Enhance classic editor timestamp fields with native controls by poligilad-auto · Pull Request #12275 · WordPress/wordpress-develop

poligilad-auto · 2026-06-23T09:18:38Z

Summary

Adds server-rendered native date and time controls as a progressive enhancement for the classic editor publish timestamp UI.
Keeps the existing touch_time() granular fields as the source of truth and fallback, syncing the native values back to aa, mm, jj, hh, and mn.
Shows the site's timezone next to the enhanced controls, matching the scheduling model more closely and making the site-time context explicit.

Trac ticket: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61652

Screenshots

Publish box - date time - core - before 2

Publish box - date time - core - after 2

Testing

Opened the classic post editor locally and verified the Publish timestamp field renders as separate native date and time inputs with a visible site-time note.
Verified changing the native inputs updates the existing legacy timestamp fields.
Verified an invalid native value keeps the timestamp editor open and marks the field invalid.
Verified the existing granular timestamp fields remain in the DOM as the fallback/source of truth.
Ran node .context/classic-datetime-smoke.mjs.
Ran npx grunt jshint:core.
Ran php -l src/wp-admin/includes/template.php.
Ran vendor/bin/phpcs --standard=phpcs.xml.dist src/wp-admin/includes/template.php.

github-actions · 2026-06-23T09:18:48Z

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github-actions · 2026-06-23T09:18:51Z

The following accounts have interacted with this PR and/or linked issues. I will continue to update these lists as activity occurs. You can also manually ask me to refresh this list by adding the props-bot label.

Core Committers: Use this line as a base for the props when committing in SVN:

Props poligilad, tyxla, jillq.

To understand the WordPress project's expectations around crediting contributors, please review the Contributor Attribution page in the Core Handbook.

github-actions · 2026-06-23T09:22:48Z

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tyxla

Thanks for this work @poligilad-auto.

I've got some higher-level design and approach questions, but I'll post them on the ticket.

Left a few questions on the code in the meantime. The biggest one is that handling the field rendering with JS is subpar and should ideally be done in the PHP template.

node .context/classic-datetime-smoke.mjs

I wasn't able to where this is coming from

tyxla · 2026-06-26T13:12:56Z

+			updateNativeTimestampFields();
+			$timestampdiv.addClass( 'has-native-timestamp-fields' );
+			$timestampwrap.before( $nativeTimestampWrap ).hide();
+			$nativeInput.on( 'change input', updateFieldsFromNativeTimestamp );


Binding to input runs the full-format regex on every keystroke, so while someone is mid-typing a partial value (2026-06-2) it fails the match and adds form-invalid, and the field flashes red as they type. Could we validate on change only (and update the legacy fields there), and avoid flagging invalid on transient input events? If we want live sync, we could debounce, but the invalid styling shouldn't fire until the user commits the value.

Updated. The native controls now listen on change only, so the full-format validation does not run while a user is still mid-typing. Invalid styling is only applied after the value is committed/saved.

tyxla · 2026-06-26T13:13:59Z

+			if ( updateFieldsFromNativeTimestamp && ! updateFieldsFromNativeTimestamp() ) {
+				event.preventDefault();
+				return;
+			}
+
 			if ( updateText() ) {


updateFieldsFromNativeTimestamp() already returns updateText(), and then the existing if ( updateText() ) below calls it again, making it run twice per save. Likely we can lean on the first call's return value instead of re-invoking.

Updated. updateFieldsFromNativeTimestamp() is now the single save path and the save handler uses its return value instead of calling updateText() again.

tyxla · 2026-06-26T13:15:16Z

+				$( '#mm' ).val( matches[2] );
+				$( '#jj' ).val( matches[3] );
+				$( '#hh' ).val( matches[4] );
+				$( '#mn' ).val( matches[5] );


The native control has no seconds and we don't touch #ss here, so the original seconds are carried through to submit. That actually matches the legacy behavior (seconds live in a hidden field there too), so it's not a data bug, but it's worth a one-line comment noting it's intentional, since the visible time no longer reflects the full stored value.

