Developer Reference

Current as of 25 August 2026. Fernlight is split into four products with clear boundaries: the free theme handles presentation, Companion handles optional read-only site intelligence, Migration beta handles audit-first draft conversion, and Pro handles paid reviewable draft workflows.

Current versions

• Fernlight theme: 1.2.53
• Fernlight Companion: 1.2.27
• Fernlight Migration beta: 1.2.18
• Fernlight Pro: 0.7.11

Product boundaries

• Theme: templates, template parts, theme.json tokens, style variations, block styles, editor styles, bundled fonts, screenshot, RTL, and editable block patterns. No custom REST routes, no content writes, no external service calls, no workflow settings.
• Companion: optional free plugin for editorial blocks, reading enhancements, read-only site context, manifest/capability discovery, validation, recommendations, exports, and handoff packs.
• Migration beta: optional one-time plugin for staging-first audits and Fernlight draft copies from supported builder content. It preserves originals and records provenance.
• Pro: optional paid plugin for owner-directed draft workflows, studio tools, bulk compose, brand/design context, and client handoff packs. It stops at reviewable drafts unless a human publishes.

Theme architecture

• WordPress 6.7+ and PHP 8.0+.
• Block theme using theme.json version 3.
• One front-end stylesheet from the theme: assets/css/post-styles.min.css, with assets/css/post-styles.css included as the readable source.
• No front-end JavaScript from the theme.
• Patterns auto-register from patterns/*.php; pattern categories are registered in inc/block-patterns.php.
• Block styles are registered in inc/block-styles.php.

Companion discovery surfaces

Runtime discovery and AI-tool context live in Fernlight Companion, not in the theme. Companion exposes read-only REST routes and WordPress Abilities where available, including manifest, capabilities, site context, recommendations, validation, exports, and content inventory.

Migration beta

Use Fernlight Migration on staging first. It audits Kadence, Stackable, CoBlocks, and core/block-theme content, then can create Fernlight draft copies with confidence notes, gap explanations, and provenance. Originals are not modified.

Pro workflows

Pro is the gated action layer. It creates reviewable drafts, briefs, workbenches, and handoff packs from owner-supplied intent and guardrails. It does not replace the free theme and does not publish without human review.