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theme.json is the canonical configuration file for a WordPress block theme. Stored in the theme root, it defines which design controls appear in the editor, registers presets such as colors and typography, applies global styles, and can declare custom templates and template parts.
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The current format is version 3, introduced with WordPress 6.6. Older formats remain supported, but your schema, properties, and compatibility floor must match the oldest WordPress version your theme promises to support.
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What theme.json controls
Block themes use theme.json as a shared contract between WordPress core, the theme, and user customizations. WordPress merges those origins so that theme defaults can be adjusted by users in the Site Editor without editing theme files. The file belongs at the top level of the theme directory, alongside files such as style.css and templates.
A modern file normally contains a schema declaration, a format version, and objects for settings and styles. The specification also defines customTemplates and templateParts. A minimal starting shape is:
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{
"$schema": "https://schemas.wp.org/wp/6.6/theme.json",
"version": 3,
"settings": {},
"styles": {}
}Use a schema URL that matches the oldest WordPress release you support. In documentation, the pattern is https://schemas.wp.org/wp/{{version}}/theme.json; replace the variable with a concrete version number in your file. Schema-aware editors can then provide completion, tooltips, and validation. The trunk schema may expose newer Gutenberg properties that are unavailable on a production site, so it is not automatically the safest choice.
The top-level properties
$schema
This metadata property points your editor at the JSON Schema for a specific WordPress version. It does not itself change the site; it improves authoring feedback and helps catch misspelled or unsupported keys before deployment.
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version
The integer identifies the theme.json format understood by WordPress. Version 3 is the current format and starts at WordPress 6.6. Choose deliberately rather than copying the newest example: a theme supporting an older installation should use the format and keys appropriate to that compatibility floor.
settings
settings controls the capabilities and choices exposed in the editor. It can register palettes, font families, spacing scales, layout widths, and per-block controls. A setting generally makes a control or preset available; it does not, by itself, apply a visual value. For example, a color palette supplies named choices, while a style rule chooses which color text or a background actually uses.
styles
styles supplies visual values. It can set defaults for the site root, semantic elements, and individual blocks. The same property, such as line height or padding, has a different effect depending on the scope in which it appears.
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customTemplates and templateParts
These arrays describe templates and reusable template-part metadata that a block theme exposes to WordPress. Keep their nested fields aligned with the schema for your target version; unsupported fields can be ignored or rejected by validation.
Understanding the settings families
The documented settings families are capabilities, not a promise that every nested key exists on every WordPress release. Consult the version-matched schema before shipping a nested property.
| Family | What it controls |
|---|---|
appearanceTools |
One boolean bundle that exposes a broad set of design controls. |
border |
Border-related controls such as width, style, radius, and color where supported. |
color |
Color and gradient capabilities plus registered palettes. |
custom |
Custom CSS-variable generation and related custom values. |
dimensions |
Dimension controls such as minimum height where available. |
layout |
Content and wide widths, alignment behavior, and layout options. |
lightbox |
Image lightbox capability for supported blocks. |
position |
Positioning controls, including sticky behavior where available. |
shadow |
Shadow presets and editor support for shadow values. |
spacing |
Margin, padding, block gap, and spacing presets. |
typography |
Font families, sizes, weight, line height, decoration, transform, and related typography tools. |
useRootPaddingAwareAlignments |
Whether root padding is respected by full-width block alignments. |
blocks |
Per-block settings, allowing a control or preset for selected blocks instead of the entire editor. |
Presets registered through settings can produce corresponding CSS custom properties and utility classes. That gives users consistent named choices while allowing styles to reference the same design tokens. Keep the palette, type scale, spacing scale, and layout widths limited to values your design system can support; exposing every possible control makes the editor harder to use.
How styles applies values
Root styles
Properties directly under styles become global defaults, effectively targeting the document body and site-wide design. Use this scope for the baseline color scheme, typography, spacing, and other values that should apply unless a more specific rule overrides them.
Element styles
styles.elements targets semantic elements recognized by the schema, such as links, headings, buttons, and captions. This is preferable to scattering equivalent declarations through block rules when the intent is semantic and global.
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Block styles
styles.blocks contains block-specific defaults. WordPress normally emits a selector based on the block name, such as .wp-block-paragraph for the Paragraph block, unless that block declares a custom selector. Use this scope for defaults that should follow a block everywhere while leaving other blocks untouched.
The style reference covers color, border, dimensions, filter, shadow, spacing, typography, and CSS. More-specific origins can merge with or outrank theme defaults: user styles and block style variations are common examples. When a value appears not to work, inspect the final cascade and confirm that a user-level or variation rule is not winning.
appearanceTools: convenient bundle, deliberate trade-off
settings.appearanceTools is a boolean and defaults to false. Setting it to true enables a bundle of controls across areas such as background, borders, link color, dimensions, sticky positioning, spacing, and line height. The exact bundle can expand as WordPress adds design tools.
