Pantheon release notes

RSS readers will now detect multiple release notes from the same date.

Our release note publishing process runs through Markdown and Git with published dates set manually only at the granularity of year, month, and day. RSS readers (like our Community Slack integration) ignore multiple items with identical dates and times. We have worked around this limitation by setting an arbitrary hour, minute, and second for each release note within the RSS feed by deriving a hash of the note.

To reduce the pain of adding custom domains for our Diamond and Platinum customers, sites associated with Diamond and Platinum workspaces are now automatically exempt from domain verification enforcement. Exemption enables the option to skip domain verification when connecting custom domains in the site dashboard. Previously, this exemption had to be requested by contacting support.

We're thrilled to announce the availability of WP-CLI v2.11.0 on the Pantheon platform.

WP-CLI is easily accessible for any WordPress site on Pantheon through our CLI, Terminus, allowing you to manage your WordPress installations efficiently with WP-CLI’s powerful commands at your fingertips.

Highlights

• New site generator command: This new command has been added to create multiple sites programmatically in a multisite installation. This is useful for testing or development purposes.

• GitHub release installation support: The extension command now supports installing plugins and themes directly from GitHub releases.

• Minor and patch limitations for theme updates: Themes can now be updated only to their latest minor or patch releases, similar to plugins.

• New "user exists" command: A new wp user exists command allows for quick checks on whether a user exists in the WordPress database.

• Option to delete unknown image sizes: The new --delete-unknown flag added to wp media regenerate is especially helpful for site owners dealing with highly populated media directories.

• Bug fixes: WP-CLI 2.11.0 includes numerous bug fixes, with over 250 pull requests merged, addressing both minor and significant issues.

For a deeper dive into all the changes, we encourage you to explore the detailed WP-CLI changelog.

The 1.32.3 update is now available for the WordPress (composer managed) upstream. This release changes the COOKIEPATH and SITECOOKIEPATH constants in the application.pantheon.php file to resolve an issue that led to failed nonce authentication checks in some admin pages.

For more details, refer to the WordPress (Composer Managed) changelog.

Action required

To benefit from these updates and ensure your site is using the most current version, apply the update to your WordPress (composer managed) site or custom upstream.

Applying updates

This update should not affect files that would have been edited in site codebases. The only file changed by this update is the Pantheon-maintained filters.php file in the app/mu-plugins directory. However, if any conflicts occur, it is recommended to manually resolve them by running the following command:

For assistance with managing merge conflicts, refer to our documentation on auto-resolving via the dashboard or manually resolving via the command line.

Troubleshooting Tips

• If you find you are still seeing errors in the browser console or you cannot create posts or pages, it is recommended that you clear your cookies and log back into your WordPress site. This will ensure that the new COOKIEPATH and SITECOOKIEPATH constants are set correctly in your browser.
• If you find that your composer.json was overwritten when applying upstream updates, refer to this troubleshooting guide to resolve the issue.

The latest version of WordPress, 6.6.2, became available on Pantheon as of September 10, 2024.

Action required

Upgrade to WordPress 6.6.2 right from your Pantheon dashboard or Terminus for the latest fixes. For details, see related documentation for how to apply core updates.

New compatibility layer in Pantheon MU plugin

This release also includes an update to the Pantheon MU plugin, introducing a new "compatibility layer" designed to enhance the compatibility of your site’s plugins. For more information, see this release note for the MU plugin.

Release highlights

• 15 bug fixes in Core
• 11 bug fixes in the Block Editor

In our ongoing commitment to enhance the clarity of our support options, we are renaming Pantheon's 'On-call help' to 'Emergency ticket.' This phased rollout will first impact support at the workspace level, with changes to site-level support coming in the next phase.

For users accessing support from the site level, you will still see 'On-call help' for now. Rest assured, this is simply a name change, and it does not impact the scope of our service. The same level of support will continue to be provided.

Emergency ticket

Available exclusively to Platinum and Diamond customers, this option is for business-critical issues requiring immediate attention. Emergency tickets are escalated directly to our Support team, including during off-hours, ensuring a rapid response and resolution.

General support ticket

Available to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond customers for other support needs. Gold customers should use this option for site downtime or urgent issues, which will be handled promptly. Learn more about support features for different account tiers.

The Pantheon MU Plugin v1.5.1 update is now available for composer based WordPress sites. For non-composer based WordPress sites, this latest update will be bundled with the next WordPress core update. WordPress (composer managed) sites can upgrade today using composer update or by checking for updates in the dashboard.

What's new?

This update adds two new plugin additions to the compatibility layer feature warning of potential issues with PhastPress and WP Cerber.

Additionally, this release updates some of the content in the WordPress multisite setup screens and adds filters to allow for the customization of the location of the WordPress configuration file and the "Happy publishing" comment typically found in wp-config.php files.

PHP 8.2.23 and 8.3.11 were released on the platform. They contain the latest bug fixes and security updates for PHP.

Notably, these releases include a fix for a bug that caused New Relic's PHP agent to crash on sites using the Font Awesome plugin.

As a reminder, PHP 8.0 reached End-of-Life and PHP 8.1 was moved to security-only updates on 26 November 2023. PHP 8.1 will reach End-of-Life in December 2025. For the best performance and security, Pantheon recommends running PHP 8.2 and above.

• PHP Supported Versions