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theme.json is the canonical configuration file for a WordPress block theme. Saved in the theme’s root directory, it defines which design controls appear in the editor, registers presets such as colors and font sizes, sets global styles, and supplies custom templates and template parts. Version 3 is the current format, introduced with WordPress 6.6; the correct properties for your site still depend on the oldest WordPress version you 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 reads the file, merges settings and styles from those origins, and turns the result into editor controls and front-end CSS. The file belongs at the top level of the theme, alongside files such as style.css and templates.
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Choose the format version and schema first
Version 3 is the current format
WordPress 6.6 introduced theme.json version 3. Older versions remain supported, but new capabilities are developed against the latest format. Use version 3 when WordPress 6.6 or newer is your compatibility floor. If your theme must run on an older installation, select the earlier format that matches that floor and avoid keys introduced later.
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Point the schema at your oldest supported WordPress release
Set $schema to a version-specific schema URL. The documented pattern is https://schemas.wp.org/wp/{{version}}/theme.json; replace the version variable with the oldest WordPress version your theme supports. A matching schema gives JSON-aware editors tooltips, autocomplete, and validation. The trunk schema contains newer Gutenberg changes and can accept properties that are unavailable to your audience, so it is a poor choice for a theme with a fixed, older support floor.
{
"$schema": "https://schemas.wp.org/wp/6.6/theme.json",
"version": 3,
"settings": {},
"styles": {}
}settings versus styles
The most important distinction is capability versus value:
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settingsdecides which controls and presets are available. A palette, font-size list, spacing scale, or border control is registered here.stylesapplies visual values. It can set the site-wide text color, a heading’s typography, a button’s border, or a block’s padding.
Registering a color palette does not make that color the body background. It merely makes the named color available to users and allows WordPress to generate related CSS custom properties and utility classes. A style rule must select the color for an element or block.
Every major settings family
The documented settings families are listed below. Nested keys are schema-defined and can change with the target WordPress version, so validate each one against the schema selected for your theme.
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| Family | Purpose |
|---|---|
appearanceTools |
Enables a bundle of design controls, rather than one individual capability. |
border |
Exposes border-related controls and presets. |
color |
Registers palettes, gradients, and color controls. |
custom |
Allows theme-defined custom settings and CSS variables. |
dimensions |
Controls dimensions-related tools. |
layout |
Defines content and wide widths and alignment behavior. |
lightbox |
Controls the image lightbox capability where supported. |
position |
Exposes positioning controls, including sticky behavior where available. |
shadow |
Registers shadow presets and related controls. |
spacing |
Provides margin, padding, block-gap, and spacing-size controls. |
typography |
Registers font families, sizes, weights, line height, decoration, transform, and related controls. |
useRootPaddingAwareAlignments |
Changes how root padding is applied to full-width block contents. |
blocks |
Overrides settings for an individual block instead of changing the whole editor. |
Presets for a coherent design system
Color palettes, gradients, font families, font sizes, spacing sizes, and shadows are all examples of presets. A theme can expose only the choices its design system supports, preventing an editor interface filled with options that have not been designed or tested. Presets also provide stable names that users can select in the editor while WordPress emits corresponding CSS variables and classes.
Per-block settings
Place block-specific settings under settings.blocks when a control belongs to one block only. This is useful when, for example, a spacing control should appear for a group layout but not for every paragraph. Because the permitted nested keys are version-sensitive, use the schema and the property-availability table before shipping a per-block override.
How styles applies values
The styles object has three practical scopes: the root, semantic elements, and individual blocks. The same typography or spacing key can mean a site-wide default or a narrowly targeted override depending on where it is placed.
Root styles
Top-level style values are emitted for the document body and establish defaults for the site. Use this scope for the default text and background colors, base typography, global spacing, and other values that should apply unless a more specific rule overrides them.
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Element styles
styles.elements targets semantic elements supported by the schema, such as links, headings, buttons, and captions. It is preferable to repeating selectors in custom CSS when the desired rule is a documented element style. For example, a link color or heading font treatment can be expressed once for all matching elements.
Block styles
styles.blocks supplies defaults for a particular block. WordPress normally emits a selector based on the block name, such as .wp-block-cover for the Cover block, unless that block declares a custom selector. Use this scope for intentional exceptions: a different padding value for a navigation block, a shadow for cards, or a special typography treatment for a site title.
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Origin and precedence
Theme defaults are only one origin. User styles, block style variations, and other more-specific rules can merge with or outrank them. When a value appears to be ignored, inspect the generated styles and check whether a user or variation rule has greater specificity or a later origin.
What appearanceTools really does
settings.appearanceTools is a Boolean and defaults to false. Setting it to true enables a bundle of controls covering areas such as background, borders, link colors, dimensions, sticky positioning, spacing, and line height. The bundle can expand when WordPress adds new supported design tools.
{
"settings": {
"appearanceTools": true
}
}The convenience has a compatibility cost: a future WordPress release may add a control to the bundle that your theme has not designed for. Public themes often choose the broad flexibility of the bundle. A client-specific or tightly constrained theme can enable the bundle and then disable individual controls, or leave it off and opt into only the settings it deliberately supports. Decide based on the editor experience you want, not simply on the number of lines in the file.
