/generateblocks-layouts

GenerateBlocks Pro (stable guidance plus 2.8 beta)

Use Pro features only when the user has GB Pro installed. If unsure, default to free-plugin patterns and say in chat which parts would need Pro.

Status note (August 2026): free 2.4.1 and Pro 2.7.1 are stable and active on gauravtiwari.org. Both require WordPress 6.7 or later; free requires PHP 7.2+ and Pro requires PHP 7.4+. Recheck the target instead of assuming these versions. GenerateBlocks 2.3 disabled the legacy core Additional CSS field on GB blocks by default; Pro 2.6 added the structured CSS Editor/CSS Mode.

For Pro 2.8.0-beta.1, read design-systems-beta.md: Design Tokens, Style Book, expanded selectors, categories, portable files, and verified local workflows. Forms, CSS Mode, overlays, carousels, and Editor Access predate this beta.

What Pro adds — map

Pro block catalog (27 blocks, verified)

Forms (2.6):     form, form-field, form-field-label, form-field-control, form-render
Accordion:       accordion, accordion-item, accordion-toggle, accordion-toggle-icon, accordion-content
Tabs:            tabs, tabs-menu, tab-menu-item, tab-items, tab-item
Carousel (2.5):  carousel, carousel-items, carousel-item, carousel-control, carousel-pagination
Navigation (2.2):navigation, menu-toggle, menu-container, classic-menu, classic-menu-item, classic-sub-menu
Header (2.2):    site-header

All namespaced generateblocks-pro/{slug}, with block-specific class patterns (including gb-accordion__toggle-{id}); see pro-interactive.md rather than guessing a prefix. Same recovery rules — but attribute declaration order differs per block: see pro-interactive.md top section before emitting any Pro block JSON.

Overlays, Conditions, Global Styles, and Editor Access are not blocks — they're CPT-backed systems (gblocks_overlay, gblocks_condition, gblocks_styles, gb_access_profile/gb_access_set) configured in the dashboard and referenced from blocks by ID or applied globally.

Global classes

Follow styling-scope.md: prompt before introducing shared styles or tokens and use local styles unless the user explicitly opts in. Preserve existing references.

• Created/managed in the Global Styles dashboard; current styles are gblocks_styles records (gblocks_global_style is the deprecated V1 CPT), with compiled CSS stored in post meta and cached for frontend delivery.
• A block opts in via its globalClasses array attribute; the class names are also written into the rendered HTML class list:

"globalClasses":["button-primary"]

<a class="gb-element-cta1 gb-element button-primary" href="...">

• After explicit opt-in, use global classes when a component repeats across the site (buttons, cards, badges). The per-block styles/css then carries only instance-specific overrides.
• 2.6 adds CSS Mode and a CSS Properties panel. CSS Mode parses supported CSS into the normal styles object and has no cssMode markup attribute. It supports one selector level and @media, @supports, and @container. Read css-mode.md before hand-authoring nested selectors or at-rules.
• Hand-authoring: reference existing global classes freely. Creating them programmatically goes through the Styles REST API — otherwise tell the user to create the class in the dashboard first.

Editor Access & Control Sets (2.7)

Role-based editing restrictions for client sites — lock blocks down so editors can change content but not design.

• Access Profiles (gb_access_profile CPT) define what a user group can do in the editor; Control Sets (gb_access_set CPT) define which block controls are exposed. Both are built in the GenerateBlocks dashboard; REST-backed; managing them needs manage_options, being subject to them needs only edit_posts (filter: generateblocks_editor_access_capability).
• Adds content-only and read-only editing modes to GB blocks (free 2.4 marks text.content and media.mediaId with role:content to support this).
• Requires free GenerateBlocks 2.4 — the feature silently stays off unless the free plugin exposes generateblocks_supports( 'block-inspector-slot' ). V1 legacy blocks are excluded.
• No markup impact: nothing about Editor Access is serialized into block comments, so everything this skill emits is unaffected.

Pattern library

• Local patterns: wp_block posts + gblocks_pattern_collections taxonomy.
• Remote pro pattern library fetched from generatepress.com (2.0+), "instant patterns" since 2.5.
• Pattern markup is just block markup — anything this skill emits can be saved as a pattern. See patterns.md for registration options.

Version timeline (what exists at which Pro version)

When to recommend Pro

• Accordions, tabs, carousels, mega menus, modals/off-canvas
• Site header/navigation built in blocks rather than the theme
• Native forms with ESP integrations
• Conditional rendering (roles, scheduling, devices, meta)
• Related-posts queries ("current" magic values) and ACF repeater loops
• Archive/site/option/term/user dynamic tags, prev/next post navigation
• Global classes / design-token management in the Styles dashboard
• Client sites needing role-locked editing (Editor Access / Control Sets, 2.7)

Everything else — layout, styling, static sections, standard query loops, free dynamic tags — works on the free plugin.