iansvo

This block allows you to add an additional block content area to a site-editor template and store the block output inside a meta field. By default, WordPress posts or pages may only store blocks in one place: post_content. These blocks are output on the page using the core/post-content block. This block allows you to have multiple “outlets” where you can add blocks so you can have post-specific blocks appear in more than one location in the template.
The block is a fork of the core/post-content block that uses a customized version of the useEntityBlockEditor hook which supports meta keys. The blocks for your content area are then stored inside that meta key (instead of post_content). This allows you to keep the blocks separate and you can use as many of these on a single template as you want (but in most cases 2 is probably enough). It’s all up to you!
<h3>Requirements</h3>
<ol>
<li>Using this plugin requires you to enable template previews (which will let you visually see the new content area you’re adding). This can be enabled on any given post or page, but you can optionally set it on by default using a filter.</li>
<li>Your theme must be a block theme (i.e. it uses the site editor). This won’t work for a hybrid or classic theme (which has no concept of live template preview in the block editor).</li>
</ol>
<h3>Hooks</h3>
If you want to disable this meta key’s registration, add the following to your theme or plugin:
<pre><code><?php
add_filter( 'content_area_block_register_default_meta', '__return_false' );
</code></pre>
For advanced users, there is also a filter for the entire block’s output. See the below snippet from render.php:
<pre><code><?php
/**
 * Filter the block's frontend output.
 *
 * @param string $parsed_content The parsed block content for output.
 * @param int $block_post_id The current post ID the block is displaying in.
 * @param array $attributes The block attributes.
 * @param string $content The original unparsed block content.
 * @param object $block The current parsed block object.
 *
 * @return The block content for output on the frontend.
 */
$output = apply_filters( 
 'content_area_block_content', 
 do_blocks( str_replace( ']]>', ']]&gt;', $content ) ), 
 $block_post_id, 
 $attributes, 
 $content, 
 $block 
);
</code></pre>
<h3>Contributing</h3>
The plugin source code may be found here: https://github.com/iansvo/content-area-block.
To build the plugin from source, you must have NodeJS (v24+) installed.
Setup Steps:
<ol>
<li>Navigate to the project folder in your terminal.</li>
<li>Run <code>npm i</code> to install dependencies.</li>
<li>Run <code>npm run build</code> to performn the initial build.</li>
</ol>
If you’re using wp-env to run the plugin… 
1. Run <code>npm run wp-env start</code> to start the docker container. 
2. Run <code>npm run start</code> to watch for file changes.

Content Area Block

Adds a block content area to a site editor template and stores the blocks in a specified meta field. By default, the plugin will add a new meta field  …

Troy Chaplin

Ever needed to track down where a specific block is being used? Block Finder adds a dashboard widget that searches your entire site for any core or custom block. Pick a block, click Search, and instantly see every place it appears — along with a count of how many times it’s used, whether it’s nested inside another block, and a direct link to edit that content.
No more manually opening posts one by one hoping to find the right block. Block Finder does the searching so you don’t have to.
<h4>Who is this for?</h4>
Content editors and site managers — need to update every post that uses a specific call-to-action block? Wondering which pages are still using a block you’re about to change? Block Finder gives you the answer in seconds, with one-click access to edit each result.
Developers and theme builders — auditing block usage across templates and template parts in the Site Editor, checking registered patterns, or running automated checks from the command line. Block Finder has you covered.
<h4>Features</h4>
Search your way:
<ul>
<li>Type-ahead block picker powered by WordPress’s native Combobox — no hunting through a long list</li>
<li>Search Posts, Patterns, Templates, and Template parts all from one form</li>
<li>Filter by post type to narrow results, or search across everything at once</li>
<li>Filter by post status — include drafts, pending, scheduled, and private content alongside published</li>
</ul>
Understand what you find:
<ul>
<li>See the total number of times a block appears in each piece of content</li>
<li>InnerBlock detection shows how many of those instances are nested inside another block</li>
<li>Source badges make it clear at a glance whether a result came from a post, a pattern, a template, or a template part</li>
<li>Status badges surface non-published content so nothing gets missed</li>
</ul>
Act on results quickly:
<ul>
<li>Direct edit links open any result straight in the block editor or Site Editor</li>
<li>Paginated results keep large result sets easy to browse</li>
<li>Filter between all instances and nested-only with a single click</li>
</ul>
<h4>For Developers and Theme Builders</h4>
WP-CLI — run <code>wp block-finder search <block></code> from the command line. Supports <code>--post-type</code>, <code>--post-status</code>, <code>--sources</code>, and <code>--format=table|json|csv|count|ids</code>. Use <code>--format=count</code> in CI pipelines or <code>--format=csv</code> for export and audit reports.
Template and template part search — find blocks inside Site Editor templates on any block theme. Both file-based and database-stored templates are included.
Pattern search — covers user-saved synced patterns and every pattern registered by your theme or plugins via <code>WP_Block_Patterns_Registry</code>, not just the ones saved to the database.
Developer hooks — extend or modify search behaviour without touching plugin code:
<ul>
<li><code>block_finder_sources</code> — add or remove sources before the search runs</li>
<li><code>block_finder_results</code> — modify the assembled result set before it is returned</li>
</ul>
REST API — <code>GET /wp-json/block-finder/v1/search</code> is available for custom integrations. Requires <code>edit_posts</code> capability.

Block Finder

Find any block, anywhere on your site — posts, patterns, templates, and template parts.

Content Area Block vs Block Finder