Blocks
"Block" is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage. The idea combines concepts of what in WordPress today we achieve with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience.
For more context, refer to What Are Little Blocks Made Of? from the Make WordPress Design blog.
Learn how to create your first block for the WordPress block editor. From setting up your development environment, tools, and getting comfortable with the new development model, this tutorial covers all you need to know to get started with creating blocks.
Installation
Install the module
npm install @wordpress/blocks --save
This package assumes that your code will run in an ES2015+ environment. If you're using an environment that has limited or no support for such language features and APIs, you should include the polyfill shipped in @wordpress/babel-preset-default
in your code.
API
cloneBlock
Given a block object, returns a copy of the block object, optionally merging new attributes and/or replacing its inner blocks.
Parameters
- block
Object
: Block instance. - mergeAttributes
Object
: Block attributes. - newInnerBlocks
?Array
: Nested blocks.
Returns
createBlock
Returns a block object given its type and attributes.
Parameters
- name
string
: Block name. - attributes
Object
: Block attributes. - innerBlocks
?Array
: Nested blocks.
Returns
createBlocksFromInnerBlocksTemplate
Given an array of InnerBlocks templates or Block Objects, returns an array of created Blocks from them. It handles the case of having InnerBlocks as Blocks by converting them to the proper format to continue recursively.
Parameters
- innerBlocksOrTemplate
Array
: Nested blocks or InnerBlocks templates.
Returns
Object[]
: Array of Block objects.
doBlocksMatchTemplate
Checks whether a list of blocks matches a template by comparing the block names.
Parameters
- blocks
Array
: Block list. - template
Array
: Block template.
Returns
boolean
: Whether the list of blocks matches a templates.
findTransform
Given an array of transforms, returns the highest-priority transform where the predicate function returns a truthy value. A higher-priority transform is one with a lower priority value (i.e. first in priority order). Returns null if the transforms set is empty or the predicate function returns a falsey value for all entries.
Parameters
- transforms
Object[]
: Transforms to search. - predicate
Function
: Function returning true on matching transform.
Returns
?Object
: Highest-priority transform candidate.
getBlockAttributes
Returns the block attributes of a registered block node given its type.
Parameters
- blockTypeOrName
string|Object
: Block type or name. - innerHTML
string|Node
: Raw block content. - attributes
?Object
: Known block attributes (from delimiters).
Returns
Object
: All block attributes.
getBlockAttributesNamesByRole
Filter block attributes by role
and return their names.
Parameters
- name
string
: Block attribute's name. - role
string
: The role of a block attribute.
Returns
string[]
: The attribute names that have the provided role.
getBlockBindingsSource
Returns a registered block bindings source by its name.
Parameters
- name
string
: Block bindings source name.
Returns
?Object
: Block bindings source.
Changelog
6.7.0
Introduced in WordPress core.
getBlockBindingsSources
Returns all registered block bindings sources.
Returns
Array
: Block bindings sources.
Changelog
6.7.0
Introduced in WordPress core.
getBlockContent
Given a block object, returns the Block's Inner HTML markup.
Parameters
- block
Object
: Block instance.
Returns
getBlockDefaultClassName
Returns the block's default classname from its name.
Parameters
- blockName
string
: The block name.
Returns
string
: The block's default class.
getBlockFromExample
Create a block object from the example API.
Parameters
- name
string
: - example
Object
:
Returns
Returns the block's default menu item classname from its name.
Parameters
- blockName
string
: The block name.
Returns
string
: The block's default menu item class.
getBlockSupport
Returns the block support value for a feature, if defined.
Parameters
- nameOrType
(string|Object)
: Block name or type object - feature
string
: Feature to retrieve - defaultSupports
*
: Default value to return if not explicitly defined
Returns
getBlockTransforms
Returns normal block transforms for a given transform direction, optionally for a specific block by name, or an empty array if there are no transforms. If no block name is provided, returns transforms for all blocks. A normal transform object includes blockName
as a property.
Parameters
- direction
string
: Transform direction ("to", "from"). - blockTypeOrName
string|Object
: Block type or name.
Returns
Array
: Block transforms for direction.
getBlockType
Returns a registered block type.
Parameters
Returns
getBlockTypes
Returns all registered blocks.
