Split the WordPress version setting into an update mode and a version picker

.gitignore

@@ -122,6 +122,10 @@ dist-local
 # Playwright traces
 test-results
 
+# Page snapshots written by the Playwright MCP browser tools. Throwaway debug
+# output, and it captures whatever is on screen — including site credentials.
+.playwright-mcp/
+
 # Data-heavy e2e fixtures downloaded by `npm run e2e:fixtures` (see test-fixtures/readme.md)
 test-fixtures/downloads/
 

apps/cli/commands/blueprint/use.ts

@@ -18,6 +18,11 @@ import { __, _n, sprintf } from '@wordpress/i18n';
 import { runCommand as runCreateSiteCommand } from 'cli/commands/site/create';
 import { getDefaultSitePath } from 'cli/lib/site-paths';
 import { untildify } from 'cli/lib/utils';
+import {
+	CLI_AUTO_UPDATE_WP_VERSION,
+	coerceWpVersionOption,
+	getWpVersionOptionDescription,
+} from 'cli/lib/wp-version-option';
 import { Logger, LoggerError } from 'cli/logger';
 import { StudioArgv } from 'cli/types';
 
@@ -162,8 +167,9 @@ export const registerCommand = ( yargs: StudioArgv ) => {
 				} )
 				.option( 'wp', {
 					type: 'string',
-					describe: __( 'WordPress version' ),
-					defaultDescription: DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION,
+					describe: getWpVersionOptionDescription(),
+					defaultDescription: CLI_AUTO_UPDATE_WP_VERSION,
+					coerce: coerceWpVersionOption,
 				} )
 				.option( 'php', {
 					type: 'string',

apps/cli/commands/config/set.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION, MINIMUM_WORDPRESS_VERSION } from '@studio/common/constants';
+import { DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION } from '@studio/common/constants';
 import { SITE_EVENTS } from '@studio/common/lib/cli-events';
 import { getDomainNameValidationError } from '@studio/common/lib/domains';
 import { arePathsEqual } from '@studio/common/lib/fs-utils';
@@ -24,11 +24,7 @@ import {
 	siteRuntimeFromMode,
 	type SiteMode,
 } from '@studio/common/lib/site-runtime';
-import {
-	getWordPressVersionUrl,
-	isValidWordPressVersion,
-	isWordPressVersionAtLeast,
-} from '@studio/common/lib/wordpress-version-utils';
+import { getWordPressVersionUrl } from '@studio/common/lib/wordpress-version-utils';
 import { SiteCommandLoggerAction as LoggerAction } from '@studio/common/logger-actions';
 import { SupportedPHPVersions } from '@studio/common/types/php-versions';
 import { __, sprintf } from '@wordpress/i18n';
@@ -46,12 +42,12 @@ import { validateSupportedPhpVersion } from 'cli/lib/php-versions';
 import { runWpCliCommand } from 'cli/lib/run-wp-cli-command';
 import { withSiteOperation } from 'cli/lib/site-operations';
 import { setupCustomDomain } from 'cli/lib/site-utils';
-import { ValidationError } from 'cli/lib/validation-error';
 import {
 	isServerRunning,
 	startWordPressServer,
 	stopWordPressServer,
 } from 'cli/lib/wordpress-server-manager';
+import { coerceWpVersionOption, getWpVersionOptionDescription } from 'cli/lib/wp-version-option';
 import { Logger, LoggerError } from 'cli/logger';
 import { StudioArgv } from 'cli/types';
 
@@ -423,26 +419,8 @@ export const registerCommand = ( yargs: StudioArgv ) => {
 				} )
 				.option( 'wp', {
 					type: 'string',
-					description: __( 'WordPress version' ),
-					coerce: ( value: string ) => {
-						if ( ! isValidWordPressVersion( value ) ) {
-							throw new ValidationError(
-								'wp',
-								value,
-								__(
-									'Must be: "latest", "nightly", or a valid version number (e.g., "6.4", "6.4.1", "6.4-beta1")'
-								)
-							);
-						}
-						if ( ! isWordPressVersionAtLeast( value, MINIMUM_WORDPRESS_VERSION ) ) {
-							throw new ValidationError(
-								'wp',
-								value,
-								sprintf( __( 'Must be: at least %s' ), MINIMUM_WORDPRESS_VERSION )
-							);
-						}
-						return value;
-					},
+					description: getWpVersionOptionDescription(),
+					coerce: coerceWpVersionOption,
 				} )
 				.option( 'runtime', {
 					type: 'string',

