New Feature: Live Updates for Runtime Logs

Runtime Logs now supports live updates; new log entries are automatically fetched for you!

An animation showing live updates for Runtime Logs.

We announced the availability of Runtime Logs two weeks ago. Using the vip logs VIP-CLI command, you can get a view into recent application logs generated by your WordPress and Node applications running on WordPress VIP.

With our latest release (VIP-CLI 2.8.1), you can now pass the --follow param to trigger live updates:

$ vip @123.production logs --follow

Sometimes referred to as “log tailing” or “follow mode”, this feature will automatically fetch new log entries from your applications at a set interval (currently every 30 seconds) without having to re-run the command multiple times.

Note: You’ll need VIP-CLI 2.8.1 or higher to use the new --follow param (how to update VIP-CLI).

You can also learn more about the flag in our Runtime Logs documentation.

Next up, we’ll be adding Runtime Logs to the VIP Dashboard, so you can choose how you want to access your application logs.

We’d love to know what you think including how you hope to use this feature (and what we’re missing); please get in touch!

Call for Testing: AMP 1.4.2 on WordPress.com

AMP 1.4.2 will be deployed across all VIP sites on WordPress.com on Tuesday, February 11, 2020.

(Note: this does not include sites on the VIP Go platform.)

What’s New?

We’re upgrading from v0.6.2 to v1.4.2 and the AMP plugin has seen quite a few changes in between those releases. Here are some highlights:

• Additional rendering modes beyond the original “Reader” experience. You can now opt-in to render your entire site as “AMP-first” and leverage sanitization, CSS Tree Shaking, and various other features that now ship with the plugin. Or you can slowly and incrementally transition over.
• Continued rendering and compatibility improvements for Sanitizers, Embeds, and default elements including support for forms and widgets, better fallback support, and updates to match newer releases of the AMP spec.
• Added support for built-in WordPress.com and Jetpack features like Share buttons and Related Posts.

To learn more, you can browse through the changelog across the various releases.

What do I need to do?

In preparation for the release, we’ve run a series of automated scans and validation checks across VIP sites to verify that AMP pages continue to render as expected and validate correctly. We will be reaching out shortly to individual clients for whom we’ve uncovered potential issues.

To help aid testing in production, you can also load the new version of the AMP plugin for any page on your site by appending ?amp-next=1 to the URL (example). To verify that the new version is loading, you can check the AMP plugin version via the <meta name="generator" tag in the HTML source. You can also append #development=1 to load the browser validator and view validation results via the Developer Console.

We also recommend installing v1.4.2 of the plugin in your local environments and verifying that your AMP pages render as expected. You can use a tool like amphtml-validator to automate some of the testing as well.

If you have questions or run into issues, please open a support ticket with details and we will be happy to assist.

New Release: Jetpack 8.0

Jetpack 8.0 has been deployed to all VIP Go sites.

This release includes a number of bug fixes and improvements including a more reliable way to sync content. For Block Editor users, the release adds blocks for Pinterest and adding Star Ratings to your content.

The new Star Rating block allows authors to add star ratings to any post or page. With just a few clicks, you can add your review of movies, books, songs, recipes — anything you can put a number on.

You can find a full list of changes in the announcement post and changelog.

Have questions?

If you have any questions related to this release, please open a support ticket with details and we will be happy to assist.

New Release: Jetpack 7.9

Jetpack 7.9 has been deployed to all VIP Go sites.

This release introduces the Instant Search Prototype for Jetpack Search. This new feature creates a much faster and improved search experience by automatically updating results as users type their query.

Jetpack 7.9 also adds compatibility for WordPress 5.3 and the new Twenty Twenty default theme, as well as updates to various blocks such the Form block, which now supports customized confirmation messages. And much more.

You can find a full list of changes in the announcement post and changelog.

Have questions?

If you have any questions related to this release, please open a support ticket with details and we will be happy to assist.

New Release: WordPress 5.2

WordPress 5.2, named “Jaco” in honour of renowned and revolutionary jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius, has been released to all VIP sites.

New features in this update make it easier than ever to fix your site if something goes wrong. There are even more robust tools for identifying and fixing configuration issues and fatal errors.

The release adds PHP Error Protection, which will let you more quickly and easily recover from the so-called “white screen of death” when caused by a plugin or theme. It also contains a number of accessibility changes to improve contextual awareness and keyboard navigation flow for those using screen readers and other assistive technologies; as well as further customizations to the privacy templates; continued improvements of the Block Editor; and various updates for developers.

Note: the Site Health Check feature is not currently enabled on the VIP Platform but something we’re planning to make available in the near future.

For more details about this release (including specific changes), please see the announcement post, release notes, and Field Guide.

Have Questions?

If you have any questions related to this release, please open a support ticket and we will be happy to assist.

Delayed: WordPress 5.2 on VIP Go

The public release date for WordPress 5.2 has been pushed to Tuesday, May 7, 2019. All sites on VIP Go will now be upgraded on May 7 (instead of April 30, as previously announced).

For details about the WordPress 5.2 release, you can review the official Field Guide, which covers the many changes included in this release, such as the Fatal Error Protection, Block Editor improvements, and more.

For details on testing this release, you can review the “Call for Testing” Lobby post, which includes instructions for local testing as well as on your non-production VIP environments.

As always, if you have any questions related to this release, please open a support ticket, and we will be happy to assist.

New Release: WordPress 5.1.1

WordPress 5.1.1, a security and maintenance release, has been pushed out to all VIP sites across WordPress.com and VIP Go.

The release contains several bug and security fixes as well as some enhancements, including improvements for how comments are filtered and then stored in the database to prevent cross-site scripting attacks.

For more details about this release (including specific changes), please see the announcement post and release notes.

Have questions?

If you have any questions related to this release, please open a support ticket and we will be happy to assist.

New Release: Jetpack 7.0.1

Jetpack 7.0.1, a security and maintenance release, has been deployed to all VIP Go sites.

This update improves the security of the Search feature, adds compatibility for Publicize with LinkedIn’s new API (expected March 1st), and includes several other fixes.

You can find a full list of changes in the announcement post and changelog.

If you have any questions related to this release, please open a support ticket with details. and we will be happy to assist.

New Release: Jetpack 7.0

Jetpack 7.0 has been deployed to all VIP Go sites. This release adds a new GIF block for the block editor:

Jetpack 7.0 also adds a new “Copy Post” feature, which lets you quickly create new drafts based on already-published posts.

It also removes Google+ functionality, to prepare for the shutdown of the social network in April 2019. If you have a Publicize connection to your Google+ Profile or Page it will continue working through March, but you won’t be able to create new connections.

You can find a full list of changes in the announcement post and changelog.

If you have any questions related to this release, please open a support ticket with details. and we will be happy to assist.

New Release: WordPress 5.0.2

WordPress 5.0.2, a maintenance release, has been pushed out to all VIP sites.

The release contains 73 bug and performance fixes, mostly related to the block editor:

The primary focus of this release was performance improvements in the block editor: the cumulated performance gains make it 330% faster for a post with 200 blocks.

For more details about this release (including specific changes), please see the announcement post and release notes.

Have questions?

If you have any questions related to this release, please open a support ticket and we will be happy to assist.