Greenshift Block Generator

Greenshift Block Generator

Purpose

Generate production-ready WordPress Gutenberg blocks using Greenshift/​GreenLight Element block system. All output is HTML with JSON parameters in block comments - ready to paste directly into WordPress Gutenberg code editor.

Documentation Structure

Detailed documentation is split into modular files in the docs/ directory:

Read relevant docs files when you need detailed information on specific topics.

IMPORTANT: Always read docs/​12-migration-rules.md when migrating or cloning blocks - it contains critical rules about what styles to REMOVE.

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Quick Reference

Core Block Structure

Every Greenshift element follows this pattern:

<!-- wp:greenshift-blocks/​element {JSON Parameters} -->
<html_tag class="optional classes" ...attributes>
  <!-- Inner content -->
</​html_tag>
<!-- /​wp:greenshift-blocks/​element -->

Critical Rules

1. Block IDs: Unique id starting with gsbp- + 7 alphanumeric chars (e.g., gsbp-b3c761b). localId must be identical to id.

2. Content Types (type parameter):

   • "text": Text-only blocks - requires textContent with duplicated text
   • "inner": Container blocks - wrap plain text in <span> element blocks
   • "no": Empty/​spacer elements
   • "chart": ApexCharts

3. Styling (styleAttributes):

   • Never use inline style="..." attributes
   • Properties use camelCase (e.g., backgroundColor, paddingTop)
   • Values are arrays for responsive: ["desktop", "tablet", "mobile_landscape", "mobile_portrait"]
   • Single value ["10px"] applies to all breakpoints
   • Pseudo-states: backgroundColor_hover, color_focus
   • If styleAttributes exists, add localId to HTML class attribute

4. HTML Tags: Default is div. Prefer tag: "a" over tag: "button" for buttons (except forms).

5. Images: Always loading="lazy". Use https://placehold.co/​WIDTHxHEIGHT. When using originalWidth and originalHeight in JSON, you MUST also add matching width and height HTML attributes to the <img> tag.

6. Links: linkNewWindow: true = target="_blank" + auto rel="noopener"

7. Column Children with Padding: Always add boxSizing: ["border-box"] to column children that have padding. Without this, padding adds to width and causes columns to wrap unexpectedly. See docs/​03-layouts.md for details.

See docs/​01-core-structure.md and docs/​02-attributes.md for full details.

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Minimal Intervention Philosophy

Core Principle: Less is More

When generating or migrating blocks, apply minimal styling intervention. Let the WordPress theme handle defaults.

See docs/​12-migration-rules.md for comprehensive migration-specific rules.

What NOT to Do

Typography Rules (CRITICAL)

Headings (h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6) - NEVER SET:

• fontSize - theme handles heading sizes (even responsive ones)
• fontWeight - theme handles heading weights
• color - theme handles text colors (unless on dark background)
• lineHeight - theme handles heading line-heights

Headings - OKAY TO SET:

• marginTop, marginBottom - for spacing control
• textAlign - for layout/​centering

WRONG - Over-styled heading:

{
  "tag": "h2",
  "styleAttributes": {
    "fontSize": ["3rem", "2.7rem"],
    "fontWeight": ["700"],
    "lineHeight": ["1.2"]
  }
}

CORRECT - Minimal heading:

{
  "tag": "h2",
  "styleAttributes": {
    "marginBottom": ["1rem"],
    "textAlign": ["center"]
  }
}

Paragraphs and text - NEVER SET:

• color - unless on dark/​colored background
• fontWeight: ["400"] or fontWeight: ["normal"] - these are defaults
• lineHeight - unless custom fontSize requires adjustment

Paragraphs and text - OKAY TO SET:

• fontSize - ONLY for intentional accent/​lead text (e.g., ["1.2rem"])
• fontFamily - for specific font choices
• fontWeight: ["700"] - for intentionally bold body text
• maxWidth - for constraining text width

Exception - Text on dark backgrounds: When text is over a dark background (hero overlays, dark sections, card overlays):

• White text: "color":["var(--wp--preset--color--white, #ffffff)"]
• Semi-transparent white: "color":["rgba(255,255,255,0.9)"]

Semantic Heading Hierarchy

Use proper HTML heading levels based on content structure:

h1 - Page title (usually in theme header)
h2 - Main section titles (one per section)
h3 - Subsection/​card titles
h4 - Minor headings within cards/​subsections

Example - Step Cards:

• Section intro: h2
• Grid/​subsection title: h3
• Individual step headings: h4

DON'T: Use multiple h2s in same section or h3 for minor card headings.

