TL;DR: There are two official ways to connect Claude to WordPress. On WordPress.com (or a self-hosted site on Jetpack AI or Jetpack Complete), turn on MCP access in your account preferences and add the WordPress.com connector from Claude’s Connectors directory. It takes about two minutes and uses OAuth, so no passwords change hands. On a self-hosted site, install the official MCP Adapter plugin (WordPress 6.9 or later), create a dedicated low-privilege user with an Application Password, and point Claude Desktop or Claude Code at /wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server. Start read-only, and only add write tools once you trust the setup.
Last updated: October 16, 2026. Steps checked against WordPress.com Support, the WordPress Developer Blog and the MCP Adapter plugin page.
Update (16 October 2026): MCP Adapter is now at 0.7.1 with 50,000+ active installs (was 0.7.0 / 40,000+ when this post was drafted).
Letting Claude read and edit your WordPress site used to mean a pile of custom REST code. Now there’s a standard for it. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets AI assistants discover and call tools on other systems, and WordPress supports it through official channels on both WordPress.com and self-hosted sites.
This guide explains how to connect Claude to WordPress either way, what Claude can actually do once it’s connected, and how to set it up so a wrong prompt can’t wreck your site. Every step below comes from the official documentation rather than our own setup, and your hosting may add its own wrinkles, so test on a staging site first.
Does WordPress have an MCP server?
Yes, two of them. WordPress.com runs a hosted MCP server at https://public-api.wordpress.com/wpcom/v2/mcp/v1, available on paid plans and to Jetpack-connected sites on Jetpack AI or Jetpack Complete. For self-hosted WordPress, the official MCP Adapter plugin turns your own site into an MCP server.
| WordPress.com connector | MCP Adapter (self-hosted) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it’s for | WordPress.com sites; Jetpack AI or Complete sites | Any self-hosted site on WordPress 6.9+ |
| Setup time | A few minutes, no code | 15 to 30 minutes, some JSON config |
| Authentication | OAuth 2.1 in the browser | Application Password (or JWT, OAuth via the proxy) |
| Claude apps | Claude on the web and Claude Desktop | Claude Desktop, Claude Code (also Cursor, VS Code) |
| What Claude can do | Posts, pages, comments, media metadata, settings and more, per tool toggles | Whatever “abilities” your site and plugins expose |
| Cost | Included with paid WordPress.com plans | Free plugin |
Sources: WordPress.com MCP guide, MCP Adapter plugin, WordPress Developer Blog.
How to connect Claude to WordPress.com
Enable MCP in your WordPress.com preferences, then add the official connector in Claude. WordPress.com says it’s “an official partner in the Claude Connectors Directory,” so there’s no config file and no password to copy. According to its Claude guide, the steps are:
- Turn on MCP. Go to my.wordpress.com/me/preferences/mcp (“AI and MCP” in Preferences) and switch on Enable MCP access. You can also leave it off and enable only specific sites.
- Trim the tools. Turning MCP on enables both Read and Write tool groups by default. Open Write and switch off anything you don’t want Claude doing yet, such as plugin management or user management.
- Open Claude’s connectors. On the web, go to claude.ai/customize/connectors. In Claude Desktop, open Settings, then Connectors.
- Add the connector. Click Add, choose Browse connectors, search for “WordPress.com” and select the official connector.
- Connect and approve. Click Connect and grant access to your WordPress.com account in the browser.
A free WordPress.com site gets MCP tools only for its first 30 days, after which you need a paid plan. WordPress.com also says write operations, including deletes, ask for your confirmation first. Deleted posts and pages sit in the trash for 30 days, but “deleted media, categories, and tags are permanent.”
How to connect Claude to a self-hosted WordPress site
Install the MCP Adapter, give Claude its own user and Application Password, then add the server to Claude Desktop’s config file. The MCP Adapter is part of the WordPress “AI Building Blocks” initiative. Version 0.7.1 (released October 15, 2026; 0.7.0 landed October 2, 2026) requires WordPress 6.9 or later and has more than 50,000 active installs, per its plugin page.
Step 1: Install the MCP Adapter
In wp-admin, go to Plugins > Add New, search for “MCP Adapter” and activate it, or run wp plugin install mcp-adapter --activate. The plugin registers a default MCP server called mcp-adapter-default-server.
Step 2: Create a dedicated user and Application Password
Create a new WordPress user just for Claude, with the lowest role that can do the job. An Author can manage their own posts; an Editor can manage everyone’s. Avoid Administrator. Then open that user’s profile, scroll to Application Passwords, name it “Claude” and copy the generated password. You can revoke it from the same screen any time.
