Before diving into the details of this announcement, I want to address something important. I am, like all of you, a human being. Given the current tensions in the WordPress ecosystem, my decision to move from WP Engine to Automattic might evoke strong feelings. Whether you agree or disagree with this decision, please recognize me as a human. Please treat me with respect, even if you strongly oppose my choices. The WordPress community is one I care deeply about, and we all benefit from respectful dialogue, no matter our differences.

With that said, I’m excited to announce that after 3.5 wonderful years at WP Engine, I’ve accepted an offer with Automattic to continue my work on WPGraphQL as it transitions into becoming a canonical community plugin on WordPress.org.

Reflecting on My Time at WP Engine

I’ve truly enjoyed my time at WP Engine. I’ve had the opportunity to publish over 100 releases of WPGraphQL, re-architect WPGraphQL for ACF, introduce WPGraphQL Smart Cache, and help countless users successfully deploy decoupled sites powered by WPGraphQL. I’ve made great friends at WP Engine and hope to continue collaborating with them in the open-source ecosystem for years.

That said, as someone deeply committed to Free Open Source Software (FOSS), the economics around open-source projects can take time to balance. While WP Engine has treated me well personally, the focus on open-source contributions from the organization has declined during my time there. My time was also reallocated away from WPGraphQL and community projects as internal initiatives took priority. Any company needs to focus on internal growth. Still, I believe there’s a conversation to be had about how that fits into the broader open-source community and whether it supports long-term success. Several other former colleagues and I tried to talk about how WP Engine could better participate in Open Source, but those conversations didn’t always gain traction. Hopefully, those conversations can begin again. I don’t have the answers, but I do know there is a problem.

Why Automattic? Why Now?

WPGraphQL has always been and will continue to be free open-source software. Automattic’s track record as a fantastic steward of open-source projects is well known, and I believe it’s the perfect home for WPGraphQL. This move will continue to keep WPGraphQL free and open source while bringing more visibility and contributions from the community.

There is so much untapped potential in the decoupled WordPress ecosystem. While WPGraphQL is already trusted to power thousands of sites, this move will allow us to make even more progress in helping teams build modern API-driven websites and applications with WordPress. Becoming a canonical community plugin will open up new opportunities for collaboration, growth, and innovation across the ecosystem.

On Matt Mullenweg’s Recent Actions

There will likely be assumptions that by joining Automattic, I’m fully endorsing every action Matt Mullenweg has taken recently. This is not the case. I’ve told Matt directly that I don’t agree with everything he’s done — and he has welcomed the disagreement. For example, I don’t think WordCamp US was the right time or place for his speech. I also do not agree with blocking WP Engine customers from WordPress.org without more notice. Should WordPress.org be required to remain a free service forever? Not necessarily. But should long-time users receive advance notice when significant changes are made? I think so.

I could probably list many other things that I don’t agree with Matt on but the reality is that I’ve never worked at a company where I’ve agreed with every single action their leaders have taken.

Leadership often involves making uncomfortable choices that others might not fully understand or agree with. His historical actions have led WordPress to its current success, and I believe that bold moves—though uncomfortable—are sometimes necessary to ensure the long-term future of WordPress. As a maintainer of open-source software, my livelihood depends on people like Matt, who are willing to keep WordPress relevant in the years to come.

WPGraphQL is becoming a canonical WordPress community plugin

Automattic has a long record of nurturing open-source projects used by millions. By becoming a canonical project—similar to WP-CLI, Gutenberg, or the WP REST API before it was merged into core—I anticipate a lot of support from Automattic and the wider community. I believe this move will bring tangible benefits not just to WPGraphQL users but also to the hosts and developers building decoupled WordPress experiences.

There’s much more to come, and I’m excited to continue building tools and features that help teams succeed with modern web development using WordPress and WPGraphQL. Together, we can achieve great things for the entire ecosystem!