Background Colors - Use Theme Palette

WRONG - Generic variables:

"backgroundColor": ["var(--wp--preset--color--white, #ffffff)"]
"backgroundColor": ["var(--wp--preset--color--light-grey, #f8f8f8)"]

CORRECT - Theme palette:

"backgroundColor": ["var(--wp--preset--color--palette-color-6, var(--theme-palette-color-6, #f5f5f4))"]
"backgroundColor": ["var(--wp--preset--color--palette-color-7, var(--theme-palette-color-7, #fafaf9))"]
"backgroundColor": ["var(--wp--preset--color--palette-color-8, var(--theme-palette-color-8, #fffffe))"]

Palette colors (6, 7, 8) adapt to user's theme settings. Generic colors override theme customization.

When TO Style

• Text on dark backgrounds - white/​light colors needed for readability
• Structural necessity - flexbox layouts, positioning
• Spacing control - gaps between sections, margins for element separation
• Explicit design override - screenshot shows specific non-default styling

Hardcoded Values vs CSS Variables

WRONG - Over-styled:

{
  "styleAttributes": {
    "fontSize": ["16px"],
    "fontWeight": ["400"],
    "lineHeight": ["1.5"],
    "color": ["#333333"],
    "marginBottom": ["20px"]
  }
}

CORRECT - Minimal:

{
  "styleAttributes": {
    "marginBottom": ["var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)"]
  }
}

Or even better - no styleAttributes at all if theme defaults are acceptable.

Column/​Flexbox Spacing

For column gaps, use CSS variables:

{
  "styleAttributes": {
    "columnGap": ["var(--wp--preset--spacing--60, 2rem)"],
    "rowGap": ["var(--wp--preset--spacing--60, 2rem)"]
  }
}

AVOID hardcoded gaps like "columnGap": ["25px"] unless specifically required.

Migration/​Cloning Rule

When migrating or cloning:

1. Preserve structure - keep the layout working
2. Remove unnecessary styles - strip redundant fontSize, fontWeight, color
3. Convert hardcoded to variables - but only if the value is being kept
4. Don't add styles - if original didn't have it, don't add it

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Block Types Guide

Always Use GreenLight Element

Always use greenshift-blocks/​element for most content. Convert old blocks to GreenLight Element:

Specialized Blocks (OK to use)

These specialized blocks are acceptable:

• greenshift-blocks/​element - GreenLight Element (primary block)
• greenshift-blocks/​swiper - Slider/​carousel
• greenshift-blocks/​querygrid - Query loop for posts
• greenshift-blocks/​dynamic-post-image - Dynamic featured image
• greenshift-blocks/​dynamic-post-title - Dynamic post title
• greenshift-blocks/​meta - Post meta data

Heading Conversion Example

WRONG (old greenshift-blocks/​heading):

<!-- wp:greenshift-blocks/​heading {"id":"gsbp-xxx","headingContent":"Title","spacing":{...},"typography":{...}} -->
<h2 id="gspb_heading-id-gsbp-xxx" class="gspb_heading gspb_heading-id-gsbp-xxx">Title</​h2>
<!-- /​wp:greenshift-blocks/​heading -->

CORRECT (GreenLight Element - minimal):

<!-- wp:greenshift-blocks/​element {"id":"gsbp-xxx","textContent":"Title","tag":"h2","localId":"gsbp-xxx","styleAttributes":{"marginBottom":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dpreset\u002d\u002dspacing\u002d\u002d50, 1.5rem)"]}} -->
<h2 class="gsbp-xxx">Title</​h2>
<!-- /​wp:greenshift-blocks/​element -->

Key differences:

• Use textContent instead of headingContent
• Use tag:"h2" instead of default div
• NO fontSize - theme handles heading sizes
• NO color - theme handles text colors
• Only add marginBottom if spacing control needed
• Class is gsbp-xxx not gspb_heading gspb_heading-id-gsbp-xxx
• No id attribute in HTML, only class

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SVG Icons Encoding

SVG content inside the JSON icon.icon.svg parameter MUST use Unicode escape sequences, not raw HTML or escaped quotes.

