How to connect WordPress to Claude

Which way should you connect WordPress to Claude?

Every way to connect WordPress to Claude that we could verify, official and community.

• WordPress.com connector: The easiest route if your site is on WordPress.com. Claude asks you to confirm every change, and it can only do what your WordPress.com role allows.
• MCP Adapter (self-hosted): The official way to connect a self-hosted site. On its own it can't touch posts, so pair it with a content plugin like the one below.
• Enable Abilities for MCP: Adds the abilities Claude needs to read and write posts, pages, categories, comments and more, each with its own on/off switch. It also includes a sign-in flow for Claude.ai, which we haven't tested.
• AI Engine: A popular all-in-one AI plugin with its own MCP server. Its makers warn that it gives Claude full admin access to your site.
• mcp-wordpress-remote: The proxy that MCP Adapter's docs recommend. It currently fails against MCP Adapter 0.7.0 (issue #120). Connect directly over HTTP instead, as shown below.

How to connect a self-hosted WordPress site to Claude Code

Recommended · Claude Code · uses MCP Adapter (self-hosted)

1. 1

   Check you're on WordPress 6.9 or later. In Plugins, then Add New, install and activate MCP Adapter and Enable Abilities for MCP. Or use WP-CLI:

   TerminalCopy

   wp plugin install mcp-adapter enable-abilities-for-mcp --activate

2. 2

   Create a dedicated user for Claude with the Editor role, so it can manage content but not plugins or settings.

   TerminalCopy

   wp user create claude-bot [email protected] --role=editor

3. 3

   Create an Application Password for that user, in Users, then Profile, then Application Passwords. Or with WP-CLI. Copy it now: it's only shown once. Your site needs HTTPS for this to work.

   TerminalCopy

   wp user application-password create claude-bot claude-code --porcelain

4. 4

   Optional: open the Enable Abilities for MCP settings and switch off anything you don't want Claude to do, such as deleting posts.

5. 5

   Add the site to Claude Code. Replace the URL, and YOUR-APP-PASSWORD with the password from step 3.

   TerminalCopy

   B64=$(printf 'claude-bot:YOUR-APP-PASSWORD' | base64)
   claude mcp add --transport http wordpress https://your-site.com/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server \
     --header "Authorization: Basic $B64"

6. 6

   Check the connection: in Claude Code, run /mcp and look for wordpress. Then ask Claude about your posts.

We tested it

Checked against the source on Oct 5, 2026.

How to connect WordPress.com to Claude

Alternative · Claude.ai, Claude Desktop and Claude Code · uses WordPress.com connector

1. 1

   On WordPress.com, open your account Preferences, then AI and MCP, and turn on Enable MCP access.

2. 2

   In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors. Click the + button, find WordPress.com, click Connect, then sign in to WordPress.com and approve access.

3. 3

   For Claude Code, add the connector from the terminal, then run /mcp inside Claude Code to sign in.

   TerminalCopy

   claude mcp add --transport http wpcom-mcp https://public-api.wordpress.com/wpcom/v2/mcp/v1

Checked against the source on Oct 5, 2026.

Access and permissions

Self-hosted

The Application Password signs Claude in as that user, so it can do whatever the role allows. An Editor can write, publish and delete posts and pages, but can't change plugins or settings. Ability switches in Enable Abilities for MCP narrow it further.

WordPress.com

Read and write access are both on once MCP is enabled, and Claude asks you to confirm each change. Deleted posts and pages stay in the trash for 30 days, but deleted media, categories and tags are gone for good.

Revoking access

Self-hosted: revoke the password in Users, then Profile, then Application Passwords. WordPress.com: disconnect Claude under Security, then Connected Apps. In Claude Code, also run claude mcp remove wordpress.

Claude.ai on the web

Custom connectors connect from Anthropic's servers, so a self-hosted site must be public on HTTPS. A site on your own computer or office network won't work; use Claude Code instead.

What can you do after connecting WordPress to Claude?

• “List every post on my WordPress site with its status and category.”

  Copy

  Claude returns a table of every post, including drafts, with status and category, and checks it against the site's own counts.

• “Find any draft post that still has a TODO in it and tell me what's left to do.”

  Copy

  Claude reads each draft, quotes the TODO notes, and lists what's missing, such as an excerpt or the body itself.

• “Which pages are published on my site, and is anything still in draft?”

  Copy

  Claude lists published pages with their links, flags drafts, and suggests cleanups like WordPress's default Sample Page.

• “Write a short draft post titled 'What's new in November' that follows on from the October product update. Save it as a draft in the News category. Don't publish it.”

  Copy

  Claude reads the October post, writes a draft that links back to it, and saves it unpublished in News. Where it didn't have facts, it left clear placeholders instead of inventing them.

Troubleshooting

401 or rest_forbidden even though the Application Password is right

WordPress only accepts Application Passwords over HTTPS. Serve the site on HTTPS. For a local test site, set WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE to local in wp-config.php. Source

Claude connects but can't see any posts

MCP Adapter on its own only shares site and user info. Install a content-abilities plugin such as Enable Abilities for MCP, and check its read and write abilities are switched on. Source

MCP-Protocol-Version must be 2025-11-25 with mcp-wordpress-remote

The proxy sends an older protocol version than MCP Adapter 0.7.0 accepts. Connect Claude Code straight to the HTTP endpoint with a Basic auth header, as in the setup above. Source

Authentication fails only on your live server

Some hosts strip the Authorization header. On Apache, add SetEnvIf Authorization "(.*)" HTTP_AUTHORIZATION=$1 to .htaccess. On Nginx with PHP-FPM, pass the header through to PHP. Source

FAQ

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