Returns
getChildBlockNames
Returns an array with the child blocks of a given block.
Parameters
- blockName
string
: Name of block (example: “latest-posts”).
Returns
Array
: Array of child block names.
getDefaultBlockName
Retrieves the default block name.
Returns
getFreeformContentHandlerName
Retrieves name of block handling non-block content, or undefined if no handler has been defined.
Returns
getGroupingBlockName
Retrieves name of block used for handling grouping interactions.
Returns
getPhrasingContentSchema
Undocumented declaration.
getPossibleBlockTransformations
Returns an array of block types that the set of blocks received as argument can be transformed into.
Parameters
- blocks
Array
: Blocks array.
Returns
Array
: Block types that the blocks argument can be transformed to.
getSaveContent
Given a block type containing a save render implementation and attributes, returns the static markup to be saved.
Parameters
- blockTypeOrName
string|Object
: Block type or name. - attributes
Object
: Block attributes. - innerBlocks
?Array
: Nested blocks.
Returns
getSaveElement
Given a block type containing a save render implementation and attributes, returns the enhanced element to be saved or string when raw HTML expected.
Parameters
- blockTypeOrName
string|Object
: Block type or name. - attributes
Object
: Block attributes. - innerBlocks
?Array
: Nested blocks.
Returns
Object|string
: Save element or raw HTML string.
getUnregisteredTypeHandlerName
Retrieves name of block handling unregistered block types, or undefined if no handler has been defined.
Returns
hasBlockSupport
Returns true if the block defines support for a feature, or false otherwise.
Parameters
- nameOrType
(string|Object)
: Block name or type object. - feature
string
: Feature to test. - defaultSupports
boolean
: Whether feature is supported by default if not explicitly defined.
Returns
boolean
: Whether block supports feature.
hasChildBlocks
Returns a boolean indicating if a block has child blocks or not.
Parameters
- blockName
string
: Name of block (example: “latest-posts”).
Returns
boolean
: True if a block contains child blocks and false otherwise.
hasChildBlocksWithInserterSupport
Returns a boolean indicating if a block has at least one child block with inserter support.
Parameters
- blockName
string
: Block type name.
Returns
boolean
: True if a block contains at least one child blocks with inserter support and false otherwise.
isReusableBlock
Determines whether or not the given block is a reusable block. This is a special block type that is used to point to a global block stored via the API.
Parameters
- blockOrType
Object
: Block or Block Type to test.
Returns
boolean
: Whether the given block is a reusable block.
isTemplatePart
Determines whether or not the given block is a template part. This is a special block type that allows composing a page template out of reusable design elements.
Parameters
- blockOrType
Object
: Block or Block Type to test.
Returns
boolean
: Whether the given block is a template part.
isUnmodifiedBlock
Determines whether the block's attributes are equal to the default attributes which means the block is unmodified.
Parameters
- block
WPBlock
: Block Object
Returns
boolean
: Whether the block is an unmodified block.
isUnmodifiedDefaultBlock
Determines whether the block is a default block and its attributes are equal to the default attributes which means the block is unmodified.
Parameters
- block
WPBlock
: Block Object
Returns
boolean
: Whether the block is an unmodified default block.
isValidBlockContent
Deprecated Use validateBlock instead to avoid data loss.
Returns true if the parsed block is valid given the input content. A block is considered valid if, when serialized with assumed attributes, the content matches the original value.
Logs to console in development environments when invalid.
Parameters
- blockTypeOrName
string|Object
: Block type. - attributes
Object
: Parsed block attributes. - originalBlockContent
string
: Original block content.
Returns
boolean
: Whether block is valid.
isValidIcon
Function that checks if the parameter is a valid icon.
Parameters
- icon
*
: Parameter to be checked.
Returns
boolean
: True if the parameter is a valid icon and false otherwise.
normalizeIconObject
Function that receives an icon as set by the blocks during the registration and returns a new icon object that is normalized so we can rely on just on possible icon structure in the codebase.
Parameters
- icon
WPBlockTypeIconRender
: Render behavior of a block type icon; one of a Dashicon slug, an element, or a component.
