ActivityPub for WordPress

8.0.0 — Smash That Like Button Every major version is a milestone, and 8.0.0 is no exception. Your WordPress blog just became a two-way street in the Fediverse. Visitors can like and boost your posts directly on your site. Media from federated replies is handled more reliably, and new block patterns make it easy to drop ActivityPub features into your pages. ## Like and Boost, Right From Your Blog The Fediverse Reactions block now has optional **Like**  and **Boost**  action buttons, inline with each reaction group. When a visitor clicks one, a modal opens where they can enter their Fediverse handle or copy the post URL to interact from their home server. The plugin remembers the visitor’s profile in their browser, so the second time around it’s even faster. And for folks who aren’t familiar with how the Fediverse works, each modal now includes a collapsible **“ Why do I need to enter my profile?”** help section that explains the open social web in plain language. This dramatically lowers the friction for cross-platform engagement. ## Block Patterns and Templates Setting up a Fediverse-ready profile page used to mean manually assembling Follow Me, Extra Fields, and Followers blocks. Not anymore. We’ve added a **“ Fediverse” block pattern category** with four pre-configured layouts: * **Author Profile with Follow** , a compact profile card. * **Fediverse Follow Page** , a full-page follow experience. * **Author Header with Follow** , great for author archive headers. * **Fediverse Sidebar** , drop it into any sidebar or widget area. If you’re running a block theme on WordPress 6.7+, there’s also a new **Author Archive (Fediverse)**  block theme template ready to go. ## Publish Smarter With Post Format Suggestions A new **pre-publish panel**  now analyzes your post content and suggests an appropriate post format when your object type is set to “Post Format.” Got a post that’s mostly images? It’ll nudge you toward the Image format. A video post? Video format. This matters because media-focused Fediverse platforms like Pixelfed and Vernissage display Notes differently than Articles, so choosing the right format means your content looks its best everywhere it lands. ## Community Snippets We’ve added a `snippets/` folder to the GitHub repository, a home for lightweight, community-contributed extensions that don’t belong in the core plugin but are too useful to lose. The first batch includes: * **FediBlog Tag**, automatically adds `#FediBlog` to standard blog posts for better Fediverse discovery. * **Locale from Tags**, derives post locale from taxonomy tags. * **Bot Account**, marks your profile as automated and displays a “BOT” badge in the Fediverse. * **Blockless ActivityPub**, renders Fediverse reactions as pure server-side HTML, no JS required. * **Photon CDN**, serves cached remote media through Jetpack’s Photon CDN for faster delivery. Got a snippet of your own? Check out the snippets folder and send a PR. ## Smarter Media Caching Under the hood, we’ve rebuilt how the plugin handles remote media, avatars, emoji, images, audio, and video from across the Fediverse. Instead of importing everything into the WordPress Media Library at insert time, media is now wrapped in custom blocks and **cached lazily at render time**. What does that mean for you? Faster processing of incoming content, less disk usage, and better rendering of audio and video attachments. Original remote URLs are preserved in block attributes, so caches can be regenerated without data loss. If you’re using Jetpack’s Site Accelerator, that works too, the new system is built filter-first. For site admins, there are new CLI commands to keep things tidy: wp activitypub cache status wp activitypub cache clear ## Minimum PHP 7.4 With WordPress 7.0 deprecating PHP 7.2 and 7.3, we’ve raised the minimum requirement to **PHP 