GB Extras 2.5 Released with an Improved Command Palette and Bulk Transformations

New GenerateBlocks Commands in the 2.5 Release

GB Extras 2.5 is now available, and this release represents a significant step forward in how you interact with GenerateBlocks inside the WordPress block editor.

This version introduces a full command palette system, new bulk transformation tools, optional frontend commands, and improved admin bar customization.

Let’s dive into what’s new.

An Improved Command Palette System

At the core of GB Extras 2.5 is an improved command palette implementation built on WordPress’s modern command palette API, just released with WordPress 6.9.

Commands are now available in multiple contexts:

The block editor.
The WordPress admin area.
The frontend (optional and disabled by default).

Let’s go over some of the more useful commands below.

Regenerate GenerateBlocks CSS Files

One of the most useful utilities is now just a command away.

GB Extras 2.5 adds a command that allows you to regenerate the GenerateBlocks CSS files directly from the command palette.

The command provides:

Visual progress feedback
Clear success and error messaging
Graceful handling of permission issues

This is especially useful after significant layout changes or when troubleshooting styling inconsistencies.

Using the Command Palette to Regenerate Styles

Bulk Block Transformation Tools

GB Extras 2.5 introduces two new bulk transformation commands to help quickly convert existing content.

Paragraphs → GenerateBlocks Text

Convert Paragraph Blocks to the GenerateBlocks Text Block

Convert all core Paragraph blocks into GenerateBlocks v2 Text blocks in one step. The command works recursively and preserves content and relevant attributes.

Headings → GenerateBlocks Text

Convert Core Headings to GenerateBlocks Headings Command

Bulk-convert core Heading blocks (H1–H6) into GenerateBlocks Text blocks while maintaining heading levels and structure.

Each transform includes a confirmation step, but doesn’t support undo.

Optional Frontend Command Palette

Accessing the Command Palette from the Frontend

GB Extras 2.5 adds optional support for a frontend command palette. This is only possible on WordPress 6.9 and up.

When enabled:

Commands are available only to logged-in administrators
The feature respects WordPress capability checks
No scripts are loaded for visitors

This allows quick access to the GenerateBlocks regenerate CSS feature and also performs a site search. More commands are planned later as they make sense.

An admin option allows you to enable or disable the frontend command palette.

Improved Container Outlines Performance

The container outline toggle has been reworked for performance and reliability (no more lag).

Improvements include:

A new data-attribute-based approach
Reduced editor lag
Proper cleanup to avoid memory issues

Outlines remain color-coded and visually apparent, but now perform significantly better on complex pages.

Generating Block Outlines Using the Command Palette

Admin Bar Customization

The latest GenerateBlocks Pro version introduced overlays, which also introduced a new admin bar menu item. GB Extras 2.5 introduces two new controls to control the admin bar.

You can now:

Enable or disable the GenerateBlocks admin bar menu entirely.
Replace overlay panels with a whole menu experience (showing all GenerateBlocks options).

These options are designed to reduce UI noise and better match how you prefer to work.