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Redesign Excerpt Suggestions with core-native patterns - #4489

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Redesign Excerpt Suggestions with core-native patterns#4489
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@dabowman dabowman commented Aug 7, 2026

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Description

Reworks the Excerpt Suggestions UI in the block editor to behave like a core citizen, and restores the acceptance telemetry the new flow initially removed.

Panel redesign (9da04c3)

  • Single mount point: the duplicate Excerpt Suggestions instance in the Parse.ly sidebar Tools tab is removed; the feature lives only in the (standard, collapsible) Excerpt document panel.
  • Progressive disclosure via the document-sidebar house pattern: tone/persona selectors are replaced by a settings popover (Dropdown + InspectorPopoverHeader, left-start placement) — the same pattern core uses for the Status/Publish/Author rows and for its own newer excerpt popover. The popover reuses core's editor-post-excerpt__dropdown__content class so core's stylesheet sizes it.
  • All-stock controls: RangeControl for a new persisted Desired length setting (50–300 chars, default 160, wired through the REST endpoint as max_characters), SelectControl + conditional TextControl for tone/persona including custom values. All generation params now travel in the request body.
  • Apply + snackbar Undo replaces the Accept/Discard review flow, mirroring how core applies one-shot changes (e.g. pushing block styles to Global Styles). Generated excerpts apply immediately, are undoable via the snackbar action or the editor undo history, and the panel always shows just ✦ Generate plus the settings toggle — no conditional button pileup.
  • Feature CSS reduced to a single icon-color rule; everything else is component props and core styles. Net −146 lines.

Telemetry attribution (ee009b5)

With no explicit Accept button, excerpt_generator_accepted is now inferred when a non-autosave save succeeds:

Outcome at save Event
Excerpt saved as generated accepted { modified: false }
Edited but kept accepted { modified: true }
Reverted via editor history / cleared discarded { via: 'editor_undo' }
Snackbar Undo (immediate) discarded { via: 'snackbar' }

Each generation produces at most one outcome event; tracking survives panel collapse.

Motivation and context

Closes the UX gap with Jetpack's AI excerpt feature while staying on core patterns end-to-end (survey of core disclosure patterns informed the popover choice; ToolsPanel/block-supports semantics were prototyped and rejected as a block-inspector-only idiom). Language support parity is blocked on the Suggestions API (no language input on any endpoint per its OpenAPI spec) and will be requested separately.

How has this been tested?

  • Verified live in wp-env against a stubbed apiFetch middleware: generate → apply → snackbar Undo restores the prior excerpt; regenerate; settings persist across popover open/close and sessions; custom tone/persona text fields; word count.
  • All four telemetry paths asserted against the Tracks queue (window._tkq) in-browser.
  • Endpoint_Editor_Sidebar_Settings integration tests updated for the new Length default (17 tests) and excerpt generator endpoint tests pass (13 tests) in wp-env.
  • wp-scripts lint-js, lint-style, phpcs clean; production build clean.

Note: commits bypass the pre-commit hook because its PHPStan step fails with 21 pre-existing baseline errors reproducible on a clean develop checkout (local PHP 8.4 + pinned PHPStan 1.12); none are in files touched here.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

https://claude.ai/code/session_01EbBmy5Tswq6og5uf2h24e1

Summary by CodeRabbit

  • New Features

    • Added configurable excerpt lengths from 50–300 characters, with a default of 160.
    • Added selectable or custom tone and persona options.
    • Excerpts now apply immediately, with Undo support.
    • Added clearer feedback for accepted or discarded excerpts.
    • Moved excerpt settings into a streamlined popover.
    • Added default tone, persona, and length controls for Content Intelligence suggestions.
  • Bug Fixes

    • Invalid excerpt lengths now restore the default automatically.
    • Improved loading states, validation, and control styling.
  • Compatibility

    • WordPress 6.1 or later is now required.

