WXY...Z Blocks

A developer-focused WordPress plugin that bundles multiple Gutenberg blocks under a single plugin, plus a lightweight “framework” structure (service loader, block manager pattern, tests) to help maintain many blocks in one codebase.

This project is not intended to replace the official block scaffolding tool. If you want to scaffold a new standalone block/plugin project from scratch, use:

• npx @wordpress/create-block@latest

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Why this repo (vs create-block)
• Requirements
• Blocks included
• Architecture
  • Automatic registration via block.json
  • Custom block category
• Developer workflow
  • Install
  • Build
  • Add a new block
  • WP-CLI: duplicate a block folder
• Tests
• License

Introduction

WXYZ Blocks is a multi-block plugin that ships several example blocks (W/X/Y/Z) and demonstrates a maintainable structure for organizing multiple blocks inside a single plugin.

It is intended for developers who want a single plugin that contains multiple custom blocks and a scalable way to grow that set over time.

Why this repo (vs create-block)

Use this repo when you want:

• One plugin containing many blocks (shared PHP bootstrap, shared conventions).
• A consistent, scalable structure to register and maintain multiple blocks.

Use npx @wordpress/create-block@latest when you want:

• A brand-new standalone block/plugin starter scaffold.

Requirements

• WordPress environment
• PHP (same as your WordPress environment)
• Node.js + npm (only required for building block assets during development)

Note: The exact Node/npm versions depend on the versions required by @wordpress/scripts. Prefer using an LTS Node release.

Blocks included

• Block W: Receives an attribute and displays it in frontend.
• Block X: Shows latest posts.
• Block Y: Retrieves and displays data from an API.
• Block Z: Slider image.

Architecture

Automatic registration via block.json

Blocks are registered using register_block_type() pointing to each block’s folder. Asset loading should be handled by each block’s block.json (for example using "editorScript": "file:./build/index.js", "style": "file:./build/style-index.css", etc.).

This keeps the plugin code lightweight and avoids manual enqueue logic.

Custom block category

The plugin registers a custom block category using the block_categories_all filter, so the bundled blocks can appear grouped in the inserter.

Developer workflow

Install

Clone this repository:

• git clone https://github.com/sarahcssiqueira/wxyz-blocks

Install dependencies:

• composer install
• npm install

Build

Build block assets:

• npm run build

For development/watching:

• npm run start

Add a new block

Recommended approach:

1. Create a new folder under blocks/<your-block-slug>/.
2. Ensure it contains a valid block.json file (and references built assets using file: entries).
3. Build assets (npm run build).

If you use automatic discovery in the block manager, no additional PHP changes should be required.

WP-CLI: duplicate a block folder

When running WP-CLI, the plugin can load custom WP-CLI commands (only in WP-CLI context):

// Load CLI commands only in WP-CLI context.
if ( defined( 'WP_CLI' ) && WP_CLI ) {
    require_once __DIR__ . '/inc/CLI/CreateBlockCommand.php';
    require_once __DIR__ . '/inc/CLI/cli.php';
}

Example usage:

• wp wxyz block duplicate --from=block-w --to=block-hero --title="Hero"

Note: duplicating a block folder does not run the build step. You still need to run npm run build.

Tests

The repo contains a WordPress PHPUnit test bootstrap and starter tests. (More tests are welcome.)

License

This project is licensed under the license GPLv2 or later.