7.4**. This lets us clean up compatibility polyfills and use more modern PHP features going forward. If you’re still on an older version, update your PHP before updating the plugin. ## Changelog ### Added * Add a help section to interaction dialogs explaining the Fediverse and why entering a profile is needed. * Add a notice on the Settings page to easily switch from legacy template mode to automatic mode. * Add a pre-publish suggestion that recommends a post format for better compatibility with media-focused Fediverse platforms. * Add a Site Health check that warns when plugins are causing too many federation updates. * Add backwards compatibility for the `ACTIVITYPUB_DISABLE_SIDELOADING` constant and `activitypub_sideloading_enabled` filter from version 7.9.1. * Add bot account snippet that marks ActivityPub profiles as automated accounts, displaying a “BOT” badge on Mastodon and other Fediverse platforms. * Add Cache namespace for remote media caching with CLI commands, improved MIME validation, and filter-based architecture. * Add federation of video poster images set in the WordPress video block. * Add Locale from Tags community snippet. * Add optional Like and Boost action buttons to the Fediverse Reactions block, allowing visitors to interact with posts from their own server. * Add pre-built Fediverse block patterns for easy profile, follow page, and sidebar setup. * Add snippet for blockless fediverse reactions. * Add `wp activitypub fetch` CLI command for fetching remote URLs with signed HTTP requests. ### Changed * Improved active user counting for NodeInfo to include all federated content types and comments. * Improve language map resolution to strictly follow the ActivityStreams spec. * Superseded outbox activities are now removed instead of kept, reducing clutter in the outbox. * The minimum required PHP version is now 7.4. ### Fixed * Accept incoming activities from servers that use standalone key objects for HTTP Signatures. * Fix a crash on servers where WordPress uses FTP instead of direct file access for media caching. * Fix a crash when receiving posts from certain federated platforms that send multilingual content. * Fix automatic cleanup of old activities failing silently on sites with large numbers of outbox, inbox, or remote post items. * Fix comment count to properly exclude likes, shares, and notes. * Fix follow button redirect from Mastodon not being recognized. * Fix modal overlay not covering the full screen on block themes. * Fix outbox invalidation canceling pending Accept/Reject responses to QuoteRequests for the same post. * Fix QuoteRequest handler to derive responding actor from post author instead of inbox recipient. * Fix reactions block buttons inheriting theme background color on classic themes. * Fix reactions block layout on small screens and remove unwanted button highlight when clicking action buttons. * Fix signature verification rejecting valid requests that use lowercase algorithm names in the Digest header. * Fix soft-deleted posts being served instead of a tombstone when the post is re-saved. * Improve compatibility with federated services that use a URL reference for the actor’s public key. * Improve handling of all public audience identifiers when sending activities to followers and relays. * Prevent private recipient lists from being shared when sending activities to other servers. ## Get It Download from WordPress.org or grab it on GitHub. Remember to check your PHP version first — 7.4 or higher is now required. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed code, testing, bug reports, and ideas to this release. Special thanks to @kraft, @jeremy, and @futtta for their snippet contributions. Update, try out those Like and Boost buttons, and let us know what you think — what’s the feature you’ve been waiting for? What would you like to see next?