Character Encoding Table

Example

WRONG:

"icon":{"icon":{"svg":"<svg viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M8 12l2 2\"/></​svg>"},...}

CORRECT:

"icon":{"icon":{"svg":"\u003csvg viewBox=\u00220 0 24 24\u0022\u003e\u003cpath d=\u0022M8 12l2 2\u0022/\u003e\u003c/​svg\u003e"},...}

---

Card Design Pattern: Inset Rounded Images

When creating cards with images that have rounded corners INSIDE the card (with visible margin/​padding around them):

Structure

Card Wrapper (white bg, border-radius: 15px, overflow: hidden)
├── Image Container (padding: 8px top/​left/​right, 0px bottom)
│   └── Image (border-radius: 10px on ALL 4 corners, object-fit: cover)
└── Footer/​Label Area (padding for content)

Key Points

1. Card wrapper: overflow: hidden + larger border-radius (e.g., 15px)
2. Image container: padding on 3 sides, paddingBottom: 0px (no gap to footer)
3. Image itself: SMALLER border-radius than card (e.g., 10px) on ALL 4 corners
4. This creates the "inset" look where white card background shows as margin around image

Image styleAttributes for Inset Cards

"styleAttributes": {
  "width": ["100%"],
  "aspectRatio": ["16/​10"],
  "objectFit": ["cover"],
  "borderTopLeftRadius": ["var(--wp--custom--border-radius--small, 10px)"],
  "borderTopRightRadius": ["var(--wp--custom--border-radius--small, 10px)"],
  "borderBottomLeftRadius": ["var(--wp--custom--border-radius--small, 10px)"],
  "borderBottomRightRadius": ["var(--wp--custom--border-radius--small, 10px)"],
  "borderRadiusLink_Extra": true
}

---

Common CSS Variables

Font Sizes

var(--wp--preset--font-size--mini, 11px)
var(--wp--preset--font-size--xs, 0.85rem)
var(--wp--preset--font-size--s, 1rem)
var(--wp--preset--font-size--m, 1.35rem)
var(--wp--preset--font-size--l, 1.55rem)
var(--wp--preset--font-size--xl, clamp(1.6rem, 2.75vw, 1.9rem))
var(--wp--preset--font-size--grand, clamp(2.2rem, 4vw, 2.8rem))
var(--wp--preset--font-size--giga, clamp(3rem, 5vw, 4.5rem))
var(--wp--preset--font-size--giant, clamp(3.2rem, 6.2vw, 6.5rem))

Spacing

var(--wp--preset--spacing--40, 1rem)
var(--wp--preset--spacing--50, 1.5rem)
var(--wp--preset--spacing--60, 2.25rem)
var(--wp--preset--spacing--70, 3.38rem)
var(--wp--preset--spacing--80, 5.06rem)

Border Radius

var(--wp--custom--border-radius--mini, 5px)
var(--wp--custom--border-radius--small, 10px)
var(--wp--custom--border-radius--medium, 15px)
var(--wp--custom--border-radius--large, 20px)

Shadows & Transitions

var(--wp--preset--shadow--soft, 0px 15px 30px 0px rgba(119, 123, 146, 0.1))
var(--wp--preset--shadow--elegant, 0px 5px 23px 0px rgba(188, 207, 219, 0.35))
var(--wp--custom--transition--ease, all 0.5s ease)
var(--wp--custom--transition--smooth, all 1s cubic-bezier(0.66,0,0.34,1))

See docs/​09-css-variables.md for complete list.

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Common Patterns

Page Wrapper (for multi-section pages)

ALWAYS wrap full pages in a single container. This is critical for controlling spacing.

Why Page Wrapper is essential:

• Eliminates unwanted gaps - WordPress/​themes often add margins between blocks
• Unified control - one place to manage page-level spacing
• Prevents theme interference - overrides default block margins
• Consistent structure - predictable behavior across themes

<!-- wp:greenshift-blocks/​element {"id":"gsbp-page001","type":"inner","localId":"gsbp-page001","align":"full","styleAttributes":{"marginBlockStart":["0px"]},"metadata":{"name":"Page Wrapper"}} -->
<div class="gsbp-page001 alignfull">
  <!-- All sections go here -->
</​div>
<!-- /​wp:greenshift-blocks/​element -->

Key points:

• align:"full" in JSON + alignfull in HTML class
• marginBlockStart:["0px"] removes top margin forced by themes
• All section wrappers go inside this container
• Sections inside should NOT have extra top/​bottom margins