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Properties are version-sensitive
Documentation for the latest format does not mean every installation understands every key. WordPress maintains an availability table that records when a theme.json property became available and, separately, when a matching Style Editor control appeared. These are not always the same release.
| Property | Available from | Practical implication |
|---|---|---|
background.backgroundAttachment |
WordPress 6.7 | Do not rely on this key when your compatibility floor is below 6.7. |
typography.textIndent |
WordPress 7.0 | Older installations may ignore the key or lack a corresponding editor control. |
typography.textShadow |
WordPress 7.1 | Use only when the supported WordPress range includes this availability. |
The living version-3 reference is intended for WordPress 6.6 and later with the latest Gutenberg plugin. For a mixed-version audience, either stay within the oldest version’s property set or provide a deliberate fallback in CSS and theme design. Do not assume that a valid JSON file guarantees that an older WordPress release will render or expose every value.
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useRootPaddingAwareAlignments
When this setting is enabled, values in styles.spacing.padding apply to the contents of full-width blocks instead of only the root block. Declare the padding as an object with separate sides:
{
"settings": {
"useRootPaddingAwareAlignments": true
},
"styles": {
"spacing": {
"padding": {
"top": "2rem",
"right": "clamp(1rem, 4vw, 4rem)",
"bottom": "2rem",
"left": "clamp(1rem, 4vw, 4rem)"
}
}
}
}A single shorthand value is not the documented shape for this behavior. Separate top, right, bottom, and left values make the intended treatment of full-width content explicit.
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Layout and spacing are different decisions
Layout settings define content width, wide width, and which alignment options are available. Spacing settings govern margin, padding, block gap, and spacing presets. Typography settings cover font families, sizes, weight, line height, decoration, transform, and other supported options. Keep those concerns separate so an editor can understand whether it is changing the container model, the space between blocks, or the appearance of text.
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- Set the schema. Choose the schema URL corresponding to the oldest WordPress version you support. This makes editor validation useful instead of allowing keys your audience cannot use.
- Choose the format version. Use version 3 when the compatibility floor is WordPress 6.6 or later; otherwise choose the older supported format.
- Define the control surface. In
settings, register only the palettes, font sizes, font families, spacing scale, layout options, border tools, and block controls that belong to your design system. - Apply global defaults. Add the base values in
stylesat the root scope, including document typography, colors, and spacing. - Add intentional exceptions. Use
styles.elementsfor semantic targets andstyles.blocksfor block-specific defaults. Avoid duplicating a global rule when an element or block scope expresses the intent more clearly. - Make the appearance-tools decision. Enable the bundle for broad user flexibility, or explicitly select narrower settings when the interface must remain constrained. If you enable it, review future WordPress changes before promising a fixed editor experience.
- Check availability. Look up every newer key in the WordPress property-availability table, especially when supporting several WordPress versions.
- Validate and inspect. Open the file in an editor with JSON Schema support, then check the block editor on the minimum supported WordPress version and inspect the resulting front-end CSS. Confirm that controls appear where intended and that user styles or block variations do not override your defaults unexpectedly.
Why a setting appears not to work
The installation is too old
Confirm the WordPress version that introduced the property. A key added in 6.7, 7.0, or 7.1 cannot be treated as universally available just because it appears in current documentation. Lower the compatibility target, remove the key, or supply a separate fallback.
The key is in the wrong scope
A value under styles.blocks will not become a site-wide default, and a registered preset under settings will not apply itself as a visual style. Move the value to the root, element, or block scope that matches the intended result.
The control was never enabled
Many editor tools are opt-in. Register the relevant family in settings, or use appearanceTools when its broad bundle is appropriate. Then check whether the particular nested key is supported by the selected schema and WordPress release.
A later origin overrides the theme
User customization, a block style variation, or a more-specific selector can outrank a theme default. Compare the generated CSS and inspect the editor’s saved styles before changing the theme rule.
The schema accepts a key the site cannot use
If autocomplete comes from the trunk schema, it may suggest Gutenberg features unavailable in a production WordPress version. Point the editor to the schema for your oldest supported release and validate again.
A compact decision framework
| Decision | Choose this when | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Version 3 | Your minimum supported WordPress version is 6.6 or newer. | Older installations need an earlier format and older property set. |
| Explicit individual settings | The editor must expose a controlled, predictable set of design tools. | You must maintain the list as new WordPress capabilities arrive. |
appearanceTools: true |
Users should have broad design flexibility. | Future releases may add unfamiliar controls to the bundle. |
| Root styles | A value is the site-wide default. | More-specific user, variation, element, or block styles can override it. |
| Element styles | A semantic target such as links, headings, buttons, or captions needs a shared treatment. | The element must be supported by the schema for the target version. |
| Block styles | Only one block needs a different default. | The emitted selector follows the block’s declared selector behavior. |
What a well-maintained file looks like
A durable theme.json is intentionally boring: its schema matches the support floor, its version is explicit, its settings expose a coherent design system, and its styles are placed at the narrowest scope that expresses the requirement. Keep experimental or newer properties out of a compatibility range that cannot honor them. Treat the editor controls and the generated front-end CSS as two outputs of the same configuration, and verify both whenever you change the file.
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