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SEO: remove the rsm_jetpack_seo feature flag (JETPACK-1702)#49835

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SEO: remove the rsm_jetpack_seo feature flag (JETPACK-1702)#49835
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Proposed changes

Retire the rsm_jetpack_seo launch flag now that the Jetpack SEO product is built and merged. With the flag gone, the SEO surface is governed solely by the install-cohort visibility rules that already shipped in PR #5c (#49672) / #5b (#49697):

  • Initializer::init() no longer bails on the feature flag. The discoverability cohort gate (is_seo_surface_visible()) is now the only gate: fresh installs and all WordPress.com sites (Simple + Atomic) are visible; existing self-hosted installs stay hidden until they opt in (legacy Traffic page / My Jetpack).
  • Initializer::is_optin_available() simplifies to ! is_seo_surface_visible() — the opt-in surfaces (Traffic-page banner, My Jetpack card) now show purely on cohort state.
  • Legacy Traffic plugin-search hint (modules/plugin-search.php) now keys off the SEO dashboard's per-site availability (Initializer::is_seo_surface_visible(), guarded by class_exists) instead of the global flag, so its CTAs never point to a page that isn't registered on that site.
  • Drop the now-unused FEATURE_FILTER constant and the flag-driven unit tests; refresh the My Jetpack opt-in-card docblock that described the flag.

No data-shape changes: seo.optin_available and seo.surface_visible are still injected (now unconditionally rather than flag-gated), so the legacy Traffic page reads them exactly as before.

Why

rsm_jetpack_seo was added at the foundation merge to hide the in-progress product. The product is complete and the cohort rollout is in place, so removing the flag is the final pre-launch step (JETPACK-1702). After this lands, the SEO dashboard becomes available per the cohort rules on the next release.

Does this pull request change what data or activity we track?

No new tracking. The Tracks work is handled separately (JETPACK-1728).

Testing instructions

On a build of this branch:

  • Self-hosted, fresh install: SEO menu appears in wp-admin automatically; the legacy Traffic SEO/Sitemaps/Verification sections are replaced by the "SEO has its own dashboard" pointer.
  • Self-hosted, existing install (not opted in): no SEO menu; the legacy Traffic SEO sections + the opt-in banner are present; opting in (banner or My Jetpack card) reveals the menu.
  • WordPress.com (Simple / Atomic): SEO menu appears with nothing to wire (the cohort check short-circuits to visible). This is the case to confirm on the wpcom sandbox.
  • Search the wp-admin plugin directory for "seo"/"sitemap": the SEO Tools hint appears only where the dashboard is registered (visible cohort), and its CTAs open admin.php?page=jetpack-seo.

Test environments

  • Simple
  • Atomic
  • Self-hosted (fresh)
  • Self-hosted (existing / opt-in)

Screenshots

Screenshots to be added by author.


⚠️ This is the launch flip. Holding merge until: (1) the WordPress.com/Simple menu is confirmed on the sandbox, and (2) removal timing is coordinated with @dhasilva (who added the flag), per JETPACK-1702.

@angelablake angelablake self-assigned this Jun 22, 2026
@github-actions github-actions Bot added [Package] My Jetpack [Package] Seo [Plugin] Jetpack Issues about the Jetpack plugin. https://wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/ [Status] In Progress [Tests] Includes Tests labels Jun 22, 2026
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github-actions Bot commented Jun 22, 2026

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Thank you for your PR!

When contributing to Jetpack, we have a few suggestions that can help us test and review your patch:

  • ✅ Include a description of your PR changes.
  • ✅ Add a "[Status]" label (In Progress, Needs Review, ...).
  • ✅ Add testing instructions.
  • 🔴 Specify whether this PR includes any changes to data or privacy.
  • ✅ Add changelog entries to affected projects

This comment will be updated as you work on your PR and make changes. If you think that some of those checks are not needed for your PR, please explain why you think so. Thanks for cooperation 🤖


🔴 Action required: We would recommend that you add a section to the PR description to specify whether this PR includes any changes to data or privacy, like so:

## Does this pull request change what data or activity we track or use?

My PR adds *x* and *y*.

Follow this PR Review Process:

  1. Ensure all required checks appearing at the bottom of this PR are passing.
  2. Make sure to test your changes on all platforms that it applies to. You're responsible for the quality of the code you ship.
  3. You can use GitHub's Reviewers functionality to request a review.
  4. When it's reviewed and merged, you will be pinged in Slack to deploy the changes to WordPress.com simple once the build is done.

If you have questions about anything, reach out in #jetpack-developers for guidance!


Jetpack plugin:

The Jetpack plugin has different release cadences depending on the platform:

  • WordPress.com Simple releases happen as soon as you deploy your changes after merging this PR (PCYsg-Jjm-p2).
  • WoA releases happen weekly.
  • Releases to self-hosted sites happen monthly:
    • Scheduled release: July 7, 2026
    • Code freeze: July 6, 2026

If you have any questions about the release process, please ask in the #jetpack-releases channel on Slack.

@github-actions github-actions Bot added the [Status] Needs Author Reply We need more details from you. This label will be auto-added until the PR meets all requirements. label Jun 22, 2026
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github-actions Bot commented Jun 22, 2026

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Are you an Automattician? Please test your changes on all WordPress.com environments to help mitigate accidental explosions.

  • To test on WoA, go to the Plugins menu on a WoA dev site. Click on the "Upload" button and follow the upgrade flow to be able to upload, install, and activate the Jetpack Beta plugin. Once the plugin is active, go to Jetpack > Jetpack Beta, select your plugin (Jetpack), and enable the remove/rsm-jetpack-seo-flag branch.
  • To test on Simple, run the following command on your sandbox:
bin/jetpack-downloader test jetpack remove/rsm-jetpack-seo-flag

Interested in more tips and information?

  • In your local development environment, use the jetpack rsync command to sync your changes to a WoA dev blog.
  • Read more about our development workflow here: PCYsg-eg0-p2
  • Figure out when your changes will be shipped to customers here: PCYsg-eg5-p2

@jp-launch-control

jp-launch-control Bot commented Jun 22, 2026

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Code Coverage Summary

Coverage changed in 2 files.

File Coverage Δ% Δ Uncovered
projects/plugins/jetpack/modules/plugin-search.php 0/269 (0.00%) 0.00% 1 ❤️‍🩹
projects/packages/seo/src/class-initializer.php 142/221 (64.25%) 0.13% -1 💚

Full summary · PHP report · JS report

The Jetpack SEO product is built and merged, so retire the launch flag and let
the install-cohort visibility rules gate the surface:

- Initializer::init() no longer bails on the flag; the cohort gate
  (is_seo_surface_visible: fresh installs + WordPress.com visible, existing
  self-hosted opt in) is now the only gate.
- is_optin_available() simplifies to `! is_seo_surface_visible()`.
- The legacy Traffic plugin-search hint keys off the SEO dashboard's per-site
  availability (Initializer::is_seo_surface_visible) instead of the flag, so its
  CTAs never point to an unregistered page.
- Drop the now-unused FEATURE_FILTER constant and the flag-driven tests; update
  the My Jetpack opt-in card docs.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
@angelablake angelablake force-pushed the remove/rsm-jetpack-seo-flag branch from 7980031 to 809421f Compare June 23, 2026 08:28
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[Package] My Jetpack [Package] Seo [Plugin] Jetpack Issues about the Jetpack plugin. https://wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/ [Status] In Progress [Status] Needs Author Reply We need more details from you. This label will be auto-added until the PR meets all requirements. [Tests] Includes Tests

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