Migrate Divi to Gutenberg

Converts Divi-built WordPress pages to native Gutenberg blocks. Parses Divi's shortcode-based content from post_content, maps each module to its closest core block equivalent, generates a migration plan for approval, and writes clean block markup to the target pages. Use this skill whenever someone wants to move from Divi to Gutenberg, eliminate the Divi dependency, switch to native blocks, or simplify their WordPress stack by removing Elegant Themes' builder.

What This Skill Does

Divi stores everything as nested shortcodes directly in post_content — a fundamentally different approach from JSON-based builders. The content is a hierarchy of [et_pb_section], [et_pb_row], [et_pb_column], and [et_pb_module] shortcodes with settings as attributes. Converting this to Gutenberg blocks means parsing that shortcode tree, extracting content and settings, and generating the equivalent <!-- wp:block --> markup.

This is one of the more complex migrations because Divi shortcodes often contain escaped HTML, base64-encoded content, and deeply nested attribute strings that need careful parsing.

Handles:

• et_pb_section → Group block with layout settings
• et_pb_row/et_pb_column → Columns and Column blocks
• et_pb_text → Paragraph blocks (with inline HTML preserved)
• et_pb_blurb → Group block with Image + Heading + Paragraph
• et_pb_image → Image block
• et_pb_button → Buttons block
• et_pb_video → Video or Embed block
• et_pb_divider → Separator block
• et_pb_slider/et_pb_slide → Gallery or Group blocks (simplified)
• et_pb_accordion/et_pb_accordion_item → Details blocks (WP 6.3+)
• et_pb_tabs/et_pb_tab → Group with heading blocks
• et_pb_toggle → Details block (WP 6.3+)
• et_pb_code → Custom HTML block
• et_pb_sidebar → Widget block
• et_pb_gallery → Gallery block
• et_pb_counters → HTML approximation
• Fullwidth variants (et_pb_fullwidth_*) → full-width Group blocks

Preserves:

• All text content and inline HTML formatting
• Image URLs, alt text, and links
• Heading text and hierarchy
• Button labels, URLs, and targets
• Video URLs and embed sources
• List content
• Code block contents
• Basic color settings where Gutenberg supports them

What This Skill Does NOT Do

• Divi's visual design layer — Divi applies extensive CSS through its settings (gradient backgrounds, custom fonts from 800+ Google Fonts choices, box shadows with specific blur/spread, text shadow, filters, transforms). Gutenberg supports some of these; many will be simplified or lost.
• Specialty sections — Divi's specialty section layouts (sidebar + content combinations) have no direct Gutenberg equivalent.
• Global modules — Stored as et_pb_layout post type. These are resolved to inline content during migration; Gutenberg reusable blocks can be created manually afterward.
• Divi Builder plugin modules — Modules added by Divi-specific plugins (Divi Toolbox, Divi Supreme, etc.) are flagged.
• Theme customizer settings — Divi theme customizer values (global fonts, colors, sizing) don't transfer to block themes.
• Dynamic content — Divi's dynamic content features need separate solutions.
• Contact forms — et_pb_contact_form needs a forms plugin (WPForms, etc.).
• Divi Library layouts — Template library layouts stored in et_pb_layout post type are not auto-migrated.
• Advanced design settings — Rounded corners, CSS filters, blend modes, and transforms have limited Gutenberg support.

Requirements

• Respira for WordPress plugin installed and connected
• MCP connection active (desktop or WebMCP)
• Divi theme or Divi Builder plugin active (to read source content)
• WordPress 6.0+ (6.3+ recommended for Details block support)
• A block-compatible theme ready for post-migration (if switching from Divi theme)
• Read access to scan Divi content
• Write access to create duplicates with Gutenberg content

Trigger Phrase

• "migrate divi to gutenberg"

Alternative Triggers

• "convert divi to blocks"
• "switch from divi to gutenberg"
• "remove divi builder"
• "rebuild divi pages with blocks"
• "divi to block editor"
• "decommission divi"
• "get off divi"

Source Builder: Divi

Divi stores content as shortcodes in post_content. The module structure follows a strict hierarchy:

[et_pb_section fb_built="1" _builder_version="4.x"]
  [et_pb_row _builder_version="4.x"]
    [et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.x"]
      [et_pb_text _builder_version="4.x"]
        <p>Your content here</p>
      [/et_pb_text]
      [et_pb_image src="image.jpg" alt="Alt text" _builder_version="4.x"][/et_pb_image]
      [et_pb_button button_text="Click Me" button_url="https://..." _builder_version="4.x"][/et_pb_button]
    [/et_pb_column]
  [/et_pb_row]
[/et_pb_section]

Key Divi specifics:

• Section types: regular, fullwidth, specialty (with predefined column layouts)
• Column types: defined by type attribute — 4_4 (full), 1_2 (half), 1_3 (third), 2_3 (two-thirds), 1_4 (quarter), 3_4 (three-quarters)
• Settings as attributes: background_color, text_orientation, custom_margin, custom_padding, etc.
• Builder version tracking: _builder_version attribute on every element
• Content encoding: Text content may contain escaped HTML entities, newline placeholders (%22, %91, %93), and occasional base64
• Global modules: Referenced via global_module attribute pointing to an et_pb_layout post
• Custom CSS fields: custom_css_main_element, custom_css_before, custom_css_after attributes

Read Divi content via wordpress_extract_builder_content with builder=divi.

Target: Gutenberg (Block Editor)

Gutenberg stores content in post_content as HTML with block comment delimiters:

<!-- wp:group {"layout":{"type":"constrained"}} -->
<div class="wp-block-group">
  <!-- wp:heading {"level":2} -->
  <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Title Here</h2>
  <!-- /wp:heading -->
  <!-- wp:paragraph -->
  <p>Content text.</p>
  <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
</div>
<!-- /wp:group -->

Key Gutenberg specifics:

• Block attributes in opening comment JSON
• Layout blocks: wp:group, wp:columns, wp:column
• Inline styles via style attribute in block JSON
• Columns use percentage widths
• Everything lives in post_content — no separate meta

Write Gutenberg content via wordpress_update_page or wordpress_update_post targeting the content field.

Execution Workflow

Phase 1: Pre-Migration Audit

1. Verify Respira + MCP connection via wordpress_get_site_context. If unavailable, stop and show setup guidance.
2. Confirm Divi is active (theme or plugin) via wordpress_list_plugins and wordpress_get_site_context.
3. Check WordPress version (6.0+ required, 6.3+ ideal).
4. Important: If using Divi theme (not just plugin), note that the user will need an alternative theme post-migration.
5. Scan all content for Divi usage:
   • wordpress_list_pages and wordpress_list_posts
   • For each, check builder via wordpress_get_builder_info
6. For each Divi page, extract content via wordpress_extract_builder_content with builder=divi
7. Build an inventory:
   • Total pages/posts using Divi
   • Module types used (frequency count)
   • Specialty sections detected (high complexity)
   • Global modules referenced
   • Third-party Divi modules
   • Content encoding issues found
   • Complexity per page (simple/moderate/complex)

Phase 2: Migration Plan

Present a plan that sets realistic expectations:

## Divi → Gutenberg Migration Plan

### Important Context
Divi and Gutenberg have very different design philosophies. Divi offers
extensive visual customization through its settings panel; Gutenberg
prioritizes clean, semantic content. Expect simpler but faster-loading pages.

If you are using the Divi theme (not just the plugin), you will need a
block-compatible theme (e.g., Twenty Twenty-Four, Astra, Kadence).

### Site Inventory
- Total Divi pages: X