manifest / editor / special-projects-blocks-monorepo

WordPress.com Special Projects Blocks Monorepo Autoloader #9 in Blocks & Editor

Monorepo of custom Gutenberg blocks by the WordPress.com Special Projects team, including dynamic TOC, mega menu, modal, tabs, reactions, scroll progress, light-dark toggle, and more. An autoloader plugin registers any block with a built build directory.

by Automattic Special Projects Team · github.com/a8cteam51/special-projects-blocks-monorepo

★ 47stars

791release downloads

≈10active sites

marquee@0.1.9latest · 1d ago

Install

Download marquee.zip From the marquee@0.1.9 release on GitHub, Oct 21, 2026

Upload it under Plugins → Add New Plugin → Upload Plugin, then activate.

Install straight from GitHub with WP-CLI:

wp plugin install https://github.com/a8cteam51/special-projects-blocks-monorepo/releases/download/marquee%400.1.9/marquee.zip

No built-in updater. New versions won't appear under Dashboard → Updates. Install new releases yourself, or let Git Updater track the repository.

Readme github.com/a8cteam51/special-projects-blocks-monorepo ↗

WordPress.com Special Projects Blocks Monorepo

This repository is a WordPress plugin monorepo for WordPress.com Special Projects block plugins and block-adjacent editor/front-end extensions. It contains a root autoloader plus independently releasable plugin folders.

Additional project documentation may live in the repository wiki.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for how to set up, build, and submit changes, and the wiki for longer-form process docs.

What is here

special-projects-blocks-monorepo.php is an optional root plugin autoloader. On plugins_loaded, it scans each top-level directory and includes <directory>/<directory>.php only when that directory also has a build/ directory.
Each plugin directory has its own plugin header file, package.json, package-lock.json, readme.txt, and usually src/ block or asset sources.
.scripts/build-all.js is the root build helper used by npm run build. It finds plugin src/ directories, runs each plugin build, and removes node_modules after each build.
.scripts/scaffold-block.js scaffolds a new block plugin with all the monorepo conventions applied; run it via npm run new-block (see CONTRIBUTING.md).
.github/workflows/make-plugin-release.yml creates GitHub releases for changed top-level plugin directories on pushes to trunk.
.github/workflows/pr-lint.yml and pr-build.yml lint and build each changed plugin on pull requests, before it can merge and auto-release.
.utilities/class-wpcomsp-blocks-self-update.php is the shared self-update class copied into plugin directories.

Plugin inventory

Directory	Tracked plugin evidence
`bp-breadcrumbs`	`BuddyPressBreadcrumbs`; registers `a8csp/breadcrumbs` for BuddyPress, bbPress, archive, and singular breadcrumbs.
`bp-groups`	`BP Groups Blocks`; BuddyPress-gated blocks for group lists, contributors, progress, and variations. Adds `buddypress/v1/group-types`, group block bindings, and a filter-gated group progress extension.
`bp-members`	`BP Members`; BuddyPress-gated member list and variation blocks. Adds `buddypress/v1/member-types` and member block bindings.
`counter`	`Counter`; registers the `wpcomsp/counter` animated counter block.
`cover-bg-crossfade`	Adds the `a8csp-cover-bg-crossfade` style for `core/cover` and front-end crossfade assets. No `block.json` is tracked.
`dynamic-table-of-contents`	Registers `wpcomsp/dynamic-table-of-contents` and adds missing IDs to rendered heading blocks.
`exclude-duplicates-from-query-loops`	Extends `core/query` behavior with an editor asset and an `exclude_previous_posts` query flag. No `block.json` is tracked.
`featured-image-captions`	Extends `core/post-featured-image` with editor caption controls and front-end captions. No `block.json` is tracked.
`featured-video`	Extends `core/post-featured-image`; stores `_wpcomsp_featured_video_id` and `_wpcomsp_featured_video_options` post meta for post types with thumbnail support.
`flowing-column`	Registers the `a8csp/flowing-column` layout block.
`jp-related-posts-query-loop`	Adds a Related Posts variation for `core/query`, using Jetpack related posts when available and falling back to random posts.
`light-dark-toggle`	Registers the `wpcomsp/light-dark-toggle` block.
`mega-menu`	Registers `a8csp/mega-menu`, adds a `menu` template part area, and allows the block in Navigation blocks.
`modal`	Registers `a8csp/modal`, adds a `modal` template part area, and stores modal template metadata in the `modal_meta` option exposed through REST settings.
`override-post-links`	Registers `wpcomsp/override-post-links`, stores `wpcomsp_news_data` post meta for filtered post types, rewrites core post links, and registers the `wpcomsp/news-link-source` block binding.
`reactions`	Registers `wpcomsp/reactions` and `wpcomsp/reaction`; creates the `wpcomsp_reactions` table, adds `wpcomsp-reactions/v1/react` and `/get-reaction` REST routes, and provides an admin DataViews page.
`scroll-progress-bar`	Registers `a8csp/scroll-progress-bar`.
`scroll-to-top`	Registers `wpcomsp/scroll-to-top`.
`sibling-pages-list`	Registers `wpcomsp/sibling-pages-list`.
`stretchy-type`	Registers `wpsp/stretchy-type`.
`table-plus`	Registers `wpcomsp/table-plus`, `wpcomsp/table-plus-row`, and `wpcomsp/table-plus-cell`; includes a PHP renderer, PHPUnit tests, and a WordPress Playground blueprint.
`tabs`	Registers `wpcomsp/tabs` and `wpcomsp/tab`.
`videopress-download`	Registers `wpcomsp/videopress-download` for adding a download button near VideoPress videos.

