CodeArts Optimizely Developer Weekly

Feb 15 – Feb 22, 2026
Hi {{{FIRST_NAME|there}}}, this week we’re spotlighting a host of must-read updates—from the new Multi Site NuGet v2 for Optimizely CMS 13 that brings breaking changes and migration guidance, to the launch of CodeArt.Optimizely.HeadlessKit v1.0.0 and how you can leverage HeadlessKit on .NET 10 to power a head for Optimizely SaaS CMS. Plus, check out the key changes in CMS 13 Preview 3 and see how our Opal Hackathon winner used AI to clone the best analyst and revolutionize experimentation.
13 items from 4 categories

Top Stories

Multi Site NuGet v2 for Optimizely CMS 13 – Breaking Changes & Migration

Beta v2 of DavidHome.Optimizely.MultiSite is now live on NuGet, bringing a major upgrade for Optimizely CMS 13 that switches multi‑site resolution from display names to normalized application IDs. If you’re moving from CMS 12, update any site names, folder paths, static asset directories, category mappings, UI groups, and deployment scripts to the new “mycorporatewebsite” style; otherwise the plugin will break. The new package targets .NET 10 and requires CMS 13.0.0‑preview2+, while v1 will remain supported for CMS 12 until Optimizely drops it.

9/10   Optimizely Blog   Feb 21, 2026

CodeArt.Optimizely.HeadlessKit v1.0.0

**TLDR:** Optimizely now offers CodeArt.Optimizely.HeadlessKit v1.0.0, a first‑release .NET library designed to simplify building headless CMS sites. It bundles a SaaS CMS type builder, a GraphQL content client, and native ASP.NET Core MVC integration—streamlining content retrieval and rendering for developers.

9/10   Optimizely NuGet   Feb 18, 2026

Using HeadlessKit to build a head for an Optimizely SaaS CMS in .NET 10

**TLDR:** Optimizely has released the open‑source *CodeArt.Optimizely.HeadlessKit* library, enabling developers to build the front‑end first in .NET 10 and then configure the SaaS CMS to match that structure, rather than trying to adapt CMS models to an existing codebase. This approach eliminates the “two codebases, two teams” headache and streamlines headless development for Optimizely users.

8/10   Optimizely Blog   Feb 19, 2026

CMS 13 Preview 3: Key changes

CMS 13 Preview 3 removes Content Manager and Optimizely Graph from the default stack, so developers must add the EPiServer.Cms.UI.ContentManager and Optimizely.Graph.Cms NuGet packages and register `AddContentGraph()` before `AddContentManager()` in Startup. Graph is now the core dependency for all new CMS 13 capabilities—Content Manager’s editorial search, external content indexing, content binding, and Opal’s RAG—so projects that want these features must adopt Graph from day one; otherwise they’ll only see a subset of CMS 13’s improvements. Use the Alloy template with Graph enabled for evaluation and to learn how the new editorial and delivery workflows integrate before moving to production.

8/10   Optimizely Blog   Feb 19, 2026

We Cloned Our Best Analyst with AI: How Our Opal Hackathon Grand Prize Winner is Changing Experimentation

Optimizely’s Opal Hackathon winner unveiled the “Sample Size Genie,” a native AI Worker that pulls live GA4 data, computes sample sizes, and recommends feasibility in seconds—eliminating the analyst bottleneck. The two‑agent workflow handles data acquisition, statistical analysis, and fallback to industry benchmarks, solving integration, low‑traffic, no‑history, and connectivity challenges. Developers can adopt this free, Opal‑credit‑powered tool to accelerate experiment setup, with future releases slated to auto‑generate test ideas, designs, and code directly in Optimizely Web.

8/10   Optimizely Blog   Feb 16, 2026

Developer Tools

Optimizely’s new PowerShell script, Scaffold‑OcpOpalTool.ps1, automates the entire OCP Opal Tool setup—installing Node, Git, Yarn, the OCP CLI, configuring credentials, and generating a full TypeScript scaffold with ESLint, an API client, lifecycle handlers, a health‑check, and boilerplate files—cutting setup time from hours to minutes. The script and a walkthrough video are available in the blog’s description.

Automate Your OCP Opal Tool Development with PowerShell

TLDR: Optimizely released **Scaffold‑OcpOpalTool.ps1**, a PowerShell script that auto‑sets up a full OCP Opal Tool project—installing Node, Git, Yarn, the OCP CLI, configuring credentials, and generating a complete TypeScript scaffold with ESLint, API client, lifecycle handlers, health‑check, and boilerplate files—cutting setup time from hours to minutes. The script is available via the blog’s video description.

