wp_localize_script() on login_enqueue_scripts hook change in behavior

src/wp-includes/functions.wp-scripts.php

@@ -211,7 +211,6 @@ function wp_register_script( $handle, $src, $deps = array(), $ver = false, $args
  *
  * @see WP_Scripts::localize()
  * @link https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/11520
- * @global WP_Scripts $wp_scripts The WP_Scripts object for printing scripts.
  *
  * @since 2.2.0
  *
@@ -224,12 +223,7 @@ function wp_register_script( $handle, $src, $deps = array(), $ver = false, $args
  * @return bool True if the script was successfully localized, false otherwise.
  */
 function wp_localize_script( $handle, $object_name, $l10n ) {
-	global $wp_scripts;
-
-	if ( ! ( $wp_scripts instanceof WP_Scripts ) ) {
-		_wp_scripts_maybe_doing_it_wrong( __FUNCTION__, $handle );
-		return false;
-	}
+	$wp_scripts = wp_scripts();
 
 	return $wp_scripts->localize( $handle, $object_name, $l10n );
 }

tests/e2e/specs/login-localize-script.test.js

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+/**
+ * External dependencies
+ */
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, writeFileSync, unlinkSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { join } from 'node:path';
+
+/**
+ * WordPress dependencies
+ */
+import { test, expect } from '@wordpress/e2e-test-utils-playwright';
+
+test.describe( 'Localize Script on wp-login.php', () => {
+	const muPlugins = join(
+		process.cwd(),
+		process.env.LOCAL_DIR ?? 'src',
+		'wp-content/mu-plugins'
+	);
+	const muPluginFile = join( muPlugins, 'login-test.php' );
+
+	test.beforeAll( async () => {
+		const muPluginCode = `<?php
+		add_action(
+			'login_enqueue_scripts',
+			function() {
+			  wp_localize_script(
+				'wp-util',
+				'testData',
+				[
+				  'answerToTheUltimateQuestionOfLifeTheUniverseAndEverything' => 42,
+				]
+			  );
+			}
+		  );`;
+
+		if ( ! existsSync( muPlugins ) ) {
+			mkdirSync( muPlugins, { recursive: true } );
+		}
+		writeFileSync( muPluginFile, muPluginCode );
+	} );
+
+	test.afterAll( async () => {
+		unlinkSync( muPluginFile );
+	} );
+
+	test( 'should localize script', async ( { page } ) => {
+		await page.goto( '/wp-login.php' );
+		await page.waitForSelector( '#login' );
+		const testData = await page.evaluate( () => window.testData );
+		expect(
+			testData.answerToTheUltimateQuestionOfLifeTheUniverseAndEverything
+		).toBe( '42' );
+	} );
+} );

tests/phpunit/tests/dependencies/wpLocalizeScript.php

@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * @group dependencies
+ * @group scripts
+ */
+class Tests_Dependencies_LocalizeScript extends WP_UnitTestCase {
+	/**
+	 * @var WP_Scripts
+	 */
+	protected $old_wp_scripts;
+
+	public function set_up() {
+		parent::set_up();
+
+		$this->old_wp_scripts  = $GLOBALS['wp_scripts'] ?? null;
+		$GLOBALS['wp_scripts'] = null;
+	}
+
+	public function tear_down() {
+		$GLOBALS['wp_scripts'] = $this->old_wp_scripts;
+		parent::tear_down();
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Verifies that wp_localize_script() works if global has not been initialized yet.
+	 *
+	 * @ticket 60862
+	 * @covers ::wp_localize_script
+	 */
+	public function test_wp_localize_script_works_before_enqueue_script() {
+		$this->assertTrue(
+			wp_localize_script(
+				'wp-util',
+				'salcodeExample',
+				array(
+					'answerToTheUltimateQuestionOfLifeTheUniverseAndEverything' => 42,
+				)
+			)
+		);
+	}
+}