BuddyPress 8.0.0-beta1

BuddyPress 8.0.0-beta1 is now available for testing!

Please note the plugin is still in development, so we recommend running this beta release on a testing site.

You can test BuddyPress 8.0.0-beta1 in 4 ways :

• Try the BP Beta Tester plugin.
• Download the beta here (zip file).
• Check out our SVN repository: svn co https://buddypress.svn.wordpress.org/trunk/
• Clone our read-only Git repository: git clone git://buddypress.git.wordpress.org/

The current target for final release is June 2, 2021. That’s just five weeks away, so your help is vital to making sure that the final release is as good as it can be.

Please note BuddyPress 8.0.0 will require at least WordPress 4.9.

We repeat it each time we announce a beta release : testing for bugs is VERRRY important. Please make sure to test this pre-release using a testing configuration which is very close to the one you are using in production. If you find something unusual (aside from the great new features below), please report it on BuddyPress Trac or post a reply to this support topic.

Here are the three hottest 8.0.0 features to pay close attention to while testing (Check out this report on Trac for the full list).

BP Members Invitations

Whether you allow open registration or not you can use this opt-in feature to let your community grow itself. Once enabled from the BuddyPress Options Administration screen, your members will be able to invite their network of friends, co-workers, students, developers, well possibly anyone, to join your site .

Selectable xProfile sign-up fields

Until now, only the Primary group of xProfile fields was displayed on the registration form of your community. 8.0.0 gives you the freedom to choose any field from any field group to add to your site’s registration form .

Include WordPress user fields in your BuddyPress member profiles

8.0.0 introduces 2 new xProfile Field types. The WP Textbox can be used to include the user’s first name, last name, Website link or any potential WP contact methods. With the WP Biography field you can display the Biographical Info in the group of xProfile fields of your choice .

And so much more such as the new Welcome BP Email, the terms of use acceptance profile field, improvements to the BP Nouveau template pack & to the BP REST API…

We’ll tell you more about all these soon into our developer notes.