apps/cli/commands/site/create.ts

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import crypto from 'crypto';
 import fs from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
 import { confirm, input, password, select } from '@inquirer/prompts';
-import { DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION, MINIMUM_WORDPRESS_VERSION } from '@studio/common/constants';
+import { DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION } from '@studio/common/constants';
 import { installAiInstructionsToSite } from '@studio/common/lib/agent-skills';
 import {
 	createBlueprintTempDirSync,
@@ -53,10 +53,6 @@ import {
 } from '@studio/common/lib/site-runtime';
 import { sortSites } from '@studio/common/lib/sort-sites';
 import { getServerFilesPath } from '@studio/common/lib/well-known-paths';
-import {
-	isValidWordPressVersion,
-	isWordPressVersionAtLeast,
-} from '@studio/common/lib/wordpress-version-utils';
 import { fetchWordPressVersions } from '@studio/common/lib/wordpress-versions';
 import { SiteCommandLoggerAction as LoggerAction } from '@studio/common/logger-actions';
 import {
@@ -98,6 +94,11 @@ import { StatsGroup } from 'cli/lib/types/bump-stats';
 import { untildify } from 'cli/lib/utils';
 import { ValidationError } from 'cli/lib/validation-error';
 import { runBlueprint, startWordPressServer } from 'cli/lib/wordpress-server-manager';
+import {
+	CLI_AUTO_UPDATE_WP_VERSION,
+	coerceWpVersionOption,
+	getWpVersionOptionDescription,
+} from 'cli/lib/wp-version-option';
 import { Logger, LoggerError } from 'cli/logger';
 import { StudioArgv } from 'cli/types';
 
@@ -1110,28 +1111,6 @@ function coerceSiteId( value: string ) {
 	return value;
 }
 
-function coerceWpVersion( value: string ) {
-	if ( ! isValidWordPressVersion( value ) ) {
-		throw new ValidationError(
-			'wp',
-			value,
-			__(
-				'Must be: "latest", "nightly", or a valid version number (e.g., "6.4", "6.4.1", "6.4-beta1")'
-			)
-		);
-	}
-
-	if ( ! isWordPressVersionAtLeast( value, MINIMUM_WORDPRESS_VERSION ) ) {
-		throw new ValidationError(
-			'wp',
-			value,
-			sprintf( __( 'Must be: at least %s' ), MINIMUM_WORDPRESS_VERSION )
-		);
-	}
-
-	return value;
-}
-
 export const registerCommand = ( yargs: StudioArgv ) => {
 	return yargs.command( {
 		command: 'create',
@@ -1150,9 +1129,9 @@ export const registerCommand = ( yargs: StudioArgv ) => {
 				} )
 				.option( 'wp', {
 					type: 'string',
-					describe: __( 'WordPress version (e.g., "latest", "6.4", "6.4.1")' ),
-					defaultDescription: DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION,
-					coerce: coerceWpVersion,
+					describe: getWpVersionOptionDescription(),
+					defaultDescription: CLI_AUTO_UPDATE_WP_VERSION,
+					coerce: coerceWpVersionOption,
 				} )
 				.option( 'php', {
 					type: 'string',
@@ -1377,15 +1356,18 @@ export const registerCommand = ( yargs: StudioArgv ) => {
 						try {
 							const versions = await fetchWordPressVersions();
 							wpChoices = versions.map( ( v ) => ( {
-								name: v.value === 'latest' ? `latest (${ v.label })` : v.label,
+								name:
+									v.value === DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION
+										? sprintf( __( 'Auto-update (%s)' ), v.label )
+										: v.label,
 								value: v.value,
 							} ) );
 						} catch {
-							// Offline or API failure — offer only "latest"
+							// Offline or API failure — offer only the auto-update mode
 							wpChoices = [
 								{
-									name: __( 'Latest (recommended)' ),
-									value: 'latest',
+									name: __( 'Auto-update (recommended)' ),
+									value: DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION,
 								},
 							];
 						}