WordPress ActivityPub 8.0.0 makes your blog more interactive in the Fediverse: visitors can Like/Boost posts directly on-site, with faster repeat interactions and clearer guidance. New Fediverse block patterns/templates speed setup, a pre-publish panel suggests post formats, community snippets […]

Roadmap 2026 — Charting the stars of the open social web ActivityPub and the Fediverse had a great year in 2025. With that foundation in place, our 2026 roadmap is all about what comes next: better discoverability, richer interactions, and a smoother experience across the open social web. As always, this roadmap is not set in stone. Priorities may shift based on community feedback, WordPress developments, and changes across the wider Fediverse. But it should give you a clear sense of where we’re heading this year. ## Increase Findability and Reach One of the main themes for 2026 is discoverability. We want WordPress sites to be easier to find, follow, and recommend across the Fediverse. ### FASP Support We plan to implement support for **Fediverse Auxiliary Service Providers (FASPs)**. FASPs are independent services that enhance Fediverse servers with features such as cross-instance search, recommendations, and spam detection. By integrating with these services, WordPress content can appear in Fediverse discovery tools, making it easier for people to find and follow WordPress blogs. This work is already in progress, and you can follow the implementation here: https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/pull/2312 ### Starter Packs Starter Packs are shareable collections of recommended accounts designed to help people discover communities more easily. They address the “empty feed problem” by giving new users curated lists of accounts to follow. This makes it easier to find interesting voices and become part of the network more quickly. ## Reader v2 The next phase of the Reader will focus on deeper interaction and a more complete social experience. ### Reactions We plan to show likes, boosts, and comments directly in the Reader view, so users can see how posts are being received across the network. ### Interactions Users will be able to interact with Fediverse content directly from the Reader — including: * Commenting on posts * Liking posts * Boosting posts This will make the Reader a fully interactive space, not just a passive timeline. ### Activity Stream We’ll introduce an Activity Stream to notify users about important requests and events, such as: * Follow requests * Starter Pack invitations * Other actions that require approval Users will be able to accept or decline these directly from the interface. ### Reply Context Import We also plan to improve how conversation threads are displayed. By parsing reply collections and context from incoming posts, the Reader will be able to fill in missing parts of a discussion, even when some replies were created before the post was indexed. This will make threads feel more complete and easier to follow. ## Direct Messages As part of the evolving Reader experience, we’re planning an initial version of Direct Messages. This will start as a proof of concept, helping us explore the technical challenges while already delivering a useful and frequently requested feature. Over time, we’ll iterate based on real-world usage and feedback. ## Client-to-Server API In addition to server-to-server federation, ActivityPub also defines a **Client-to-Server (C2S)** API: This API is primarily intended for mobile apps and other clients, allowing them to publish content directly to a server. For WordPress, this could: * Enable mobile or third-party clients * Allow WordPress to act as a proxy for other publishing tools * Open new workflows for federated content The first step will be enabling POST requests to the Outbox endpoint using application passwords. This is currently being worked on, and you can track the implementation here: https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/pull/2851 ## Ongoing Improvements and Interoperability Alongside these larger initiatives, we’ll continue working on a wide range of improvements across the plugin. A key focus is better interoperability with the broader WordPress ecosystem. We want it to be easier for other plugins to integrate with the Fediverse, so that features like comments, reactions, events, and other content types can work seamlessly across federated networks. We’re also continuing to refine the experience for long-form content. WordPress is known for blogging and publishing, and we want to make sure that articles, threads, and conversations feel natural and readable across the Fediverse. In addition, we’ll experiment with smaller features and fun ideas, such as activity statistics and other lightweight insights, to help site owners better understand their reach and interactions. These improvements may be smaller in scope than the major roadmap items, but together they play an important role in making WordPress a more capable and enjoyable citizen of the Fediverse. ## Staying Informed We’ll continue to share updates throughout the year. Each release will include posts about new features and improvements. For larger initiatives, like Reader v2 or Direct Messages, we’ll publish deeper updates as the work evolves. As always, your feedback helps shape the future of the plugin and the growing WordPress Fediverse community. If you have thoughts or ideas, we’d love to hear them in the comments. 🚀

The 2026 roadmap focuses on making WordPress easier to discover and interact with across the Fediverse. Key areas include better search and recommendations through FASP support, Starter Packs to help users find communities, a more interactive Reader with reactions and replies, direct messages […]