No tracked PHP registers custom post types, taxonomies, shortcodes, or WP-CLI commands.

Requirements

Node.js >=18.0.0 and npm >=8.0.0 are declared in the root package.json.
The root composer.json requires PHP >=7.4 and ext-json; the root autoloader plugin header requires WordPress 6.1 and PHP 8.0.
Individual plugin headers vary. Check the target plugin header and readme.txt; tracked plugin requirements range from WordPress 6.1 to 6.8 and PHP 7.0 to 8.0.
Most plugin builds use @wordpress/scripts. Some plugins also depend on BuddyPress, bbPress, Jetpack related posts, VideoPress, or the WordPress Interactivity API based on their tracked PHP and block metadata.

Local development

There are no npm workspaces declared — each plugin has its own package.json and package-lock.json. See ARCHITECTURE.md for why. Work in the plugin directory you are changing unless you specifically need the root all-plugin build.

cd <plugin-directory>
npm ci
npm run start
npm run build

Most plugin manifests also define format, lint:js, lint:css or lint:styles, packages-update, and plugin-zip; use the target plugin's package.json for the exact script names.

To start a new block plugin with all the conventions applied, run npm run new-block -- <slug> "Block Title" from the repo root — see CONTRIBUTING.md.

The root build is marked for CI use in package.json:

npm ci
npm run build

For PHP coding standards, install the root Composer dependencies and run PHPCS with the tracked ruleset:

composer run-script packages-install
vendor/bin/phpcs --standard=.phpcs.xml .

table-plus also has a plugin-local Composer test harness:

cd table-plus
composer install
composer test

To load the monorepo during local WordPress development, activate the root autoloader plugin after building the plugin directories you need. The autoloader does not include plugin folders that are missing build/.

Releases and updates

Releases are driven by .github/workflows/make-plugin-release.yml on pushes to trunk. The workflow detects changed top-level directories, installs npm dependencies inside each changed plugin, runs that plugin's build, zips the plugin folder, and creates a GitHub release tagged as <directory>@<plugin-header-version>. The release body comes from that plugin's readme.txt.

Most plugin directories include the WPCOMSP_Blocks_Self_Update class and add their slug to the wpcomsp_installed_blocks filter. The self-update class checks https://opsoasis.wpspecialprojects.com/wp-json/opsoasis-blocks-version-manager/v1/update-check through the update_plugins_opsoasis.wpspecialprojects.com update filter.

Maintenance notes

Avoid editing generated or dependency output such as build/, node_modules/, vendor/, plugin ZIP files, and PHPUnit cache files.
Keep plugin header versions and readme.txt release content intentional; the release workflow reads both.
When adding a new plugin directory, use a matching <directory>.php entry point and ensure the build produces the build/ directory expected by the root autoloader.

Contributing

Read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request. It covers the "do you actually need a new block?" gate, local setup, scaffolding new blocks with the a8csp namespace, coding standards, and the PR checklist. Use the issue templates to file bug reports, enhancements, or new-block proposals.

License

This project is licensed under GPL-2.0-or-later. The root LICENSE file, package metadata, Composer metadata, and plugin headers all declare GPL-2.0-or-later.