Authors can enable the bundle and then disable individual controls when a design needs tighter boundaries. This creates a product decision:
- Use the bundle when site owners should have broad visual freedom and you can accept new controls appearing in future WordPress releases.
- Opt into individual settings when the theme is a constrained client system, a tightly art-directed publication, or a managed environment where an unexpected control could undermine the design.
No one can reliably predict every future design feature. A public theme may favor flexibility; an agency theme may prefer an explicit allow-list that changes only when the author updates it.
Version and compatibility rules
A property documented today is not necessarily parsed, rendered, or exposed in the Style Editor on every installation. WordPress maintains separate availability information for the theme.json key and for the matching editor control. Check both when supporting a mixed-version audience.
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| Property | Availability noted in the reference | Compatibility implication |
|---|---|---|
| theme.json format version 3 | WordPress 6.6 | Use only when 6.6 or newer is your compatibility floor. |
background.backgroundAttachment |
WordPress 6.7 | Older sites may not recognize the key or expose its editor control. |
typography.textIndent |
WordPress 7.0 | Guard or omit it when the theme must run below 7.0. |
typography.textShadow |
WordPress 7.1 | Do not assume Style Editor support on earlier versions. |
The living version-3 reference targets WordPress 6.6 or later and the latest Gutenberg plugin. If your audience includes older core versions, select the older schema and format that match your floor, avoid newer keys, or provide an intentional fallback in another stylesheet or template strategy. The Theme.json Reference was last updated by WordPress Developer Resources on October 14, 2026, so recheck availability as core evolves.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Layout, spacing, and root padding
Layout settings define content and wide widths and the alignment behavior available to blocks. Spacing settings cover margin, padding, and block gap. Typography settings cover the type system and text treatments supported by the target version.
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{
"settings": {
"useRootPaddingAwareAlignments": true
},
"styles": {
"spacing": {
"padding": {
"top": "var:preset|spacing|40",
"right": "var:preset|spacing|40",
"bottom": "var:preset|spacing|40",
"left": "var:preset|spacing|40"
}
}
}
}The example illustrates the required object shape; choose preset names and values that actually exist in your theme.
A reliable authoring workflow
- Set the schema first. Point
$schemaat the version matching the oldest WordPress release you support, using the documented URL patternhttps://schemas.wp.org/wp/{{version}}/theme.json. - Choose the format version. Use version 3 when the compatibility floor is WordPress 6.6 or newer; otherwise use the older format supported by that floor.
- Design the editor surface. Decide which color, gradient, font, spacing, layout, and block controls users should see. Register only the presets your system can maintain.
- Add global defaults. Put site-wide visual values under
styles, then add element and block scopes for intentional exceptions. - Make the appearance-tools decision. Enable the bundle for broad flexibility, or explicitly enable narrower settings when future controls would be risky.
- Check every newer key. Compare each property with WordPress’s availability table, including the release that added its Style Editor control.
- Validate and inspect. Use JSON Schema support in your editor, load the theme in the minimum supported WordPress version, confirm that the expected controls appear, and inspect front-end CSS for the intended selectors and cascade.
Troubleshooting properties that appear not to work
The editor shows no control
First verify that the relevant setting is enabled. A preset under settings.color, for example, will not apply a color by itself, and a typography style will not create a control unless the corresponding typography capability is available. Next check whether your WordPress version includes the property and its Style Editor control.
The value is valid but has no visible effect
Confirm the scope. A root style is a global default, an element style targets a semantic element, and a block style targets a block selector. A rule placed in the wrong scope can be valid JSON yet miss the element you are inspecting.
A user change overrides the theme
That is normally expected. WordPress merges origins, and user styles or block style variations can outrank theme defaults. Inspect the generated CSS and remove or change the higher-precedence value rather than repeatedly editing the theme default.
A newer property is ignored on older sites
Compare the key with the availability table and the schema used by the installation. Remove it, provide a deliberate fallback, or raise the theme’s minimum WordPress version; do not assume an unknown key will degrade gracefully.
Full-width content ignores root padding
Check that useRootPaddingAwareAlignments is enabled and that padding is declared with separate side properties. A shorthand or an incomplete object does not express the behavior this option expects.
Choosing a configuration strategy
| Strategy | Best fit | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Explicit settings and scoped styles | Client or editorial themes with a controlled design system. | More keys to maintain, but a predictable editor surface. |
appearanceTools: true with selective opt-outs |
General-purpose themes where users need broad controls. | Future WordPress releases may add controls you have not evaluated. |
| Version-matched schema and conservative keys | Themes distributed to sites running several WordPress versions. | Newer design features must wait for the compatibility floor or use fallbacks. |
Whichever strategy you choose, keep the format version, schema URL, availability table, and minimum supported WordPress version in agreement. That alignment prevents the most common theme.json failures: controls that never appear, styles emitted at the wrong scope, and properties silently unavailable on the sites that matter.
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