Code Block

A formatted code sample — or raw HTML rendered straight into the page.

The block renders through the code_block element — the same PHP that runs in the page builder, so the front end is identical either way.

What the sidebar exposes

Option	What it does
code	The code
render_as_code	Show it as code, or execute it as markup
beautify	Reformat it before display
code_language	Which language to highlight as
text_color	Text colour
bg_color	Background
font_size_preset	Text size preset

Anything not listed stays available in the page builder, and round-trips untouched — the block only writes the values you change, so an element styled in the builder keeps every setting this sidebar does not show.

caution

render_as_code decides whether the value is shown or executed

Off, the field's contents are rendered into the page as markup. That is the point of the element for embeds and one-off HTML — and it is worth knowing which way the switch is set before pasting anything into the field.

The sidebar field is a plain monospace textarea

The page builder gives this option a syntax-highlighting editor; the block sidebar does not. The reasoning is on the code-editor page — briefly, wrapping WordPress's CodeMirror in a React component risks an unrelated re-render wiping the buffer, and for a code field that means losing what you typed.

The rendered output in the canvas is identical either way.

Margin and padding come from Gutenberg

The block declares core spacing support, so the element's own spacing option is not exposed here — use the Dimensions panel at the top of the sidebar.