Returns
WPBlockTypeIconDescriptor
: Object describing the icon.
parse
Utilizes an optimized token-driven parser based on the Gutenberg grammar spec defined through a parsing expression grammar to take advantage of the regular cadence provided by block delimiters -- composed syntactically through HTML comments -- which, given a general HTML document as an input, returns a block list array representation.
This is a recursive-descent parser that scans linearly once through the input document. Instead of directly recursing it utilizes a trampoline mechanism to prevent stack overflow. This initial pass is mainly interested in separating and isolating the blocks serialized in the document and manifestly not in the content within the blocks.
Related
Parameters
- content
string
: The post content. - options
ParseOptions
: Extra options for handling block parsing.
Returns
parseWithAttributeSchema
Given a block's raw content and an attribute's schema returns the attribute's value depending on its source.
Parameters
- innerHTML
string|Node
: Block's raw content. - attributeSchema
Object
: Attribute's schema.
Returns
pasteHandler
Converts an HTML string to known blocks. Strips everything else.
Parameters
- options
Object
: - options.HTML
[string]
: The HTML to convert. - options.plainText
[string]
: Plain text version. - options.mode
[string]
: Handle content as blocks or inline content. _ 'AUTO': Decide based on the content passed. _ 'INLINE': Always handle as inline content, and return string. * 'BLOCKS': Always handle as blocks, and return array of blocks. - options.tagName
[Array]
: The tag into which content will be inserted.
Returns
Array|string
: A list of blocks or a string, depending on handlerMode
.
privateApis
Undocumented declaration.
rawHandler
Converts an HTML string to known blocks.
Parameters
- $1
Object
: - $1.HTML
string
: The HTML to convert.
Returns
registerBlockBindingsSource
Registers a new block bindings source with an object defining its behavior. Once registered, the source is available to be connected to the supported block attributes.
Usage
import { _x } from '@wordpress/i18n';
import { registerBlockBindingsSource } from '@wordpress/blocks';
registerBlockBindingsSource( {
name: 'plugin/my-custom-source',
label: _x( 'My Custom Source', 'block bindings source' ),
usesContext: [ 'postType' ],
getValues: getSourceValues,
setValues: updateMyCustomValuesInBatch,
canUserEditValue: () => true,
} );
Parameters
- source
Object
: Properties of the source to be registered. - source.name
string
: The unique and machine-readable name. - source.label
[string]
: Human-readable label. Optional when it is defined in the server. - source.usesContext
[Array]
: Optional array of context needed by the source only in the editor. - source.getValues
[Function]
: Optional function to get the values from the source. - source.setValues
[Function]
: Optional function to update multiple values connected to the source. - source.canUserEditValue
[Function]
: Optional function to determine if the user can edit the value.
Changelog
6.7.0
Introduced in WordPress core.
registerBlockCollection
Registers a new block collection to group blocks in the same namespace in the inserter.
Usage
import { __ } from '@wordpress/i18n';
import { registerBlockCollection, registerBlockType } from '@wordpress/blocks';
registerBlockCollection( 'my-collection', {
title: __( 'Custom Collection' ),
} );
registerBlockType( 'my-collection/block-name', {
title: __( 'My First Block' ),
edit: () => <div>{ __( 'Hello from the editor!' ) }</div>,
save: () => <div>'Hello from the saved content!</div>,
} );
Parameters
- namespace
string
: The namespace to group blocks by in the inserter; corresponds to the block namespace. - settings
Object
: The block collection settings. - settings.title
string
: The title to display in the block inserter. - settings.icon
[Object]
: The icon to display in the block inserter.
registerBlockStyle
Registers a new block style for the given block types.
For more information on connecting the styles with CSS the official documentation.
Usage
import { __ } from '@wordpress/i18n';
import { registerBlockStyle } from '@wordpress/blocks';
import { Button } from '@wordpress/components';
const ExampleComponent = () => {
return (
<Button
onClick={ () => {
registerBlockStyle( 'core/quote', {
name: 'fancy-quote',
label: __( 'Fancy Quote' ),
} );
} }
>
{ __( 'Add a new block style for core/quote' ) }
</Button>
);
};
Parameters
- blockNames
string|Array
: Name of blocks e.g. “core/latest-posts” or ["core/group", "core/columns"]
. - styleVariation
Object
: Object containing name
which is the class name applied to the block and label
which identifies the variation to the user.
registerBlockType
Registers a new block provided a unique name and an object defining its behavior. Once registered, the block is made available as an option to any editor interface where blocks are implemented.