apps/cli/lib/tests/wp-version-option.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+import { DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION } from '@studio/common/constants';
+import { ValidationError } from 'cli/lib/validation-error';
+import {
+	CLI_AUTO_UPDATE_WP_VERSION,
+	coerceWpVersionOption,
+	normalizeCliWpVersion,
+} from 'cli/lib/wp-version-option';
+
+describe( 'normalizeCliWpVersion', () => {
+	it( 'resolves the auto-update alias to the internal mode value', () => {
+		expect( normalizeCliWpVersion( CLI_AUTO_UPDATE_WP_VERSION ) ).toBe( DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION );
+	} );
+
+	it( 'passes every other value through untouched', () => {
+		for ( const value of [ 'latest', 'nightly', '6.4', '6.4.1', '6.4-beta1' ] ) {
+			expect( normalizeCliWpVersion( value ) ).toBe( value );
+		}
+	} );
+} );
+
+describe( 'coerceWpVersionOption', () => {
+	it( 'accepts the auto-update value and returns the internal mode', () => {
+		expect( coerceWpVersionOption( CLI_AUTO_UPDATE_WP_VERSION ) ).toBe( DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION );
+	} );
+
+	it( 'still accepts `latest`, so existing scripts keep working', () => {
+		expect( coerceWpVersionOption( 'latest' ) ).toBe( DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION );
+	} );
+
+	it( 'accepts pinned versions and nightly', () => {
+		expect( coerceWpVersionOption( '6.4.1' ) ).toBe( '6.4.1' );
+		expect( coerceWpVersionOption( 'nightly' ) ).toBe( 'nightly' );
+	} );
+
+	it( 'rejects an unknown value', () => {
+		expect( () => coerceWpVersionOption( 'auto' ) ).toThrow( ValidationError );
+	} );
+
+	it( 'rejects a version below the supported minimum', () => {
+		expect( () => coerceWpVersionOption( '4.9' ) ).toThrow( ValidationError );
+	} );
+
+	it( 'reports the value the user typed, not the resolved one', () => {
+		expect( () => coerceWpVersionOption( 'auto-updates' ) ).toThrow( /auto-updates/ );
+	} );
+} );

apps/cli/lib/wp-version-option.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+import { DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION, MINIMUM_WORDPRESS_VERSION } from '@studio/common/constants';
+import {
+	isValidWordPressVersion,
+	isWordPressVersionAtLeast,
+} from '@studio/common/lib/wordpress-version-utils';
+import { __, sprintf } from '@wordpress/i18n';
+import { ValidationError } from 'cli/lib/validation-error';
+
+/**
+ * CLI-facing name for the auto-update mode, matching the "Auto-update" option in
+ * the apps.
+ *
+ * Internally the mode stays `latest`: it names a cache directory, a segment of
+ * the wordpress.org download URL, and the persisted `wpVersion`. The alias is
+ * resolved here so it never reaches storage, and `latest` keeps working for
+ * existing scripts.
+ */
+export const CLI_AUTO_UPDATE_WP_VERSION = 'auto-update';
+
+export function normalizeCliWpVersion( value: string ): string {
+	return value === CLI_AUTO_UPDATE_WP_VERSION ? DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION : value;
+}
+
+/** Description for the `--wp` option, shared so both commands read alike. */
+export function getWpVersionOptionDescription(): string {
+	return sprintf(
+		/* translators: %s: the literal CLI value "auto-update", do not translate. */
+		__(
+			'WordPress version. Use "%s" to let the site auto-update, or pin a version (e.g., "6.4", "6.4.1"). "latest" is accepted as an alias.'
+		),
+		CLI_AUTO_UPDATE_WP_VERSION
+	);
+}
+
+/** Resolves the auto-update alias, then validates. Returns the internal value. */
+export function coerceWpVersionOption( value: string ): string {
+	const version = normalizeCliWpVersion( value );
+
+	if ( ! isValidWordPressVersion( version ) ) {
+		throw new ValidationError(
+			'wp',
+			value,
+			sprintf(
+				/* translators: %s: the literal CLI value "auto-update", do not translate. */
+				__(
+					'Must be: "%s", "nightly", or a valid version number (e.g., "6.4", "6.4.1", "6.4-beta1")'
+				),
+				CLI_AUTO_UPDATE_WP_VERSION
+			)
+		);
+	}
+
+	if ( ! isWordPressVersionAtLeast( version, MINIMUM_WORDPRESS_VERSION ) ) {
+		throw new ValidationError(
+			'wp',
+			value,
+			sprintf( __( 'Must be: at least %s' ), MINIMUM_WORDPRESS_VERSION )
+		);
+	}
+
+	return version;
+}

