Block Splitting/Appending: consider retaining styles from previous block

[talldan]

Description

(Not sure if this can be considered a bug or enhancement.)

When hitting enter at the end of a paragraph that has particular styles or alignment applied, those styles are not applied to the next inserted paragraph. This can make editing a little slow, the user is forced to reapply styles to new blocks, and it's especially noticable when adding to existing content, like that from a pattern:

Kapture.2026-02-17.at.15.21.25.mp4

Should the existing styles be retained? This is something that does already happen when a paragraph is split in the middle of content, but perhaps there are additional considerations when a paragraph is split at the end.

Step-by-step reproduction instructions

1. Add a paragraph
2. Align it centrally, change the font size
3. Type some text
4. Hit enter
5. Observe that the next paragraph doesn't have those styles.

Screenshots, screen recording, code snippet

No response

Environment info

No response

Please confirm that you have searched existing issues in the repo.

• Yes

Please confirm that you have tested with all plugins deactivated except Gutenberg.

• Yes

Please confirm which theme type you used for testing.

• Block
• Classic
• Hybrid (e.g. classic with theme.json)
• Not sure

[nurmhm]

Hi, I'd like to work on this issue if it's still open.
Could you please confirm if the expected behavior is to retain alignment and typography styles when pressing enter at the end of a paragraph?

[talldan]

I think it needs some discussion first.

edit: I've added the 'Needs design feedback' label. It really needs UX feedback rather than visual design, there's not a label for that.

[ramonjd]

Thanks for creating this issue!

I noticed the same thing with buttons. At first it struck me as inconsistent:

Kapture.2026-02-27.at.16.58.00.mp4

Now I wonder whether we should mess with a theme's intentions. Or, if we create exceptions inside patterns, at which point do we limit it? E.g., if a user adds their own style to a pattern's button, would they be copied to the new button too?

[ramonjd]

See also #76330