7/10   Optimizely Blog   Feb 21, 2026

Tutorials And Guides

Discover our latest tutorials on architecting AI with Optimizely CMS, a Tailwind CSS strategy for Visual Builder grids, memory‑efficient catalog traversal in Commerce, and a practical guide to AEO/GEO for creating content that’s both human‑friendly and AI‑ready.

Architecting AI in Optimizely CMS: When to Use Opal vs Custom Integration

Optimizely CMS 12 now gives developers two AI pathways: a custom integration via a provider‑agnostic service layer and event hooks, or Opal, the native AI engine that speeds up editor productivity and reduces maintenance. A hybrid strategy—using Opal for rapid content and campaign work while keeping custom services for domain‑specific logic and compliance—is the recommended enterprise pattern. Developers should also design AI‑ready content models, keep AI calls off the rendering path, secure API keys, and treat prompts as versioned, testable code.

8/10   Optimizely Blog   Feb 15, 2026

A Tailwind CSS strategy for Visual Builder grids

Optimizely now introduces a Tailwind CSS strategy for rendering Visual Builder grids, simplifying layout management in the SaaS CMS. By using utility‑first classes, developers can quickly build responsive, consistent grid structures without writing custom CSS. This approach streamlines styling within Visual Builder, making grid design faster and more maintainable.

7/10   Optimizely Blog   Feb 18, 2026

Memory-Efficient Catalog Traversal in Optimizely Commerce. Part 1: Building the Service

Memory‑efficient catalog traversal is introduced to handle large Optimizely Commerce catalogs without exhausting memory. Part 1 explains how to build a service that streams product data, enabling scheduled jobs like PIM syncs or bulk updates to process thousands of items safely. Developers can now replace the naive “load all into RAM” approach with a scalable, memory‑friendly pipeline.

7/10   Optimizely Blog   Feb 18, 2026

AEO/GEO: A practical guide

AEO/GEO is a new approach for creating content that’s both human‑friendly and AI‑ready. Optimizely developers should design pages so that search queries can be answered by AI tools, making information understandable, citable, and easily parsed by machines. The guide explains how to structure content to meet these dual‑audience requirements.

6/10   Optimizely Blog   Feb 17, 2026

New Packages

Introducing “Virtual Text,” a free, open‑source Optimizely CMS plugin that lets you create, edit, and serve root‑level text files (robots.txt, ads.txt, security.txt, etc.) directly from the CMS, eliminating file‑system edits and deployments. It supports multi‑site/hostname configurations, Azure Table/Blob storage, automated non‑production indexing blocks, and integrates with CMS permissions so editors can manage these files without gaining broader admin rights.

Managing robots.txt and Root Text Files in Optimizely CMS - Introducing Virtual Text

Optimizely developers now have a free, open‑source “Virtual Text” plugin that lets you create, edit, and serve root‑level text files (robots.txt, ads.txt, security.txt, etc.) directly from the CMS, eliminating the need for file‑system edits or deployments. The package supports multi‑site/hostname configurations, Azure Table/Blob storage, and includes a RobotsTxt extension that automatically blocks indexing in non‑production environments. It also integrates with Optimizely permissions, so editors can manage these files without gaining broader CMS admin rights.

7/10   Optimizely Blog   Feb 18, 2026

Release Notes

This release upgrades the RSS Feed Integration library to v3.0.0‑beta with full Optimizely CMS 13 support, requiring a scheduled job re‑run to regenerate XML files. Additionally, CmsContentScaffolding.Optimizely v1.8.5 adds a refreshed unit‑testing helper that automates content scaffolding, cutting test‑setup boilerplate, along with small bug fixes and usability tweaks—simply add the NuGet package to streamline your Optimizely testing workflow.

Upgrade RSS Feed Integration to Optimizely CMS 13 – v3.0.0 Beta

The RSS Feed Integration library has been upgraded to **v3.0.0‑beta**, adding full support for Optimizely CMS 13. The update changes the feed‑storage path (SiteDefinition → Application no Id) so you must re‑run the scheduled job once after upgrading to regenerate the XML files. Use this beta to validate RSS behavior ahead of the final CMS 13 release.

7/10   Optimizely Blog   Feb 21, 2026

CmsContentScaffolding.Optimizely v1.8.5

Optimizely’s CmsContentScaffolding.Optimizely v1.8.5 drops a refreshed unit‑testing helper that automates content scaffolding for the CMS, cutting down test‑setup boilerplate. The release focuses on small bug fixes and usability tweaks that make it easier for developers to spin up test content. Add the package via NuGet to streamline your Optimizely testing workflow.

5/10   Optimizely NuGet   Feb 20, 2026