7.9.0 — Spring Cleaning 🪣🧹 <p>Every now and then, it’s time to tidy things up.</p><figure><img width="1024" height="682" src="https://wpactivitypub.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/spring-cleaning.png?w=1024" alt="An image of a Wapuu in a space-suite, cleaning the milky way." /></figure><p>Version <strong>7.9.0</strong> is a spring-cleaning release: fewer rough edges, better defaults, and a lot of small improvements that make the plugin feel smoother and more predictable in daily use. No big rewrites — just many thoughtful fixes and refinements.</p><p>And yes, there’s one change you’ll notice immediately.</p><h2>Emoji, But Make Them Emoji 🎺</h2><p>Custom emoji from the Fediverse now finally show up as… emoji.</p><p>Instead of seeing placeholders like <code>:sad_trombone:</code>, federated posts now render the actual custom emoji they were meant to display. It’s a small detail, but one that makes conversations feel more human, and a lot less like reading raw markup.</p><figure><img width="2612" height="1854" src="https://wpactivitypub.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/emojis.png" alt="A screenshot of a comments section of a WordPress blog, showing comments with custom emojis." /></figure><p>Sometimes polish really is about the little things.</p><h2>A Healthier, More Predictable Setup 🩺</h2><p>A quiet but important part of this release focuses on <strong>making things fail less often — and recover better when they do</strong>.</p><p>Version 7.9.0 adds new <strong>Site Health checks</strong> to detect common issues that can silently break federation, including missing scheduled events and security plugins blocking REST API access. When possible, the plugin now attempts to repair these problems automatically.</p><p>We also tightened up activity scheduling and outbox processing to reduce edge cases where federation could stall or behave inconsistently. These changes don’t add new buttons or screens, but they make ActivityPub for WordPress more resilient in real-world setups.</p><h2>Following, Reading, and the Social Graph 👥</h2><p>This release also includes a few improvements that move us one step closer to <strong>full Reader support</strong> — while keeping things deliberately cautious.</p><p>With the new Fediverse Following block and Extra Fields improvements, it’s now much easier to build a proper profile page in WordPress, similar to what many other Fediverse platforms offer. You can surface who you follow and how you present yourself, using blocks instead of custom code.</p><figure><img width="2612" height="1854" src="https://wpactivitypub.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/following-block.png" alt="A screenshot of the Following-Block in the Editor." /></figure><p>The Reader itself remains <strong>behind a feature flag</strong> and is still considered experimental. This release focuses on preparing the surrounding pieces — navigation, feedback, and presentation — rather than enabling it by default.</p><p>If you’re curious about where this is heading, you can enable the feature and try it out today. As with earlier previews, feedback is very welcome and helps shape what full Reader support will eventually look like. (<a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/12/17/7-8-0-happy-holidays/">See the initial Reader announcement for upgrade notes and details</a>.)</p><h2>Changelog 🪵</h2><h3>Added</h3><ul><li>Add Fediverse Following block to display accounts the user follows.</li><li>Add global default quote policy setting that can be overridden per-post.</li><li>Add health check to verify scheduled events are registered and auto-repair if missing.</li><li>Add location support for posts using WordPress Geodata post meta fields.</li><li>Add Podlove Podcast Publisher integration for podcast episode federation.</li><li>Add site health check to detect when security plugins block REST API access.</li><li>Add Social Web item to the admin bar for quick access to the reader.</li><li>Add soft delete support with Tombstone objects when post visibility changes to local/private.</li><li>Custom emoji from the fediverse now show up instead of looking like :sad_trombone:.</li><li>Make actor table columns filterable.</li><li>Send Add/Remove activities when changing a post&#8217;s sticky status to improve interoperability with the featured collection.</li><li>Show warning instead of reply link when logged-in user cannot federate replies to fediverse comments.</li></ul><h3>Changed</h3><ul><li>Defer outbox processing to async execution to improve publishing performance.</li><li>Move Jest mocks to tests/js directory for better project organization.</li><li>Remove redundant __nextHasNoMarginBottom props now that @wordpress/components 32.0.0 defaults to true.</li><li>Revert to synchronous outbox processing with improved timeout handling and WebFinger error caching.</li></ul><h3>Fixed</h3><ul><li>Don&#8217;t filter the comment query when type__not_in has been set.</li><li>Filter comments on ActivityPub posts from REST API responses.</li><li>Fix duplicate media attachments when featured image is also in post content.</li><li>Fixed Federated Reply block embed appearing squished at 200&#215;200 pixels for same-site embeds by passing explicit width to wp_oembed_get().</li><li>Fixed pagination metadata leaking when &#8220;Hide Social Graph&#8221; privacy setting is enabled.</li><li>Fix migration activities not being scheduled for federation due to hook registration timing.</li><li>Fix older comments with empty type not being federated.</li><li>Fix quote requests from Mastodon not being received.</li><li>Fix users not being accessible after re-enabling ActivityPub capability.</li><li>Hide admin REST API endpoints from discovery index.</li><li>Show informational notice when trying to follow an already-followed account.</li><li>Skip fetching public audience identifiers which are not actual recipients.</li></ul><h2>Downloads</h2><ul><li>WordPress.org:&nbsp;<a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/activitypub.7.9.0.zip" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">activitypub.7.9.0.zip</a></li><li>GitHub:&nbsp;<a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases/tag/7.9.0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tag/7.9.0</a></li></ul><h2>Thank You 💛✨</h2><p>A huge thank you to everyone who tested early builds 🧪, filed bug reports 🐞, shared feedback 💬, reviewed pull requests 🔍, or helped improve docs 📚. Your input directly shaped many of the fixes and cleanups in this release.</p><p>And thanks to everyone running ActivityPub for WordPress out in the wild 🌍 — that’s where spring cleaning really shows what needs sweeping 🧹.</p><p>You make this project better, one emoji (and one fix) at a time 🥰</p>

Version 7.9.0 is a spring-cleaning release for ActivityPub for WordPress. Custom Fediverse emoji now render properly, profile and following blocks make it easier to build richer identity pages, and new health checks improve reliability. Alongside performance […]

[Original post on activitypub.blog]

@skribe

Yes, the plugin works fine with classic themes, you simply can’t use the blocks then :)

@thaumiel999

Anything that’s blocked won’t make it into the Inbox.