For more in-depth information on registering a custom block see the Create a block tutorial.
Usage
import { __ } from '@wordpress/i18n';
import { registerBlockType } from '@wordpress/blocks';
registerBlockType( 'namespace/block-name', {
title: __( 'My First Block' ),
edit: () => <div>{ __( 'Hello from the editor!' ) }</div>,
save: () => <div>Hello from the saved content!</div>,
} );
Parameters
- blockNameOrMetadata
string|Object
: Block type name or its metadata. - settings
Object
: Block settings.
Returns
WPBlockType | undefined
: The block, if it has been successfully registered; otherwise undefined
.
registerBlockVariation
Registers a new block variation for the given block type.
For more information on block variations see the official documentation .
Usage
import { __ } from '@wordpress/i18n';
import { registerBlockVariation } from '@wordpress/blocks';
import { Button } from '@wordpress/components';
const ExampleComponent = () => {
return (
<Button
onClick={ () => {
registerBlockVariation( 'core/embed', {
name: 'custom',
title: __( 'My Custom Embed' ),
attributes: { providerNameSlug: 'custom' },
} );
} }
>
__( 'Add a custom variation for core/embed' ) }
</Button>
);
};
Parameters
- blockName
string
: Name of the block (example: “core/columns”). - variation
WPBlockVariation
: Object describing a block variation.
serialize
Takes a block or set of blocks and returns the serialized post content.
Parameters
- blocks
Array
: Block(s) to serialize. - options
WPBlockSerializationOptions
: Serialization options.
Returns
string
: The post content.
serializeRawBlock
Serializes a block node into the native HTML-comment-powered block format. CAVEAT: This function is intended for re-serializing blocks as parsed by valid parsers and skips any validation steps. This is NOT a generic serialization function for in-memory blocks. For most purposes, see the following functions available in the @wordpress/blocks
package:
Related
- serializeBlock
- serialize For more on the format of block nodes as returned by valid parsers:
@wordpress/block-serialization-default-parser
package@wordpress/block-serialization-spec-parser
package
Parameters
- rawBlock
WPRawBlock
: A block node as returned by a valid parser. - options
[Options]
: Serialization options.
Returns
string
: An HTML string representing a block.
setCategories
Sets the block categories.
Usage
import { __ } from '@wordpress/i18n';
import { store as blocksStore, setCategories } from '@wordpress/blocks';
import { useSelect } from '@wordpress/data';
import { Button } from '@wordpress/components';
const ExampleComponent = () => {
const blockCategories = useSelect(
( select ) => select( blocksStore ).getCategories(),
[]
);
return (
<Button
onClick={ () => {
// Add a custom category to the existing list.
setCategories( [
...blockCategories,
{ title: 'Custom Category', slug: 'custom-category' },
] );
} }
>
{ __( 'Add a new custom block category' ) }
</Button>
);
};
Parameters
- categories
WPBlockCategory[]
: Block categories.
setDefaultBlockName
Assigns the default block name.
Usage
import { setDefaultBlockName } from '@wordpress/blocks';
const ExampleComponent = () => {
return (
<Button onClick={ () => setDefaultBlockName( 'core/heading' ) }>
{ __( 'Set the default block to Heading' ) }
</Button>
);
};
Parameters
setFreeformContentHandlerName
Assigns name of block for handling non-block content.
Parameters
- blockName
string
: Block name.
setGroupingBlockName
Assigns name of block for handling block grouping interactions.
This function lets you select a different block to group other blocks in instead of the default core/group
block. This function must be used in a component or when the DOM is fully loaded. See https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/reference-guides/packages/packages-dom-ready/
Usage
import { setGroupingBlockName } from '@wordpress/blocks';
const ExampleComponent = () => {
return (
<Button onClick={ () => setGroupingBlockName( 'core/columns' ) }>
{ __( 'Wrap in columns' ) }
</Button>
);
};
Parameters
setUnregisteredTypeHandlerName
Assigns name of block handling unregistered block types.
