Evidence record · captured 2026-10-11

WordPress Block Themes

Covers block-theme work: theme.json presets/settings/styles, templates and template parts, patterns, style variations, and Site Editor troubleshooting (style hierarchy, user overrides stored in the DB, caching). It locates theme roots with a triage script and asks where the problem shows up (Site Editor, post editor, frontend).

Official publisherUnverifiedSource reviewedBehavior not tested

Source review

Editorial assessment

This is a source-only assessment. It does not claim runtime or security testing.

What it does

Teaches the agent the block theme style hierarchy (core, theme.json, child theme, user customizations). A theme.json change that seems ignored then gets diagnosed as an override or a stored user selection, not answered with more edits to the file.

Best for

Diagnosing styles that do not apply in the Site Editor or on the frontend
Adding templates, template parts, filesystem patterns or style variations to a block theme
Converting a classic theme to a block theme with an explicit minimum WordPress version

Strengths in the source

Separates theme.json settings (what the UI allows) from styles (default appearance) before any edit.
Flags that a selected style variation is stored in the database, so editing the JSON file may not change what users see.
The debugging reference covers un-normalised preset slugs that make var(--wp--preset--*) silently fall back.
detect_block_themes.mjs locates theme roots so changes stay scoped to one theme in multi-theme repos.

Limitations

Depends on the separate wp-project-triage skill for its first triage command.
Verification is mostly manual inspection in the Site Editor; the skill has no automated check for theme.json validity.
Fixes that involve clearing user customizations touch database state, which the skill notes but does not script.

When not to use it

Classic PHP template themes with no theme.json, templates or parts.
Writing custom block code, which belongs to wp-block-development.

Reviewed by Retenta editorial on 2026-10-11; scope: source only.

Files included in this review

skills/wp-block-themes/SKILL.md

Evidence and boundaries

Execution · not tested

Retenta has not executed this skill.

Security · not tested

Bundles 1 script (scripts/detect_block_themes.mjs) that the agent may run. Retenta has not run them or scanned them.

Pinned publisher source: skills/wp-block-themes/SKILL.md
Revision: 3cf7f6f701300d80166cc0b7e6ebc667501c353d
License evidence: GPL-2.0-or-laterRetenta preserves the license text captured with this immutable upstream snapshot; no independent legal or security review is claimed.
Last source change: 2026-07-08
Independent verification: Published by WordPress (WordPress.org contributors), but not independently verified by a third-party reviewer.
Upstream repository: Open publisher repository