apps/studio/src/components/wp-version-selector/index.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION, MINIMUM_WORDPRESS_VERSION } from '@studio/common/constants';
+import { getAutoUpdateVersionLabel } from '@studio/common/lib/wordpress-version-labels';
 import { isWordPressBetaVersion } from '@studio/common/lib/wordpress-version-utils';
 import { SelectControl, Icon } from '@wordpress/components';
 import { info } from '@wordpress/icons';
@@ -23,6 +24,8 @@ type WPVersionSelectorProps = {
 	fallbackOptions: { label: string; value: string }[];
 	/** Custom message to show when offline. If not provided, will use the default message */
 	offlineMessage?: string;
+	/** Shown in the auto-update label. Only pass it for auto-updating sites. */
+	installedVersion?: string;
 };
 
 export const WPVersionSelector = ( {
@@ -33,6 +36,7 @@ export const WPVersionSelector = ( {
 	extraOptions,
 	fallbackOptions,
 	offlineMessage,
+	installedVersion,
 }: WPVersionSelectorProps ) => {
 	const { __ } = useI18n();
 	const isOffline = useOffline();
@@ -76,7 +80,7 @@ export const WPVersionSelector = ( {
 		<label className="flex flex-1 flex-col gap-1.5 leading-4">
 			<span className="font-semibold flex items-center gap-0.5">
 				{ __( 'WordPress version' ) }
-				{ selectedValue !== 'latest' && (
+				{ selectedValue !== DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION && (
 					<Tooltip
 						text={ __( 'WordPress Core automatic updates will be disabled for this site.' ) }
 						placement="top-start"
@@ -102,11 +106,9 @@ export const WPVersionSelector = ( {
 				>
 					{ wpVersions.length > 0 ? (
 						<>
-							<optgroup label={ __( 'Auto-updating' ) }>
-								<option key={ DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION } value={ DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION }>
-									{ __( 'latest' ) }
-								</option>
-							</optgroup>
+							<option key={ DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION } value={ DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION }>
+								{ getAutoUpdateVersionLabel( installedVersion ) }
+							</option>
 							<optgroup label={ __( 'Beta & Nightly' ) }>
 								{ betaVersions.map( ( { label, value } ) => (
 									<option key={ value } value={ value }>

apps/studio/src/modules/add-site/components/create-site-form.tsx

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import {
 	SITE_RUNTIME_PLAYGROUND,
 	type SiteRuntime,
 } from '@studio/common/lib/site-runtime';
+import { getAutoUpdateVersionLabel } from '@studio/common/lib/wordpress-version-labels';
 import {
 	RecommendedPHPVersion,
 	SupportedPHPVersion,
@@ -518,7 +519,7 @@ export const CreateSiteForm = ( {
 										selectedValue={ wpVersion }
 										onChange={ setWpVersion }
 										fallbackOptions={ [
-											{ label: __( 'Latest' ), value: DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION },
+											{ label: getAutoUpdateVersionLabel(), value: DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION },
 										] }
 										offlineMessage={ __(
 											'You are currently offline so your site will be created with the latest version. Selecting a different WordPress version requires an internet connection.'

apps/studio/src/modules/site-settings/edit-site-details.tsx

@@ -440,6 +440,11 @@ const EditSiteDetails = ( { currentWpVersion, onSave }: EditSiteDetailsProps ) =
 													onChange={ setSelectedWpVersion }
 													disabled={ isEditingSite }
 													errorMessage={ errorUpdatingWpVersion }
+													installedVersion={
+														selectedWpVersion === DEFAULT_WORDPRESS_VERSION
+															? currentWpVersion
+															: undefined
+													}
 													extraOptions={ [
 														{
 															label: currentWpVersion,