Updated. Added a comment noting that seconds intentionally remain in the existing hidden #ss field, matching the legacy timestamp UI.

tyxla · 2026-06-26T13:16:59Z

+			$timestampdiv.addClass( 'has-native-timestamp-fields' );
+			$timestampwrap.before( $nativeTimestampWrap ).hide();
+			$nativeInput.on( 'change input', updateFieldsFromNativeTimestamp );
+			$timestampwrap.find( 'input, select' ).on( 'change', updateNativeTimestampFields );


These are now hidden, no?

Yes. In the enhanced UI those legacy controls are hidden, but they remain the source of truth/fallback and are still synced from the native controls before save.

tyxla · 2026-06-26T13:18:32Z

 			$('#aa').val($('#hidden_aa').val());
 			$('#hh').val($('#hidden_hh').val());
 			$('#mn').val($('#hidden_mn').val());
+			if ( updateNativeTimestampFields ) {


Those checks may be easy to forget and clutter the code, would be nice to figure something else out, like defaulting them to no-ops.

Updated. The native timestamp helpers now default to no-op behavior, so the save/cancel handlers do not need repeated existence checks.

tyxla · 2026-06-26T13:19:40Z

+			}
+
+			toNativeValue = function() {
+				return $( '#aa' ).val() + '-' +


Should we pad years to 4 digits too?

Good point. The native date value is now rendered and synced in the expected YYYY-MM-DD shape.

tyxla · 2026-06-26T13:20:09Z

+	margin: 3px 0 0;
+}
+
+#timestampdiv .timestamp-native-wrap + p {


This couples spacing to the sibling DOM order; if the markup around the wrap ever shifts, the spacing silently breaks. Could we target a class on the element we actually want to space instead of + p?

Updated. The spacing now targets explicit timestamp classes instead of relying on sibling DOM order.

tyxla · 2026-06-26T13:21:20Z

+				'<p class="timestamp-native-wrap hide-if-no-js">' +
+					'<label for="publish-datetime-native" class="screen-reader-text">' + __( 'Date and time' ) + '</label>' +
+					'<input type="datetime-local" id="publish-datetime-native" class="form-required" />' +
+				'</p>'


The rest of this UI is server-rendered in touch_time(). Building a new labeled field as a concatenated HTML string in JS diverges from that pattern, makes the field invisible to anything inspecting server output, and splits the timestamp UI across two rendering models. I think we should render that on the PHP side instead.

Updated. The native date/time fields are now rendered server-side in touch_time(), and the JS only activates/syncs them when native date and time inputs are supported.

poligilad-auto · 2026-06-29T09:51:59Z

Thanks for the review, @tyxla.

I updated the PR based on the ticket discussion and this feedback.

The approach no longer uses a single datetime-local input. It now uses separate native date and time inputs, stacked vertically in the Publish metabox.

I think this addresses the main concerns more directly:

It avoids relying on a combined browser date/time picker.
It keeps the date and time easier to understand as separate values.
It fits the narrow Publish metabox better now that the fields are stacked.
It adds an explicit “Site time” note below the fields, which is closer to the newer editor/product editor pattern and clarifies which timezone the value represents.
The existing aa, mm, jj, hh, and mn fields remain the source of truth/fallback, so the submitted data shape is unchanged.
The native fields are now rendered server-side in touch_time(), with JS only activating and syncing them when supported.

I’ll reply to the code-specific comments inline as well.

tyxla

Left a review, and from the code perspective, didn't see anything major. Left a few suggestions.

The biggest concerns here remain:

Ensuring / gathering feedback and confirming this is the design we want to go with
Ensuring this doesn't break any existing contracts that would cause breakage of existing plugins integrating with the pre-existing controls

tyxla · 2026-07-08T13:11:36Z

-						/* translators: Hidden accessibility text. */
-						_e( 'Edit date and time' );
-						?>
+				<span class="timestamp-display">


Noting that some of these markup changes might be necessary below in some of the other meta boxes. Or we need to ensure that our CSS changes affect only this one. But right now the changes may affect the other meta boxes in weird ways because some of those markup changes are missing

tyxla · 2026-07-08T13:12:00Z

+.misc-pub-curtime #timestamp:before {
+	content: none;
+}


This is duplicated

tyxla · 2026-07-08T13:14:15Z

+				$timestampdiv.find( '.timestamp-wrap, #publish-date-native' ).addClass( 'form-invalid' );
 				return false;
 			} else {
-				$timestampdiv.find('.timestamp-wrap').removeClass('form-invalid');
+				$timestampdiv.find( '.timestamp-wrap, .timestamp-native-wrap input' ).removeClass( 'form-invalid' );