Full-Width Section Wrapper

<!-- wp:greenshift-blocks/​element {"id":"gsbp-XXXXXXX","tag":"section","type":"inner","localId":"gsbp-XXXXXXX","align":"full","styleAttributes":{"display":["flex"],"justifyContent":["center"],"flexDirection":["column"],"alignItems":["center"],"paddingRight":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dcustom\u002d\u002dspacing\u002d\u002dside, min(3vw, 20px))"],"paddingLeft":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dcustom\u002d\u002dspacing\u002d\u002dside, min(3vw, 20px))"],"paddingTop":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dpreset\u002d\u002dspacing\u002d\u002d80, 5rem)"],"paddingBottom":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dpreset\u002d\u002dspacing\u002d\u002d80, 5rem)"],"marginBlockStart":["0px"]},"isVariation":"contentwrapper"} -->
<section class="gsbp-XXXXXXX alignfull">
  <!-- Content Area -->
</​section>
<!-- /​wp:greenshift-blocks/​element -->

Content Area (Centered Container)

IMPORTANT: Use content-size (not wide-size) for content width:

<!-- wp:greenshift-blocks/​element {"id":"gsbp-XXXXXXX","type":"inner","localId":"gsbp-XXXXXXX","styleAttributes":{"maxWidth":["100%"],"width":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dstyle\u002d\u002dglobal\u002d\u002dcontent-size, 1290px)"]},"isVariation":"nocolumncontent","metadata":{"name":"Content Area"}} -->
<div class="gsbp-XXXXXXX">
  <!-- Inner content -->
</​div>
<!-- /​wp:greenshift-blocks/​element -->

Two-Column Layout

<!-- wp:greenshift-blocks/​element {"id":"gsbp-XXXXXXX","type":"inner","localId":"gsbp-XXXXXXX","styleAttributes":{"display":["flex"],"flexColumns_Extra":2,"flexWidths_Extra":{"desktop":{"name":"50/​50","widths":[50,50]},"tablet":{"name":"50/​50","widths":[50,50]},"mobile":{"name":"100/​100","widths":[100,100]}},"flexDirection":["row"],"columnGap":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dpreset\u002d\u002dspacing\u002d\u002d60, 2rem)"],"rowGap":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dpreset\u002d\u002dspacing\u002d\u002d60, 2rem)"],"flexWrap":["wrap"]},"isVariation":"contentarea"} -->
<div class="gsbp-XXXXXXX">
  <!-- Column 1 -->
  <!-- Column 2 -->
</​div>
<!-- /​wp:greenshift-blocks/​element -->

See docs/​03-layouts.md for more layout patterns.

Heading with Animation

<!-- wp:greenshift-blocks/​element {"id":"gsbp-XXXXXXX","textContent":"Your Heading","tag":"h2","animation":{"duration":800,"easing":"ease","type":"fade-up","onlyonce":true},"localId":"gsbp-XXXXXXX","styleAttributes":{"marginBottom":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dpreset\u002d\u002dspacing\u002d\u002d50, 1.5rem)"]}} -->
<h2 data-aos="fade-up" data-aos-easing="ease" data-aos-duration="800" data-aos-once="true" class="gsbp-XXXXXXX">Your Heading</​h2>
<!-- /​wp:greenshift-blocks/​element -->

Note: No fontSize or color on heading - theme handles typography. Only marginBottom for spacing.

See docs/​05-animations.md for all animation options.

Button/​Link

<!-- wp:greenshift-blocks/​element {"id":"gsbp-XXXXXXX","textContent":"Click Here","tag":"a","localId":"gsbp-XXXXXXX","href":"#","styleAttributes":{"display":["inline-flex"],"paddingTop":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dcustom\u002d\u002dbutton\u002d\u002dspacing\u002d\u002dvertical, 1rem)"],"paddingBottom":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dcustom\u002d\u002dbutton\u002d\u002dspacing\u002d\u002dvertical, 1rem)"],"paddingLeft":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dcustom\u002d\u002dbutton\u002d\u002dspacing\u002d\u002dhorizontal, 2rem)"],"paddingRight":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dcustom\u002d\u002dbutton\u002d\u002dspacing\u002d\u002dhorizontal, 2rem)"],"backgroundColor":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dpreset\u002d\u002dcolor\u002d\u002dprimary, #000)"],"color":["#fff"],"borderRadius":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dcustom\u002d\u002dborder-radius\u002d\u002dmedium, 15px)"],"textDecoration":["none"],"transition":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dcustom\u002d\u002dtransition\u002d\u002dease, all 0.5s ease)"],"backgroundColor_hover":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dpreset\u002d\u002dcolor\u002d\u002dsecondary, #333)"]}} -->
<a class="gsbp-XXXXXXX" href="#">Click Here</​a>
<!-- /​wp:greenshift-blocks/​element -->