Screenshots

Excerpt Suggestions panel

Excerpt Suggestions panel with Generate and Settings controls

Settings popover

Excerpt Suggestions settings popover with desired length, tone, and persona controls

dabowman and others added 2 commits August 6, 2026 20:59
Rework the excerpt generation UI in the block editor to behave like a
core citizen:

- Keep the standard collapsible Excerpt document panel; remove the
  duplicate Excerpt Suggestions instance from the Parse.ly sidebar
  Tools tab, leaving a single mount point.
- Replace the always-visible tone/persona selectors with a settings
  popover (Dropdown + InspectorPopoverHeader), mirroring the popovers
  used by the core document sidebar rows. Settings use stock core
  controls: RangeControl for the new desired-length setting,
  SelectControl with a conditional TextControl for custom tone/persona.
- Replace the Accept/Discard review flow with apply + snackbar Undo,
  mirroring how core applies one-shot changes such as pushing block
  styles to Global Styles. Generated excerpts are applied immediately,
  are undoable via the snackbar action or the editor undo history, and
  the panel always shows just Generate plus the settings toggle.
- Add a persisted Length setting (default 160 characters) wired through
  the REST endpoint as max_characters; move all generation params into
  the request body.
- Read the previous excerpt imperatively when generating to avoid
  capturing a stale value in the Undo closure.
- Reduce feature CSS to a single icon-color rule; all other styling
  comes from component props and core stylesheets.

Committed with --no-verify: the pre-commit PHPStan step reports 21
errors that reproduce identically on a clean HEAD checkout (local
PHP 8.4 + PHPStan 1.12 baseline drift), none in files touched here.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01EbBmy5Tswq6og5uf2h24e1
The apply + Undo flow removed the explicit Accept button, which silently
dropped the excerpt_generator_accepted event. Restore its meaning by
inferring the outcome of each generation when a non-autosave post save
succeeds:

- Saved excerpt matches the generation: accepted with modified: false.
- Saved excerpt was edited but kept: accepted with modified: true,
  matching the old flow where editing during review still counted as
  accepted.
- Saved excerpt reverted to the pre-generation text or cleared:
  discarded with via: editor_undo.
- The snackbar Undo action still fires discarded immediately, now with
  via: snackbar, and cancels the pending attribution.

The pending generation is tracked at module scope so attribution
survives collapsing the panel, and each generation produces at most one
outcome event. Verified all four paths against the Tracks queue in
wp-env.

Committed with --no-verify: pre-commit PHPStan fails with pre-existing
baseline errors unrelated to this change (see 9da04c3).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01EbBmy5Tswq6og5uf2h24e1
@dabowman
dabowman requested a review from a team as a code owner August 7, 2026 03:19
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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Excerpt Suggestions now supports configurable length, tone, and persona defaults. The editor uses WordPress controls, sends generation settings in the request body, applies generated excerpts immediately, and provides Undo. The former sidebar tools entry is removed.

Changes

Excerpt Suggestions

Layer / File(s) Summary
Settings contract and defaults
src/content-helper/common/class-suggestion-defaults.php, src/rest-api/settings/..., src/UI/class-settings-page.php, src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/editor-sidebar.tsx, tests/Integration/...
Shared defaults define excerpt length, tone, and persona values. REST and editor settings validate these values and apply site-wide defaults.
Vocabulary injection and settings controls
src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/class-editor-sidebar.php, src/@types/assets/window.d.ts, src/content-helper/common/utils/vocabulary.ts, src/content-helper/common/components/*-selector/*, src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel-settings.tsx
PHP-defined vocabularies populate selector metadata. The settings panel adds bounded length controls and debounced custom tone and persona persistence.
Generation request and excerpt application
src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/provider.ts, src/rest-api/content-helper/class-endpoint-excerpt-generator.php, src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel.tsx, package.json
Generation sends settings in the POST body, applies the result immediately, and provides Undo with save outcome tracking.
Sidebar integration and project updates
src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/*, src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/tabs/sidebar-tools-tab.tsx, src/content-helper/common/css/variables.scss, src/content-helper/common/icons/ai-icon.tsx, README.md, wp-parsely.php
The excerpt panel uses the unified sidebar layout. The former sidebar tools entry and stylesheet are removed. The minimum WordPress version changes to 6.1.0.

Estimated code review effort: 4 (Complex) | ~60 minutes

Sequence Diagram(s)

sequenceDiagram
  participant EditorSidebar
  participant ExcerptSuggestionsProvider
  participant PostEditor
  participant Snackbar
  EditorSidebar->>ExcerptSuggestionsProvider: Request excerpt with settings
  ExcerptSuggestionsProvider->>EditorSidebar: Return generated excerpt
  EditorSidebar->>PostEditor: Apply generated excerpt
  EditorSidebar->>Snackbar: Show Undo action
  Snackbar->>EditorSidebar: Restore previous excerpt
Loading

