WordPress 6.9, planned for release on 2 December 2025, will introduce the Abilities API. This new system is designed to make it far easier for plugins, themes, and core features to describe what they do in a way that both people and machines can understand. It also lays the groundwork for more advanced AI tools to interact properly with WordPress sites.
For years, WordPress functionality has been split across custom code, AJAX calls, and plugin-specific approaches. The Abilities API aims to give everything a single, consistent structure. This helps themes, plugins, and core features work together more smoothly and makes it easier for automated systems to understand how a site operates.
What An Ability Means In WordPress
An ability is a self-contained piece of functionality that includes its inputs, outputs, permission rules, and how it runs. Treating features as abilities makes them easier to manage and reduces confusion that normally comes from working with scattered code.
Developers will be able to register abilities with clear permission checks, validation steps, and callbacks. This creates predictable behaviour wherever an ability is used and makes interaction with WordPress features more open.
How Developers Benefit From The Abilities API
By registering features as abilities, developers gain a cleaner, more organised way to build and maintain functionality. Abilities can be listed, inspected, grouped, and queried through standard interfaces. Inputs and outputs can be validated, and permission rules can be applied consistently across all systems.
Another advantage is that abilities are automatically exposed through REST API routes under the wp-abilities/v1 namespace. This replaces the need for custom code and makes functionality easier to access across different environments.
Best Practices For Creating Abilities
To avoid naming collisions and technical issues, the new system encourages developers to follow simple rules:
- Use namespaced ability names, for example, my-plugin/process-payment
- Keep names lowercase
- Use only letters, numbers, dashes, and slashes
- Use clear, action-based names
- Format abilities as namespace/ability-name
These rules should help cut down the kind of conflicts that often occur when multiple plugins attempt to handle similar tasks.
How The Abilities API Works
The Abilities API is made up of three linked parts:
- A PHP API for registering, managing, and running abilities
- Automatic REST API exposure, so developers do not need extra code to make abilities accessible
- New hooks that allow deeper integration with the system
Together, these parts create a more organised approach for handling functionality across the entire platform.
Key Goals Behind The New System
The API has been built around several aims that support modern development:
- Every ability can be listed and understood clearly
- Different parts of WordPress can work together in a predictable way
- Permission checks are built in to protect access and prevent misuse
A Core Step In WordPress’ AI Plans
The Abilities API is part of a wider push to prepare WordPress for AI-driven workflows. It gives AI agents and automation tools the information they need to understand what a site can do and how to interact with it.
Abilities are readable by machines and exposed consistently across PHP, REST, and planned interfaces, creating a single structure that future AI tools can rely on.
A Significant Update For WordPress Developers
WordPress 6.9 marks a shift in how functionality is defined and accessed. The Abilities API gives developers a structured way to organise features, reduce conflicts, and support new AI integrations. With a clear system in place, WordPress sites can offer more predictable behaviour and smoother integration with tools that rely on structured information.
As the release date approaches, this update is set to become one of the most discussed additions to the platform for some time.