Should we make these selectors consistent?

tyxla · 2026-07-08T13:15:06Z

+	$timezone = wp_timezone_string();
+	if ( preg_match( '/^([+-])(\d{2}):(\d{2})$/', $timezone, $timezone_matches ) ) {
+		$timezone  = 'UTC' . $timezone_matches[1] . (int) $timezone_matches[2];
+		$timezone .= ( '00' === $timezone_matches[3] ) ? '' : ':' . $timezone_matches[3];
+	}


UTC+0 might be weird - should it just be UTC?

@tyxla

Follow-up to the review on PR WordPress#12275 by @tyxla: - Remove a duplicated `.misc-pub-curtime #timestamp:before` rule, keeping the later declaration so it still overrides `.curtime #timestamp:before` (equal specificity, so source order decides). - Align the native date/time invalid-state selectors: mark and clear `form-invalid` on both native inputs via `.timestamp-native-wrap input`, instead of flagging only `#publish-date-native` by ID. - Render a zero UTC offset as `UTC` rather than `UTC+0` in the site-time note. - Size the Publish-box timestamp icon column with `auto` instead of a fixed `27px`, so the row's label lines up with the sibling meta rows. Props poligilad, tyxla. See WordPress#12275.

j111q · 2026-08-14T09:07:55Z

I've opened #13050 as a draft, which carries Poli's commit unchanged and adds a follow-up commit addressing the code comments from @tyxla's last review.

Removed the duplicated .misc-pub-curtime #timestamp:before rule
Made the native inputs' invalid-state selectors symmetric
Rendered a zero timezone offset as UTC rather than UTC+0.
Fixed the Publish-box alignment: the timestamp row's icon column was a fixed 27px, which pushed its label ~10px right of the sibling rows — switching it to auto lines them all up, and the new CSS stays scoped to .misc-pub-curtime so the other meta boxes are untouched.

(Thanks Marin!)

…pat. Wrapping the timestamp display and the Edit link in a `.timestamp-display` span moved `a.edit-timestamp` out from being a sibling of `#timestampdiv`. A scan of the plugin directory found several plugins (e.g. PublishPress Statuses, Media Library Assistant, LH Archived Post Status) that rely on `$( '#timestampdiv' ).siblings( 'a.edit-timestamp' )`, which the wrapper would break. Keep `#timestamp` and `a.edit-timestamp` as direct children of `.misc-pub-curtime` and lay the row out with a three-column grid instead. The rendered result and the row alignment are unchanged. See WordPress#12275.

poligilad-auto mentioned this pull request Jun 24, 2026

Improve classic product editor publish date field woocommerce/woocommerce#65826

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tyxla reviewed Jun 26, 2026

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poligilad-auto force-pushed the poligilad-auto/core-editor-trac-pr branch from e7df860 to 64c413f Compare June 29, 2026 08:34

poligilad-auto changed the title ~~Enhance classic editor timestamp field with datetime-local~~ Enhance classic editor timestamp fields with native controls Jun 29, 2026

poligilad-auto force-pushed the poligilad-auto/core-editor-trac-pr branch 6 times, most recently from 31e039f to 76129d2 Compare June 29, 2026 09:13

Enhance classic editor timestamp field

965b41d

poligilad-auto force-pushed the poligilad-auto/core-editor-trac-pr branch from 76129d2 to 965b41d Compare June 29, 2026 09:32

pento force-pushed the trunk branch from 3af2d27 to 64ede28 Compare July 6, 2026 03:10

tyxla reviewed Jul 8, 2026

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j111q mentioned this pull request Aug 14, 2026

Editor: Enhance classic editor timestamp fields with native controls (continues #12275) #13050

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poligilad-auto commented Jun 23, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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poligilad-auto commented Jun 29, 2026

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j111q commented Aug 14, 2026

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