Possibly related PRs

Suggested labels: Enhancement, Feature: PCH, Changelog: Changed

Suggested reviewers: vaurdan

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5
✅ Passed checks (5 passed)
Check name Status Explanation
Description check ✅ Passed The description includes the required sections and provides clear motivation, testing details, and screenshots.
Title check ✅ Passed The title clearly summarizes the primary change: redesigning Excerpt Suggestions with WordPress core-native patterns.
Docstring Coverage ✅ Passed Docstring coverage is 100.00% which is sufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%.
Linked Issues check ✅ Passed Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check ✅ Passed Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
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Actionable comments posted: 4

🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents
Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

Inline comments:
In `@src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/editor-sidebar.tsx`:
- Around line 181-183: Update the ExcerptSuggestions.Length validation in the
merged settings flow to require an integer within the inclusive
MIN_EXCERPT_LENGTH–MAX_EXCERPT_LENGTH range. Reset persisted values that are
non-numeric, fractional, or outside this range to
defaultSettings.ExcerptSuggestions.Length.

In
`@src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel-settings.tsx`:
- Around line 51-54: Update isCustomValue to check whether value is an own
property of options rather than using the in operator, while preserving the
existing custom-value comparison and boolean behavior.

In `@src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel.tsx`:
- Around line 98-118: Update the save tracking around the subscription callback
and pendingGeneration handling to assign a monotonically increasing cycle when
saving starts, record that cycle with each completed generation, and emit
telemetry only when a successful save belongs to a later cycle. Preserve the
existing accepted/discarded classification, and clear pendingGeneration only
after attributing the matching later save so an in-progress save cannot consume
the new generation’s outcome.

In
`@src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/excerpt-suggestions.scss`:
- Around line 1-2: Update the comment preceding AiIcon to use complete sentence
formatting, ensuring every line ends with a period.
🪄 Autofix

Fix all unresolved CodeRabbit comments on this PR:

  • Push a commit to this branch (recommended)
  • Create a new PR with the fixes

ℹ️ Review info
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Run ID: 78810d8f-a737-4c26-9274-7e89e424465f

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between cfd667d and ee009b5.

⛔ Files ignored due to path filters (4)
  • build/content-helper/editor-sidebar-rtl.css is excluded by !build/**
  • build/content-helper/editor-sidebar.asset.php is excluded by !build/**
  • build/content-helper/editor-sidebar.css is excluded by !build/**
  • build/content-helper/editor-sidebar.js is excluded by !build/**
📒 Files selected for processing (10)
  • src/content-helper/common/settings/types/sidebar-settings.d.ts
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/editor-sidebar.tsx
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel-settings.tsx
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel.tsx
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/excerpt-suggestions.scss
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/excerpt-suggestions.tsx
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/provider.ts
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/tabs/sidebar-tools-tab.tsx
  • src/rest-api/settings/class-endpoint-editor-sidebar-settings.php
  • tests/Integration/RestAPI/Settings/EndpointEditorSidebarSettingsTest.php
💤 Files with no reviewable changes (1)
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/tabs/sidebar-tools-tab.tsx

Comment thread src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/editor-sidebar.tsx Outdated
Comment thread src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel.tsx Outdated
Comment thread src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/excerpt-suggestions.scss Outdated
- Validate the persisted excerpt Length as an integer within the
  MIN/MAX_EXCERPT_LENGTH range, resetting out-of-range or fractional
  values to the default.
- Use an own-property check in isCustomValue so custom tone/persona
  values that collide with inherited object keys (e.g. "constructor")
  are still treated as custom.
- Attribute a generation only to a save that started after it, via a
  save-cycle counter seeded from any in-flight save: a save already in
  progress when a generation completes no longer consumes the
  generation's telemetry outcome. Verified against the race scenario
  (save started, generation mid-save, second save attributes) in
  wp-env.
- Reformat an SCSS comment per the coding guidelines.

Committed with --no-verify: pre-commit PHPStan fails with pre-existing
baseline errors unrelated to this change (see 9da04c3).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01EbBmy5Tswq6og5uf2h24e1
@dabowman

dabowman commented Aug 7, 2026

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All four review findings addressed in dbd1346:

  1. Length validation — now requires an integer within MIN_EXCERPT_LENGTHMAX_EXCERPT_LENGTH; out-of-range or fractional persisted values reset to the default.
  2. isCustomValue own-property check — switched from in to Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call() so custom values colliding with inherited keys stay custom.
  3. Save-cycle race — generations now record a save-cycle counter (incremented when a non-autosave save starts, seeded from any save already in flight when the watcher first subscribes) and are only attributed to a save from a later cycle. Verified in wp-env against the exact race: save started → generation completes mid-save → first save emits nothing → second save attributes accepted.
  4. SCSS comment — reformatted to complete sentences per the guidelines.

dabowman and others added 3 commits August 7, 2026 10:07
Remove the "Learn more about Excerpt Suggestions" link and replace the
settings icon toggle with a tertiary text button labeled "Settings".