Step 3: Add the server to Claude Desktop
In Claude Desktop, open Settings > Developer and click Edit config to open claude_desktop_config.json. Add this, using the remote proxy that the WordPress Developer Blog recommends for public sites (it needs Node.js installed):
{
"mcpServers": {
"my-wordpress": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote@latest"],
"env": {
"WP_API_URL": "https://yoursite.com/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server",
"WP_API_USERNAME": "claude-bot",
"WP_API_PASSWORD": "xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx"
}
}
}
}
Save, then fully restart Claude Desktop, because it only reads MCP config on startup. The server should show as running under Local MCP servers.
Step 4 (optional): Claude Code
For Claude Code, put the same mcpServers block in a .mcp.json file in your project folder, or in ~/.claude.json to make it available everywhere. On a local site with WP-CLI, you can skip the proxy and use wp mcp-adapter serve --server=mcp-adapter-default-server --user=claude-bot as the command instead.
What can Claude do once it’s connected?
On a self-hosted site, Claude can only do what your site’s “abilities” allow, and that may be less than you expect. The MCP Adapter “does not provide any AI features itself,” says its plugin page. It exposes abilities registered through the WordPress Abilities API by core or by plugins. Out of the box, WordPress 6.9’s three core abilities are read-only: site info, user info and environment info.
Exposure is also opt-in. An ability is reachable over MCP only if it’s marked public, and permission checks still run against your Claude user before anything executes. So to have Claude draft posts or update WooCommerce products, you need a plugin that registers those abilities. WordPress.com’s April WordPress 7.0 explainer uses WooCommerce stock and order abilities as the example.
The WordPress.com connector is broader from the start. Its guide lists viewing stats and settings, creating and editing posts and pages, managing comments and updating image alt text, all limited by your user role and your tool toggles.
Is it safe to let Claude edit your WordPress site?
It’s reasonably safe if you limit who Claude acts as and what it can touch. The WordPress Developer Blog warns that “MCP clients act as logged-in WordPress users,” so every risk comes down to that user’s permissions. Treat Claude like a new contractor: limited role, read-only first, and a backup before any bulk change.
A short checklist from the official guidance:
- Use a dedicated user with a limited role, never your admin account.
- Start read-only. The Developer Blog advises focusing public HTTP endpoints on “read-only diagnostics, reporting, and content access.”
- Turn off write groups you don’t need on WordPress.com, especially plugin and user management.
- Back up first, and test on staging before letting Claude bulk-edit anything.
- Protect the config file. Your Application Password sits in plain text in
claude_desktop_config.json, so keep that machine secure and revoke the password if it’s lost. - Watch for injected instructions. Content Claude reads, such as comments or imported posts, can contain text that tries to steer it. Review every write before you approve it.
Can ChatGPT connect to WordPress too?
Yes, at least on WordPress.com. WordPress.com’s MCP guide says you connect ChatGPT by installing the WordPress.com plugin from ChatGPT’s plugin settings, and it lists Cursor, VS Code, Gemini and Perplexity as other MCP clients that can use its server URL with OAuth. If you’re using OpenAI’s always-on dots, our OpenAI dots in the UK and EU guide explains who can get them.
For self-hosted sites, WordPress’s own documentation focuses on Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code, so those are the safest choices today.
Verdict
If you’re on WordPress.com, the official connector is the easy win: two minutes, OAuth, and granular tool toggles. On a self-hosted site, the MCP Adapter is the right foundation, but it’s only as useful as the abilities your plugins register, so expect to add a plugin that exposes content tools. Either way, give Claude its own limited user and keep it read-only until you’ve seen it work.
FAQ
Does WordPress have an MCP server?
Yes. WordPress.com runs a hosted MCP server for its sites and Jetpack AI or Complete sites, and self-hosted sites on WordPress 6.9 or later can install the official MCP Adapter plugin.
What is the WordPress MCP Adapter?
It’s an official plugin that exposes abilities registered through the WordPress Abilities API as MCP tools, resources and prompts. It handles the protocol and permissions but doesn’t add AI features itself.
How do I connect Claude to WordPress.com?
Enable MCP access in your WordPress.com preferences, then add the official WordPress.com connector from Claude’s Connectors directory and approve access in your browser.
Is it safe to let Claude edit my WordPress site?
It’s reasonably safe with precautions: connect as a dedicated low-privilege user, start with read-only tools, back up first, and review every write operation before approving it.
Can ChatGPT connect to WordPress?
Yes, on WordPress.com, by installing the WordPress.com plugin in ChatGPT. For self-hosted sites, the official documentation covers Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code.
Sources checked October 16, 2026: WordPress.com MCP, Edit your site with Claude, MCP Adapter, WordPress Developer Blog, mcp-wordpress-remote.
