Product Updates: Spaces 2.8.0

We are excited to announce several updates included in the Spaces 2.8.0 release.

New Features

Automated Plugin Packaging for Deployment

Spaces now includes an automated packaging script that generates a ready-to-install ecs-spaces.zip file. This ensures consistent, reliable plugin builds that can be deployed via the CMS or WP-CLI, improving the developer experience and reducing manual packaging errors.

Include Total Monthly Leasing Price in Room Price Shortcode

A new shortcode parameter allows customers to surface required monthly expenses (for example TMLP monthly fees) in room-level pricing outputs.
Add include_required_monthly_fees="true" to any existing room price shortcode to enable this enhanced display option.

For implementation details, configuration steps, and examples, please refer to the technical notes in the Spaces Readme.

Custom Filter Floor Plan Minimum Price Shortcode

Spaces introduces a new shortcode that returns the minimum effective rent for any floor plan tagged with a custom filter value.
Example usage:
[spaces_custom_filtered_plan_price asset_id="4" custom_filter_value="penthouse"]
This supports more advanced marketing and pricing strategies, especially for premium units like penthouses.
The shortcode also supports the optional include_required_monthly_fees="true" parameter.

For implementation details, configuration steps, and examples, please refer to the technical notes in the Spaces Readme.

Improvements

Modernized Developer Workflow

Spaces has been aligned with Engrain’s modern internal workflow standards.
Key updates include:

• Adoption of run.sh for spinning up the full local environment consistently

• Cleanup and modernization of the repository structure

• Updated README with current development steps
  This work lays the foundation for future feature-branch previews running in Kubernetes.

Restored and Updated Test Environment Compatibility

As part of adopting the new workflow, underlying test framework updates were made so WPBrowser tests run reliably again in modern environments. These improvements stabilize automated testing and streamline future development.

Bug Fixes

Miscellaneous Test and Environment Cleanup

Small fixes were made to ensure generated environment files do not cause issues in version control. Additional test-suite repairs ensure smoother development across environments.

How to Upgrade

To upgrade your website to the latest version of Spaces, please copy and paste this link into your browser and download the latest version of Spaces. (http://experiments.dev.wearestud.io/wp-update-server/ecs-spaces/current/ecs-spaces.zip)

Follow the documentation linked [here] to upgrade your Spaces plugin.