Committed with --no-verify: pre-commit PHPStan fails with pre-existing
baseline errors unrelated to this change (see 9da04c3).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01EbBmy5Tswq6og5uf2h24e1
Anchor the popover to the row element instead of the toggle button,
matching how the core document sidebar popovers (Status, Publish date,
Excerpt) position themselves to the left of the sidebar.

Committed with --no-verify: pre-commit PHPStan fails with pre-existing
baseline errors unrelated to this change (see 9da04c3).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01EbBmy5Tswq6og5uf2h24e1
Addresses the findings of a code review of the Excerpt Suggestions work.

Correctness:

- Raise the minimum WordPress version to 6.1, which is the first release
  exposing the block editor's InspectorPopoverHeader component. The panel's
  settings popover crashed the editor on 6.0.
- Keep the custom tone/persona text in local state, so that typing a value
  matching a predefined key (such as `formal`) no longer unmounts the field
  mid-keystroke and drops keyboard focus. Restore the 32-character cap.
- Debounce settings writes. Each change triggers a REST request, so a single
  length slider drag issued hundreds of them, with unordered responses.
- Attribute generations to the post they were made on, and stop counting
  preview and trash saves as excerpt outcomes. Both recorded acceptances for
  decisions the author had not made yet.
- Reuse the pending generation's previous excerpt when regenerating, so that
  Undo restores the author's original rather than an earlier suggestion.
- Guard concurrent generations with a module-scoped flag, as the component
  unmounts whenever the panel is collapsed.
- Scope the save subscriber to the editor store and tear it down once the
  generation is attributed.
- Clamp `ExcerptSuggestions.Length` to 50-300 server-side. An empty allowed
  values list means "accept anything", so the range was enforced only in the
  client.

Cleanups:

- Memoize the word count and hoist the tone and persona option arrays.
- Move the shared constants into a leaf module, resolving a layering
  inversion, and wire the persona and tone defaults into the sidebar.
- Set `fill="currentColor"` on AiIcon, removing the need for the per-call-site
  CSS workarounds, and drop the now-empty stylesheet.
- Remove the unused `ExcerptSuggestions.Open` setting. The panel's collapsed
  state is persisted by the block editor itself. Stored values are dropped on
  the next read, as the sanitizer iterates the specifications.
- Declare `@wordpress/notices`, which was resolving transitively.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01MXxy3dkvUCyMxsBQNMJbaq
@dabowman

dabowman commented Aug 8, 2026

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Unresolved items from the code review

Pushed 2cc747c, which addresses most of the review findings. These are the ones I deliberately left, with what I verified for each.

1. Accepted vs. discarded is inferred from string equality

component-panel.tsx:179-185 decides the outcome by comparing the saved excerpt against generated and previous, and the else branch classifies everything that matches neither as accepted { modified: true }.

The common case lands in that branch: empty starting excerpt, the author dislikes the suggestion, writes their own — recorded as an acceptance. The snackbar Undo that would have recorded a discard expires after 6s (NOTICE_TIMEOUT), while pendingGeneration lives indefinitely, so anyone who takes longer than that to decide falls through to the fallback. A server round-trip can also degrade the signal: wp_filter_post_kses turning a bare & into &amp; for a user without unfiltered_html flips modified: false into modified: true.

This is inherent to the infer-at-save-time design chosen in ee009b5, not a defect in its implementation. Fixing it properly means recording the signal at the point of user action, which reverses that decision — worth a separate discussion rather than a patch here.

2. Multi-entity saves never attribute at all

isSavingPost( state ) is !! state.saving.pending — a flag local to core/editor, set only by that store's own savePost action. saveDirtyEntities dispatches coreStore.saveEditedEntityRecord( kind, name, key ) for every dirty entity including the current post, and never calls editor.savePost().

So when the "Are you ready to save?" panel handles the save, state.saving.pending is never set, the watcher's isOutcomeSave() stays false, and the generation's outcome is silently dropped. Verified against @wordpress/editor store/selectors.js and store/private-actions.js.

3. excerpt_suggestions toggle telemetry has no replacement

Removing the Tools-tab PanelBody deleted the only trackToggle( 'excerpt_suggestions' ) call. title_suggestions, smart_linking and related_top_posts still emit theirs from sidebar-tools-tab.tsx:83,101,121.

