Editing policies — lock the block editor down for a client

What editing policies do

A block theme lets anyone who can edit a page change its layout, the site's templates and its styles. That's right while you build the site, and risky once a client takes it over. An editing policy decides how much of that stays open, in four layers:

You pick one preset for the whole site and override any layer or single setting. Named developers bypass the policy, so you keep full access even when the client is an Administrator.

The presets

Each level includes everything the level before it locks.

What a locked user sees at each content level:

• guided: the inserter only offers the curated blocks, plus your themeBlocks: paragraph, heading, list, quote, pullquote, image, gallery, video, audio, file, cover, media & text, buttons, columns, group, separator, spacer, table, details, embed and synced patterns.
• structured: blocks can't be added, removed or moved. The client edits text, links and media in place. The block toolbar shows only text formatting, and the sidebar keeps only Typography.
• locked: the whole layout is locked (templateLock: all). Text inside the existing blocks stays editable.

Define the policy

The policy lives in one JSON file, taw-schema/editing.json, next to your other data layer definitions:

{
  "$schema": "../vendor/taw/core/resources/schema/taw-schema-1.0.json",
  "version": 1,
  "kind": "editing",
  "key": "site",
  "preset": "structured",
  "themeBlocks": ["taw-gutenberg/*"],
  "layers": {
    "design": "guided",
    "features": { "customHtml": true },
    "site": { "navigation": true },
    "content": {
      "page": {
        "allow": ["core/*", "taw-gutenberg/*"],
        "template": [["core/heading", { "level": 1 }], ["core/paragraph"]],
        "lock": "contentOnly"
      },
      "post": "open"
    }
  }
}

• preset: open, guided, structured or locked. The default is open.
• themeBlocks (taw/core v1.50.0+): your theme's own blocks, as names or globs. They're added to every allow list, so clients can still insert them at guided and above. TAW Gutenberg ships ["taw-gutenberg/*"].
• layers.design / site / features: a level name, or an object of settings. Each setting is true (allowed) or false (locked). An object can also set "level" and then override single settings.
• layers.content: a map of post type to a level name or a rule:
  • allow: block names or globs (core/*, acme/hero). null allows every block.
  • template: the starting blocks, in the same [name, attributes, innerBlocks] format register_post_type() uses.
  • lock: false, insert, contentOnly or all.
  • newPostsOnly: the template applies to new posts only (default true). Applying it to existing posts makes the editor offer to "reset" their content.
• bypass.capability: the capability that bypasses the policy (default taw_unlock_editing).

Check the file without WordPress:

php bin/taw schema:validate

How the settings combine

From weakest to strongest: the preset, then a layer's level, then single settings, then a post type's own editing rule, then the site file's content map. TAW_EDITING_PRESET replaces only the preset, so your overrides still apply on top of it.

Per install: wp-config.php

Keep "preset": "open" in the theme for development, and lock each client install from its wp-config.php:

define('TAW_EDITING_PRESET', 'structured');           // this install's level
define('TAW_EDITING_BYPASS_USERS', ['marco', 'ana']); // logins that stay unlocked

TAW_EDITING_BYPASS_USERS also accepts a comma-separated string. Users who have the bypass capability (taw_unlock_editing unless the policy names another) are unlocked too.

Check what's in effect

Tools → TAW Editing (for Administrators) shows the policy in effect, read-only:

• the preset and where it comes from (the JSON file or TAW_EDITING_PRESET)
• whether you bypass it
• every setting of each layer, and the content rule for each post type
• warnings: nobody can bypass, an allow pattern matches no registered block, an invalid constant

What's enforced, and where

Some locks are checked by the server, and others shape the editor only:

Recovery

• define('TAW_EDITING_OFF', true); in wp-config.php turns every lock off at once.
• wp-cli is never restricted.
• Adding your login to TAW_EDITING_BYPASS_USERS unlocks only you.

Known behavior

• The inserter still opens on a locked page, and it shows "No results found". That's how WordPress handles a full layout lock.
• contentOnly needs a script on WordPress 7.1. The editor ignores a page-level contentOnly lock since 7.1, so taw/core sends templateLock: all and a small script puts each block in content-only mode. After a WordPress update, check a structured page in the editor once: WordPress still changes this API.
• A themeBlocks or allow pattern that matches no registered block is flagged on Tools → TAW Editing.