Parameters
- blockName
string
: Block name.
store
Store definition for the blocks namespace.
Related
Type
switchToBlockType
Switch one or more blocks into one or more blocks of the new block type.
Parameters
- blocks
Array|Object
: Blocks array or block object. - name
string
: Block name.
Returns
?Array
: Array of blocks or null.
synchronizeBlocksWithTemplate
Synchronize a block list with a block template.
Synchronizing a block list with a block template means that we loop over the blocks keep the block as is if it matches the block at the same position in the template (If it has the same name) and if doesn't match, we create a new block based on the template. Extra blocks not present in the template are removed.
Parameters
- blocks
Array
: Block list. - template
Array
: Block template.
Returns
Array
: Updated Block list.
unregisterBlockBindingsSource
Unregisters a block bindings source by providing its name.
Usage
import { unregisterBlockBindingsSource } from '@wordpress/blocks';
unregisterBlockBindingsSource( 'plugin/my-custom-source' );
Parameters
- name
string
: The name of the block bindings source to unregister.
Changelog
6.7.0
Introduced in WordPress core.
unregisterBlockStyle
Unregisters a block style for the given block.
Usage
import { __ } from '@wordpress/i18n';
import { unregisterBlockStyle } from '@wordpress/blocks';
import { Button } from '@wordpress/components';
const ExampleComponent = () => {
return (
<Button
onClick={ () => {
unregisterBlockStyle( 'core/quote', 'plain' );
} }
>
{ __( 'Remove the "Plain" block style for core/quote' ) }
</Button>
);
};
Parameters
- blockName
string
: Name of block (example: “core/latest-posts”). - styleVariationName
string
: Name of class applied to the block.
unregisterBlockType
Unregisters a block.
Usage
import { __ } from '@wordpress/i18n';
import { unregisterBlockType } from '@wordpress/blocks';
const ExampleComponent = () => {
return (
<Button
onClick={ () => unregisterBlockType( 'my-collection/block-name' ) }
>
{ __( 'Unregister my custom block.' ) }
</Button>
);
};
Parameters
Returns
WPBlockType | undefined
: The previous block value, if it has been successfully unregistered; otherwise undefined
.
unregisterBlockVariation
Unregisters a block variation defined for the given block type.
Usage
import { __ } from '@wordpress/i18n';
import { unregisterBlockVariation } from '@wordpress/blocks';
import { Button } from '@wordpress/components';
const ExampleComponent = () => {
return (
<Button
onClick={ () => {
unregisterBlockVariation( 'core/embed', 'youtube' );
} }
>
{ __( 'Remove the YouTube variation from core/embed' ) }
</Button>
);
};
Parameters
- blockName
string
: Name of the block (example: “core/columns”). - variationName
string
: Name of the variation defined for the block.
updateCategory
Updates a category.
Usage
import { __ } from '@wordpress/i18n';
import { updateCategory } from '@wordpress/blocks';
import { Button } from '@wordpress/components';
const ExampleComponent = () => {
return (
<Button
onClick={ () => {
updateCategory( 'text', { title: __( 'Written Word' ) } );
} }
>
{ __( 'Update Text category title' ) }
</Button>
);
};
Parameters
- slug
string
: Block category slug. - category
WPBlockCategory
: Object containing the category properties that should be updated.
validateBlock
Returns an object with isValid
property set to true
if the parsed block is valid given the input content. A block is considered valid if, when serialized with assumed attributes, the content matches the original value. If block is invalid, this function returns all validations issues as well.
Parameters
- block
WPBlock
: block object. - blockTypeOrName
[WPBlockType|string]
: Block type or name, inferred from block if not given.
Returns
[boolean,Array<LoggerItem>]
: validation results.
withBlockContentContext
Deprecated
A Higher Order Component used to inject BlockContent using context to the wrapped component.
Parameters
- OriginalComponent
Component
: The component to enhance.
Returns
Component
: The same component.
Contributing to this package
This is an individual package that's part of the Gutenberg project. The project is organized as a monorepo. It's made up of multiple self-contained software packages, each with a specific purpose. The packages in this monorepo are published to npm and used by WordPress as well as other software projects.
To find out more about contributing to this package or Gutenberg as a whole, please read the project's main contributor guide.