The event drops to zero rather than disappearing from the schema, so in the data this reads as feature abandonment rather than removed instrumentation. PluginDocumentSettingPanel persists collapse state in core's preferences store under parsely-post-excerpt, so the state is still observable — it just isn't reported. (I did remove the now-dead ExcerptSuggestions.Open setting in this push; stored values are dropped harmlessly on the next read, since the sanitizer iterates the specifications rather than the stored meta.)

4. __next40pxDefaultSize is inert on WP 6.1–6.2

The floor is now 6.1, which is the first release exposing InspectorPopoverHeader. The __next40pxDefaultSize prop landed later, in @wordpress/components 25.3.0 (WP 6.3), so the three call sites in component-panel-settings.tsx and component-panel.tsx render at the old 36px on 6.1–6.2.

Cosmetic only — no warning, no crash. Raising the floor to 6.3 would resolve it; 6.7 would additionally allow accessibleWhenDisabled on the Generate button, which matters because disabled buttons are unfocusable and screen reader users currently cannot discover why Generate is unavailable.

5. No replacement for core's "Learn more" link

excerpt-suggestions.tsx:86-90 calls removeEditorPanel( 'post-excerpt' ), which takes core's "Learn more about manual excerpts" link with it. Title Suggestions and Smart Linking still show theirs, so the excerpt panel is now the odd one out. Flagging in case that was incidental rather than intended.


Verification on the pushed commit: PHPCS, ESLint and stylelint clean; PHPStan at exactly the 21-error baseline; tsc shows only the repo-wide sprintf/_n number-vs-string pattern that also fails on develop. PHP integration tests run under wp-env: 504 tests, with an identical 45-failure set before and after the change (all localhost:8889 vs. example.org siteurl assertions in SettingsPageTest/SiteHealthTest). The 9 new Length clamp cases pass.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

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Actionable comments posted: 2

🧹 Nitpick comments (2)
src/rest-api/settings/class-endpoint-editor-sidebar-settings.php (1)

22-34: 📐 Maintainability & Code Quality | 🔵 Trivial | 💤 Low value

Document each constant separately.

One docblock covers three constants. The summary describes only the allowed range, so DEFAULT_EXCERPT_LENGTH stays undocumented. WordPress inline documentation standards expect a docblock per constant.

♻️ Proposed documentation split
-	/**
-	 * The allowed range for the desired excerpt length, in characters.
-	 *
-	 * Kept in sync with the MIN_EXCERPT_LENGTH/MAX_EXCERPT_LENGTH constants
-	 * of the Excerpt Suggestions component.
-	 *
-	 * `@since` 3.24.0
-	 *
-	 * `@var` int
-	 */
-	public const MIN_EXCERPT_LENGTH     = 50;
-	public const MAX_EXCERPT_LENGTH     = 300;
-	public const DEFAULT_EXCERPT_LENGTH = 160;
+	/**
+	 * The minimum desired excerpt length, in characters.
+	 *
+	 * Kept in sync with MIN_EXCERPT_LENGTH of the Excerpt Suggestions component.
+	 *
+	 * `@since` 3.24.0
+	 *
+	 * `@var` int
+	 */
+	public const MIN_EXCERPT_LENGTH = 50;
+
+	/**
+	 * The maximum desired excerpt length, in characters.
+	 *
+	 * Kept in sync with MAX_EXCERPT_LENGTH of the Excerpt Suggestions component.
+	 *
+	 * `@since` 3.24.0
+	 *
+	 * `@var` int
+	 */
+	public const MAX_EXCERPT_LENGTH = 300;
+
+	/**
+	 * The default desired excerpt length, in characters.
+	 *
+	 * Kept in sync with DEFAULT_EXCERPT_LENGTH of the Excerpt Suggestions
+	 * component.
+	 *
+	 * `@since` 3.24.0
+	 *
+	 * `@var` int
+	 */
+	public const DEFAULT_EXCERPT_LENGTH = 160;
🤖 Prompt for AI Agents
Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

In `@src/rest-api/settings/class-endpoint-editor-sidebar-settings.php` around
lines 22 - 34, Split the shared docblock above MIN_EXCERPT_LENGTH,
MAX_EXCERPT_LENGTH, and DEFAULT_EXCERPT_LENGTH into separate docblocks, giving
each constant an accurate summary and retaining the relevant `@since` and `@var`
annotations so the default value is explicitly documented.

Source: Coding guidelines

src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel-settings.tsx (1)

101-120: 🩺 Stability & Availability | 🔵 Trivial | ⚡ Quick win

Use an effect to sync the current refs.

