The tug-of-war over discovery in WP Engine, Inc. v. Automattic Inc. et al. has flipped sides. Last week, WP Engine was pressing Automattic to expand its document searches. This week, Automattic is asking the U.S. District Court to compel WP Engine to produce more. In an August 14 joint letter brief to Judge Donna Ryu, Automattic seeks documents […]
From Groundhogg to Guideline Violations: How the WordPress Plugins Team Enforces Trademarks
The closure of Groundhogg’s CRM plugin in the WordPress.org plugin directory last week put a spotlight on the WordPress Plugins Team’s behind-the-scenes work policing trademarks, reviewing code, and keeping the repository’s 60,000 active plugins secure. On August 9, the Groundhogg team posted on X that the free version of their plugin had been closed for trademark infringement — […]
Judge Denies Willman’s Bid to Join WP Engine v. Automattic Case
Michael Willman’s attempt to join WP Engine’s high-profile lawsuit against Automattic and CEO Matt Mullenweg has been denied — and not on the merits, but because of a procedural roadblock. In an August 13 order, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín denied Willman’s motion to intervene, along with his related motions for contempt and an order to show cause, […]
WordCamp Canada 2025 Is All About Generational Change, Open Web Energy, and Tinkering With What’s Next
WordCamp Canada is back for its second year, and this time the focus is firmly on students, innovation, and the future of the open web. Set to take place October 15-17 at Carleton University in Ottawa, the event has been shaped by a strong sense of experimentation. So far, there’s an impressive lineup of talks on AI, federation, […]
Phased Plugin Releases Land on WordPress.org With 24-Hour Delay Option
A first version of phased plugin releases is now live on WordPress.org, giving developers a way to roll out updates to a smaller group of users first — and a day’s head start to fix any issues. First proposed by WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg in June, the feature is an early version of staged rollouts, inspired by the […]
Accessibility for WordPress-Powered Sites Just Got Easier with Elementor’s Ally Plugin
Heads up: This is sponsored content, paid for by one of our sponsors. Their support helps keep The Repository going. All sponsors follow our Advertising Policy. Accessibility isn’t optional anymore, but let’s be honest: it still feels complicated. You’ve probably heard terms like WCAG and ARIA, maybe even stressed over accessibility laws or client questions. But between evolving […]
First FAIR TSC Election Keeps Dils, Epstein, and McCue at the Helm
Carrie Dils, Mika Epstein, and Ryan McCue will continue as co-chairs of the FAIR project’s technical steering committee (TSC) after running unopposed in the initiative’s first official TSC election. The FAIR Package Manager Project, a decentralized alternative to WordPress.org’s plugin and theme distribution infrastructure, launched in June and is currently led by a 33-member TSC made up of… […]
WP Engine and Automattic Clash Over Scope of Discovery in Ongoing Legal Battle
The discovery phase of WP Engine, Inc. v. Automattic Inc. et al. has turned into a dispute of its own, with both sides filing a joint letter brief filed with the United States District Court on August 5 after months of back-and-forth over what evidence should be on the table. WP Engine accuses Automattic and CEO Matt Mullenweg […]
WordCamp US 2025 Schedule Now Live, With New Career Corner and Student Initiatives
WordCamp US is just over two weeks away, bringing four days of programming to Portland, Oregon from August 26–29. The full schedule, now live, spans three tracks and three key themes — Technical WordPress, Honing Your Skills, and AI — setting the stage for a mix of practical sessions and big-picture conversations. This year’s flagship event will kick […]
GoDaddy Bringing Agentic AI to Its Platform With Ask Airo
GoDaddy is expanding its AI-powered Airo tool, first launched last November, with Ask Airo, a conversational, agentic AI assistant designed to carry out complex, multi-step tasks across its platform. Announced alongside the company’s second-quarter financials, Ask Airo is pitched as a way for customers to manage domains, websites, payments, and marketing through a single request, with a built-in… […]
