contributor Dashboard Pilot Now Live, Team Proposes Next Phase

WordPress.org Now Serves Markdown Output for AI Agents and Developers The feature, which uses Dennis Snell's html-to-md plugin, lets AI agents and developers request clean Markdown output from WordPress.org.

WordPress.org Now Serves Markdown Output for AI Agents and Developers

Patchstack’s 2026 WordPress Security Report: Faster Attacks, Stealthier Malware, Inadequate Hosting Defences The annual report documents another record year for WordPress vulnerabilities, finds that most hosting defences are failing, and reveals a growing shift toward stealthy, persistent malware.

Patchstack’s 2026 WordPress Security Report: Faster Attacks, Stealthier Malware, Inadequate Hosting Defences

CloudFest Hackathon 2026: A Record Year for Projects, a New Schedule, and an AI Art Experiment With more project applications than ever before and a reshuffled calendar that gives teams three full days, this year's Hackathon is shaping up to be one of its strongest yet.

CloudFest Hackathon 2026: A Record Year for Projects, a New Schedule, and an AI Art Experiment

A big thank you to our sponsors Patchstack, 20i, Pressable, Altis Enterprise Cloud, Elementor, Cloudways & CloudFest for supporting independent journalism in the WordPress space ✨

The Repository #293 FAIR leadership shake-up, WordPress 7.0 Beta 2 lands & PressConf is back

Out now: The Repository #293 🗞️

🧭 Joost de Valk and Karim Marucchi leave FAIR
🧪 WordPress 7.0 Beta 2 ships with Connectors UI
🎤 PressConf returns to Tempe with a new mission

Read it here: therepository.email/293

WordPress 7.0 Beta 2 Ships With Connectors UI, Delivering on Mullenweg’s AI Vision The new Connectors screen lands in wp-admin after a week of uncertainty over whether it would make the cut.

WordPress 7.0 Beta 2 Ships With Connectors UI, Delivering on Mullenweg’s AI Vision

Joost de Valk and Karim Marucchi Step Away from FAIR as Project Pivots to TYPO3 The co-founders of the Linux Foundation–backed initiative cite hosting companies' unwillingness to invest in neutral infrastructure, while the technical project continues.

Joost de Valk and Karim Marucchi Step Away from FAIR as Project Pivots to TYPO3

PressConf Returns to Tempe with a New Mission: Challenge the WordPress Community After a debut that left attendees blown away, Raquel Manriquez is raising the bar — and the stakes — for 2026.

PressConf Returns to Tempe with a New Mission: Challenge the WordPress Community

Automattic Again Seeks to Dismiss WP Engine’s Latest Complaint, Moves to Drop WooCommerce From Case Automattic makes its fourth attempt to dismiss WP Engine's antitrust and CFAA claims, while WooCommerce seeks dismissal from the case entirely.

Automattic Again Seeks to Dismiss WP Engine’s Latest Complaint, Moves to Drop WooCommerce From Case

Big thanks to @mattcromwell.bsky.social for contributing this opinion piece!

WordPress Faces an Event Horizon, Not a Sunset WordPress isn't fading. It's entering a phase where AI, competition, and education change the physics for the better.

WordPress Faces an Event Horizon, Not a Sunset

Human Made to Host WP:26 Virtual Event, Releases 2026 Enterprise Report The annual virtual event will feature Noel Tock, Mary Hubbard and enterprise leaders, following the release of Human Made's 2026 WordPress report.

Human Made to Host WP:26 Virtual Event, Releases 2026 Enterprise Report

WP Accessibility Day Is Crowdfunding a Booth at WordCamp Europe to Close the EAA Knowledge Gap The nonprofit behind the annual 24-hour accessibility conference is asking the WordPress community to help fund a major presence at WordCamp Europe 2026 in Kraków.

WP Accessibility Day Is Crowdfunding a Booth at WordCamp Europe to Close the EAA Knowledge Gap

A big thank you to our sponsors Patchstack, 20i, Pressable, Altis Enterprise Cloud, Elementor & Cloudways for supporting independent journalism in the WordPress space ✨

Issue #292 - WP 7.0 Beta 1 ships, push to seal hosting talks, and The WPCC expands

Out now: The Repository #292 🗞️

🧪 WP 7.0 Beta 1 ships after delay, leadership realigns around AI
⚖️ Automattic, Mullenweg seek to keep hosting negotiations private
🧭 The WPCC expands board, Chris Reynolds named interim president

Read it here: therepository.email/292

WordPress 7.0 Beta 1 Ships After Delay as Project Leadership Realigns Release Around AI and Milestone Story A last-minute intervention from Matt Mullenweg has reshaped 7.0's AI story, with real-time collaboration on track to land in core after years in development.

WordPress 7.0 Beta 1 Ships After Delay as Project Leadership Realigns Release Around AI and Milestone Story

Automattic, Mullenweg Ask Court to Keep Details of WordPress.org Hosting Negotiations Private New court filings confirm Mullenweg personally negotiates hosting endorsements on WordPress.org as Automattic seeks to seal company identities and pricing details.

Automattic, Mullenweg Ask Court to Keep Details of WordPress.org Hosting Negotiations Private

The WP Community Collective Expands Board, Chris Reynolds Named Interim President With a new interim president in place, the nonprofit signals continued focus on open source sustainability and the long-running debate over how WordPress contribution is funded.

The WP Community Collective Expands Board, Chris Reynolds Named Interim President

WordPress.com Launches Built-In AI Assistant That Works in Editor, Media Library, and Notes After launching its AI website builder and debuting Telex last year, Automattic is moving from experimental tools to persistent, in-product AI across WordPress.com.

WordPress.com Launches Built-In AI Assistant That Works in Editor, Media Library, and Notes

Checkout Summit Is Filling the WooCommerce Conference Event Gap Nobody Else Would Business Bloomer's Rodolfo Melogli is organizing Checkout Summit in public, sold tickets before announcing a single speaker, and may have already sparked a WooConf revival.

Checkout Summit Is Filling the WooCommerce Conference Event Gap Nobody Else Would

A big thank you to our sponsors Patchstack, 20i, Pressable, Altis Enterprise Cloud, Elementor & Cloudways for supporting independent journalism in the WordPress space ✨

Issue #291 - Trademark threat claims, resignations, and the biggest WordCamp ever?

Out now: The Repository #291 🗞️

🚨 WP Engine alleges Automattic plan to target 10 hosts
🧭 The WPCC president resigns
🌏 WordCamp Asia eyes 3,000+ attendees
🎤 Mullenweg: sponsors' products "fair game"
🖥️ Push for Markdown endpoints on .org

Read it here: therepository.email/291

Mullenweg Calls for Markdown Endpoints on WordPress.org as He Pushes “Web OS” Vision WordPress co-founder lays out strategy to make WordPress the default platform for AI-driven development, with Playground positioned as the ideal testing environment for agents.

Mullenweg Calls for Markdown Endpoints on WordPress.org as He Pushes “Web OS” Vision

Matt Mullenweg: Global Sponsors’ Products Should Be “Fair Game” For WordCamp Talks WordPress co-founder proposes companies paying $180,000/year should have products featured in event talks, prompting pushback from community organizers.

Matt Mullenweg: Global Sponsors’ Products Should Be “Fair Game” For WordCamp Talks