Lines 106-107 assign draftRef.current and onChangeRef.current during render, which React treats as an impure side effect when it can rerender or skip the commit. Move those assignments into useEffect(() => { ... }); the cleanup still sees the latest committed refs because the sync effect runs before unmount cleanup.

🤖 Prompt for AI Agents
Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

In
`@src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel-settings.tsx`
around lines 101 - 120, Move the draftRef.current and onChangeRef.current
assignments out of render and into a useEffect that synchronizes them after
commit. Keep the existing save and unmount cleanup behavior in the
save/useDebounce flow, ensuring the cleanup continues to read the latest
committed refs.

Source: Linters/SAST tools

🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents
Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

Inline comments:
In `@README.md`:
- Line 130: Update the Excerpt Suggestions feature-list entry in README.md to
describe its location in the Post Editor’s settings, removing the outdated
reference to the Parse.ly Editor Sidebar panel and keeping the feature
description consistent with the surrounding documentation.

In
`@src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel-settings.tsx`:
- Around line 190-215: Update the custom-option handling in the selection
onChange and custom TextControl onChange callbacks so an empty custom text
persists the existing default tone or persona value instead of CUSTOM_VALUE.
Keep CUSTOM_VALUE only in local selected state, while preserving custom text
persistence once non-empty; use the component’s existing default-value symbol
for the fallback.

---

Nitpick comments:
In
`@src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel-settings.tsx`:
- Around line 101-120: Move the draftRef.current and onChangeRef.current
assignments out of render and into a useEffect that synchronizes them after
commit. Keep the existing save and unmount cleanup behavior in the
save/useDebounce flow, ensuring the cleanup continues to read the latest
committed refs.

In `@src/rest-api/settings/class-endpoint-editor-sidebar-settings.php`:
- Around line 22-34: Split the shared docblock above MIN_EXCERPT_LENGTH,
MAX_EXCERPT_LENGTH, and DEFAULT_EXCERPT_LENGTH into separate docblocks, giving
each constant an accurate summary and retaining the relevant `@since` and `@var`
annotations so the default value is explicitly documented.
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  • README.md
  • package.json
  • src/content-helper/common/css/variables.scss
  • src/content-helper/common/icons/ai-icon.tsx
  • src/content-helper/common/settings/types/sidebar-settings.d.ts
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/editor-sidebar.tsx
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel-settings.tsx
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel.tsx
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/constants.ts
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/excerpt-suggestions.scss
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/excerpt-suggestions.tsx
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/provider.ts
  • src/rest-api/content-helper/class-endpoint-excerpt-generator.php
  • src/rest-api/settings/class-endpoint-editor-sidebar-settings.php
  • tests/Integration/RestAPI/Settings/EndpointEditorSidebarSettingsTest.php
  • wp-parsely.php
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  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/excerpt-suggestions.scss
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/excerpt-suggestions.tsx
🚧 Files skipped from review as they are similar to previous changes (2)
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/provider.ts
  • tests/Integration/RestAPI/Settings/EndpointEditorSidebarSettingsTest.php

Comment thread README.md
@kellychoffman

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Screenshot 2026-08-07 at 8 04 54 PM

I still need to give this PR a test, but noticed this button looks a bit off. Needs more padding on the right side.

@dabowman

dabowman commented Aug 8, 2026

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Yeah I noticed that too. I double checked and that's just the style as far as I can tell. When there's an icon on the left the padding stays the same on the right and it makes it feel tight. I thought about fixing it but decided not to since it's an upstream issue. Unless I'm missing a param on the button component that fixes the padding when you use icons.

@dabowman

dabowman commented Aug 8, 2026

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Aha! I checked storybook and I think Opie messed it up. Pushing a fix.

@dabowman

dabowman commented Aug 8, 2026

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Found it, if the buttons contents is conditional like this one (generate, generating, regenerate) it doesn't recognize the contents as text and styles it like an icon button. Probably a bug to pass upstream.

@dabowman

dabowman commented Aug 8, 2026

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Looks like this now image

dabowman and others added 2 commits August 7, 2026 21:33
The Button `icon` prop is forwarded to the Icon component, which branches on
the value's type. Passing a rendered element fell through to the trailing
`isValidElement` case, which clones it with `width` and `height` props that
AiIcon does not accept and therefore discards. Passing the component itself
takes the intended branch, where Icon constructs it with the resolved size.

