[justlevine]

What

Bumps the minimum WordPress version to 6.9, and downgrades the NPM deps to match.

Dependabot rules are updated so newer @wordpress/* versions don't slip back in.

Also fixes the readme and header issues Plugin Check reports, and bumps CI to the latest supported PHP.

Why

• WordPress loads its own copies of the @wordpress/* packages, so ours were only used for types and tests, and they were ahead of what any supported WordPress ships. 6.9 is the closest to what we were using, and it's what OneSearch requires.
• The release-please markers in readme.txt are lines without a colon, and the WordPress.org readme parser stops reading the header at the first such line. So Stable tag, Requires PHP and License were never read.
• Tested up to: 6.9 is below the current major.

Related Issue(s):

• Follows fix: remediate Plugin Check smells onesearch#339, fix!: bump min WP to 6.9 and lock @wordpress/* deps onesearch#361
• Supersedes build(deps): bump @wordpress/blocks from 15.27.0 to 16.0.0 #174

How

• Pins the WordPress-provided @wordpress/* packages with ~ to the versions 6.9 ships. @wordpress/icons isn't provided by WordPress, so it stays on ^ and moves to 19.
• Adds OneSearch's allow: rules to dependabot.yml.
• Adds two type fixes for the older packages: an explicit type on the pattern store, and a parse() declaration for @wordpress/blocks.
• Bumps Requires at least to 6.9 and Tested up to to 7.1, and fixes the PHP version in README.md.
• Writes the readme markers as <!-- x-release-please-start-version: --> (with a colon), and explains why in DEVELOPMENT.md.
• Replaces the readme tags and short description, and drops the donate link and Domain Path.
• Runs CI on PHP 8.4, and builds the PR zip on 8.2.

AI Disclosure

Opus applied the changes from OneSearch, did local QA, and drafted the PR description.

Testing Instructions

Screenshots

Additional Info

Checklist

• I have read the Contribution Guidelines.
• I have read the Development Guidelines.
• I have added necessary tests to cover my changes.
• I have updated the project documentation as needed.
• My code has detailed inline documentation.
• My code is tested to the best of my abilities.
• My code passes all lints, tests, and checks.