Image

<!-- wp:greenshift-blocks/​element {"id":"gsbp-XXXXXXX","tag":"img","localId":"gsbp-XXXXXXX","src":"https://placehold.co/​800x600","alt":"Description","originalWidth":800,"originalHeight":600,"styleAttributes":{"width":["100%"],"height":["auto"],"objectFit":["cover"],"borderRadius":["var(\u002d\u002dwp\u002d\u002dcustom\u002d\u002dborder-radius\u002d\u002dsmall, 10px)"]}} -->
<img class="gsbp-XXXXXXX" src="https://placehold.co/​800x600" alt="Description" width="800" height="600" loading="lazy"/>
<!-- /​wp:greenshift-blocks/​element -->

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Block Variations (isVariation)

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Animation Options

Available animation.type values:

• fade, fade-up, fade-down, fade-left, fade-right
• zoom-in, zoom-in-up, zoom-in-down, zoom-out
• slide-up, slide-down, slide-left, slide-right
• flip-up, flip-down, flip-left, flip-right
• clip-right, clip-left, clip-up, clip-down

Animation parameters: duration (ms), delay (ms), easing, onlyonce (boolean)

See docs/​05-animations.md for keyframe animations and scroll-linked animations.

---

Dynamic Content

For blocks displaying WordPress data (posts, users, taxonomies):

<!-- wp:greenshift-blocks/​element {"id":"gsbp-xxx","textContent":"<dynamictext></​dynamictext>","dynamictext":{"dynamicEnable":true,"dynamicType":"postdata","dynamicSource":"latest_item","dynamicPostData":"post_title"},"localId":"gsbp-xxx"} -->
<div class="gsbp-xxx"><dynamictext></​dynamictext></​div>
<!-- /​wp:greenshift-blocks/​element -->

See docs/​07-dynamic-content.md for all dynamic types and query grids.

---

Slider Blocks

Use greenshift-blocks/​swiper for image galleries and hero sliders.

CRITICAL: For image gallery slides, use greenshift-blocks/​element with tag:"img" inside slider-content-zone. Do NOT put images directly in slider-image-wrapper.

See docs/​06-slider.md for complete slider documentation and correct structure.

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Design Detail Attention Checklist

Before generating output, verify these visual details from the reference design:

1. Border Radius

• Card/​container radius vs image/​inner element radius (usually different)
• Are corners rounded on all 4 sides or specific corners only?
• Is it subtle (5-10px), medium (15px), large (20-30px), or pill (50px+)?

2. Padding/​Margins

• Is image edge-to-edge or inset with visible container background?
• Gap between image and footer/​content below
• Internal padding of content areas

3. Image Handling

• Does image fill container (object-fit: cover) or maintain aspect ratio (object-fit: contain)?
• Does image have its own rounded corners separate from container?
• Aspect ratio of image area
• originalWidth/originalHeight in JSON → matching width/height in HTML

4. Shadows

• Subtle vs prominent shadow
• Shadow on card vs shadow on image

5. Background Relationships

• Section background vs card background vs image background
• Overlay effects or gradients

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Output Validation Rules

Before outputting Greenshift blocks, verify these critical rules:

1. No HTML comments - Use metadata:{"name":"..."} instead of <!-- Section Name -->
2. Page wrapper required - Multi-section pages MUST be wrapped in element with align:"full" and <div class="... alignfull">
3. Image dimensions - When originalWidth/originalHeight in JSON, add matching width/height to HTML <img> tag
4. SVG attributes - Don't include fill="none" on outer <svg> element (WordPress strips it - put on <path> elements)
5. Slider images - Use greenshift-blocks/​element blocks in slider-content-zone, NOT direct <img> in slider-image-wrapper
6. Slider swipe JSON - Use imageurl:"" (empty string), add bgContain:false

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Output Requirements

• Return only the generated block code
• Block names: wp:greenshift-blocks/​element (or specialized like swiper, querygrid)
• No explanations or surrounding text
• No HTML comments - WordPress strips them; use metadata:{"name":"..."} for organization
• Ready to paste directly into WordPress Gutenberg code editor
• Save output as .html files

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Example Templates

Reference templates are in the templates/ directory:

• section-wrapper.html - Full-width section wrapper
• two-columns.html - Two-column responsive layout
• hero-section.html - Hero section with background
• card-grid.html - Card grid layout