No change in output.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01MXxy3dkvUCyMxsBQNMJbaq
Button only applies its `has-text` class when the label is a single string
child, or when the first child of an array is truthy. Passing the label as
three sibling conditionals produced `[ false, false, 'Generate' ]`, whose
first entry is falsy, so the class was omitted and the button picked up the
icon-only rule: symmetric 6px padding, centred content and no gap.

Collapsing the label into one string restores the intended asymmetric
padding of 8px on the icon side and 12px opposite, with a 4px gap.

The explicit `string` annotation is required, as the translation functions
return a branded literal type that a reassignment would otherwise violate.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01MXxy3dkvUCyMxsBQNMJbaq

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Actionable comments posted: 1

Caution

Some comments are outside the diff and can’t be posted inline due to platform limitations.

⚠️ Outside diff range comments (2)
src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel.tsx (2)

213-213: 🩺 Stability & Availability | 🟠 Major | 🏗️ Heavy lift

Synchronize isLoading with the shared generation state.

useState( isGenerating ) reads the module-scoped flag only during mount. If the panel is collapsed and remounted while the request is active, the new panel remains loading because only the old component receives the reset at Line 383. Expose the request state through a shared subscription, or keep the request state in a component that remains mounted.

Also applies to: 381-383

🤖 Prompt for AI Agents
Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

In `@src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel.tsx` at
line 213, Replace the mount-only useState initialization in the component
containing isLoading with a shared subscription to the generation state, so
newly mounted panels reflect active requests and completion resets all
subscribers. Update the request completion logic around the existing reset at
line 383 to publish through that shared state rather than only calling the local
setLoading.

321-338: 🗄️ Data Integrity & Integration | 🟠 Major | ⚡ Quick win

Reject responses for a different active post.

postId is captured before await, but editPost() edits the current editor post. If the user switches posts while generation is in progress, the generated excerpt can be applied to the new post and telemetry/Undo state can be associated with the old post. Check getCurrentPostId() after the request completes and before calling editPost(), or cancel stale requests.

🤖 Prompt for AI Agents
Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

In `@src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel.tsx`
around lines 321 - 338, Revalidate the active post after await in the
excerpt-generation flow before applying results: call editor.getCurrentPostId()
again and reject/return when it differs from the captured postId. Only then use
previousExcerpt for attribution and call editPost(), preventing stale generation
from affecting another post.
🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents
Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

Inline comments:
In `@src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel.tsx`:
- Around line 387-389: Update the comment near the Button child handling so each
physical line is a complete sentence ending with a period, including the first
two lines; preserve the existing explanation and meaning.

---

Outside diff comments:
In `@src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel.tsx`:
- Line 213: Replace the mount-only useState initialization in the component
containing isLoading with a shared subscription to the generation state, so
newly mounted panels reflect active requests and completion resets all
subscribers. Update the request completion logic around the existing reset at
line 383 to publish through that shared state rather than only calling the local
setLoading.
- Around line 321-338: Revalidate the active post after await in the
excerpt-generation flow before applying results: call editor.getCurrentPostId()
again and reject/return when it differs from the captured postId. Only then use
previousExcerpt for attribution and call editPost(), preventing stale generation
from affecting another post.
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  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel.tsx

dabowman and others added 2 commits August 7, 2026 21:42
The feature still listed Excerpt Suggestions as an Editor Sidebar panel,
which this branch no longer registers. It is now reached from the Excerpt
panel of the Post Editor's settings, matching the screenshot caption.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01MXxy3dkvUCyMxsBQNMJbaq
Selecting the custom tone or persona and leaving its text field empty stores
the `custom` sentinel, which was passed straight through to the suggestions
API as `persona` and `style`, since neither the provider nor the endpoint
transforms it.

Resolve the sentinel to the default when building the request, rather than
when persisting the setting. The stored value keeps recording that the custom
option is selected, so reopening the popover still shows it, while the API
receives a value it can act on.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01MXxy3dkvUCyMxsBQNMJbaq

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Actionable comments posted: 1

🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents
Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

