Patterns come from four main sources, each with different characteristics and use cases. Understanding these sources helps plan pattern strategies and understand interface behavior.
Current theme patterns use auto-registration (WordPress 6.0+) from the /patterns directory, or manual registration via register_block_pattern() function for older themes and plugins.
The WordPress.org Pattern Directory provides additional patterns integrated directly into the interface, supplementing theme-specific patterns with community-contributed designs.
User-created patterns can be synced or unsynced, stored in the database, and managed through the site editor interface. WordPress Core also ships some legacy patterns.
Each source has different management capabilities – theme patterns can’t be edited through the interface, user patterns are database-dependent, and directory patterns provide external design inspiration.