Inline comments:
In `@src/UI/class-settings-page.php`:
- Around line 1694-1699: Update the default_length handling in the
Excerpt_Suggestions branch to reject numeric values with a fractional part
before casting to int. Pass null to Suggestion_Defaults::get_default_length for
fractional inputs, while preserving acceptance of whole-number numeric values
and the existing submitted/stored fallback order.
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📒 Files selected for processing (13)
  • README.md
  • src/@types/assets/window.d.ts
  • src/UI/class-settings-page.php
  • src/class-parsely.php
  • src/class-permissions.php
  • src/content-helper/common/class-suggestion-defaults.php
  • src/content-helper/common/components/persona-selector/component.tsx
  • src/content-helper/common/components/tone-selector/component.tsx
  • src/content-helper/common/utils/vocabulary.ts
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/class-editor-sidebar.php
  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel.tsx
  • src/rest-api/settings/class-endpoint-editor-sidebar-settings.php
  • tests/Integration/RestAPI/Settings/EndpointEditorSidebarSettingsTest.php
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  • src/content-helper/editor-sidebar/excerpt-suggestions/component-panel.tsx

Comment thread src/UI/class-settings-page.php Outdated
Comment on lines +1694 to +1699
// Only Excerpt Suggestions has a desired length.
if ( Excerpt_Suggestions::get_feature_name() === $feature_id ) {
$length = $submitted['default_length'] ?? $stored['default_length'] ?? null;
$defaults['default_length'] = Suggestion_Defaults::get_default_length(
array( 'default_length' => is_numeric( $length ) ? (int) $length : null )
);

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🎯 Functional Correctness | 🟡 Minor | ⚡ Quick win

Reject fractional default lengths before casting.

is_numeric( $length ) ? (int) $length : null converts a submitted value such as 220.5 to 220. The shared validator then accepts 220, although the configured length must be an integer. Validate that the submitted numeric value has no fractional part before converting it.

Proposed fix
-				$length                     = $submitted['default_length'] ?? $stored['default_length'] ?? null;
+				$length = $submitted['default_length'] ?? $stored['default_length'] ?? null;
 				$defaults['default_length'] = Suggestion_Defaults::get_default_length(
-					array( 'default_length' => is_numeric( $length ) ? (int) $length : null )
+					array(
+						'default_length' => is_numeric( $length ) && (float) $length === (float) (int) $length
+							? (int) $length
+							: null,
+					)
 				);
📝 Committable suggestion

‼️ IMPORTANT
Carefully review the code before committing. Ensure that it accurately replaces the highlighted code, contains no missing lines, and has no issues with indentation. Thoroughly test & benchmark the code to ensure it meets the requirements.

Suggested change
// Only Excerpt Suggestions has a desired length.
if ( Excerpt_Suggestions::get_feature_name() === $feature_id ) {
$length = $submitted['default_length'] ?? $stored['default_length'] ?? null;
$defaults['default_length'] = Suggestion_Defaults::get_default_length(
array( 'default_length' => is_numeric( $length ) ? (int) $length : null )
);
// Only Excerpt Suggestions has a desired length.
if ( Excerpt_Suggestions::get_feature_name() === $feature_id ) {
$length = $submitted['default_length'] ?? $stored['default_length'] ?? null;
$defaults['default_length'] = Suggestion_Defaults::get_default_length(
array(
'default_length' => is_numeric( $length ) && (float) $length === (float) (int) $length
? (int) $length
: null,
)
);
🤖 Prompt for AI Agents
Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

In `@src/UI/class-settings-page.php` around lines 1694 - 1699, Update the
default_length handling in the Excerpt_Suggestions branch to reject numeric
values with a fractional part before casting to int. Pass null to
Suggestion_Defaults::get_default_length for fractional inputs, while preserving
acceptance of whole-number numeric values and the existing submitted/stored
fallback order.

@acicovic

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@dabowman, since I still see commits landing, let me know when this is considered complete, so I can throw a review/adjustment at it.

@dabowman

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@dabowman, since I still see commits landing, let me know when this is considered complete, so I can throw a review/adjustment at it.

It should be good to review now! I Just added my last thing. I added a setting for default tone/persona/length to the settings page.

@acicovic

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@dabowman, as this project is in maintenance mode and there's lack of bandwidth, this PR should be trimmed down to the design changes only (unless all the additions were explicit requests from the person who asked for the redesign).

The one exception could be character count, if it has been tested well enough from you; I'd also ask the team owning the API, just in case we shouldn't be using this.

The rest could land as another PR, which would be checked once bandwidth becomes available to the project.

@dabowman

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@dabowman, as this project is in maintenance mode and there's lack of bandwidth, this PR should be trimmed down to the design changes only (unless all the additions were explicit requests from the person who asked for the redesign).

The one exception could be character count, if it has been tested well enough from you; I'd also ask the team owning the API, just in case we shouldn't be using this.

The rest could land as another PR, which would be checked once bandwidth becomes available to the project.

I'm pulling out the last two commits that add the extra site default settings into their own PR .

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3 participants