WordPress MCP

The WordPress Model Context Protocol (MCP) plugin allows external AI systems to interact with a WordPress site through three primary abstractions:

• Tools: Executable actions the AI can request (e.g., create_post, get_user_details).
• Resources: Data the AI can retrieve from the site (e.g., list_published_posts, get_site_options).
• Prompts: Structured interaction templates designed for common AI tasks related to the site.

The plugin acts as the server-side MCP endpoint within your WordPress installation.

The plugin provides three distinct validation levels depending on your use case:

• Strict MCP (validate_mcp_strict): Validates tools only against the official mcp-2025-06-18.json schema. It ignores all WordPress-specific fields. Use this when preparing tools for use in other MCP implementations that do not support WordPress extensions.
• WordPress Extended (validate_wordpress_extended) [Default]: Validates against both the official MCP schema and the WordPress extensions schema. This allows for WordPress-specific fields and custom fields. This is the standard mode for WordPress MCP tool validation.
• Permissive (validate_permissive): Functions like the Extended level but reports validation errors as warnings instead of hard failures. This is recommended for development, debugging, or during migrations.

WordPress MCP provides two ways for clients to communicate with your WordPress site:

1. Streamable Transport (Recommended for modern clients):

   • Endpoint: /wp-json/wp/v2/wpmcp/streamable
   • Protocol: Direct HTTP-based JSON-RPC 2.0.
   • Authentication: Requires JWT Tokens.
   • Proxy: No proxy required; connects directly to the WordPress site.
   • Best for: Low latency and direct integration with modern AI clients.

2. STDIO Transport (Legacy/Compatibility):

   • Endpoint: /wp-json/wp/v2/wpmcp
   • Protocol: WordPress-style REST API.
   • Authentication: Supports both JWT Tokens and Application Passwords.
   • Proxy: Requires the mcp-wordpress-remote proxy to bridge the connection.

The WordPress MCP plugin uses JSON Schema definitions to validate MCP tools. There are two primary schema files used in the validation process:

1. mcp-2025-06-18.json: The official Model Context Protocol specification schema used to ensure core MCP compliance.
2. wordpress-mcp-extensions.json: A custom schema containing WordPress-specific extensions, such as type and rest_alias fields.

Developers can use these schemas to ensure that tools being registered or used within the plugin adhere to both the standard MCP specification and the specific requirements of the WordPress MCP implementation.

The plugin implements two distinct transport layers to support different client capabilities:

1. STDIO (Legacy/Proxy Compatibility):

   • Endpoint: /wp/v2/wpmcp
   • Format: WordPress-style
   • Authentication: Supports both JWT and Application Passwords.
   • Use Case: Best used with the mcp-wordpress-remote proxy for full feature support (like WooCommerce) and legacy compatibility.

2. Streamable (Modern AI Clients):

   • Endpoint: /wp/v2/wpmcp/streamable
   • Format: JSON-RPC 2.0
   • Authentication: JWT only.
   • Use Case: Designed for modern HTTP-based MCP clients (like the VS Code MCP extension) that require direct JSON-RPC 2.0 communication.

Depending on your transport protocol and client, use one of the following authentication methods:

JWT Tokens (Recommended)

• Usage: Required for Streamable transport. Highly recommended for all other methods due to better security.
• Generation: Generate tokens via Settings > MCP > Authentication Tokens in the WordPress admin.
• Lifecycle: Tokens expire in 1-24 hours (configurable).

Application Passwords

• Usage: Only works with STDIO transport via the mcp-wordpress-remote proxy.
• Generation: Generate via Users > Profile > Application Passwords in the WordPress admin.

MCP tools are categorized into four types, each with specific requirements for activation and usage:

1. read: Used for retrieving data. These are always allowed if MCP is enabled.
2. create: Used for creating new content. Requires the enable_create_tools setting to be active.
3. update: Used for modifying existing content. Requires the enable_update_tools setting to be active.
4. delete: Used for removing content. Requires the enable_delete_tools setting to be active.

When using the WordPress MCP plugin, keep the following security principles in mind:

• Permissions: By default, all MCP operations require administrator privileges within WordPress. The plugin relies on standard WordPress user capabilities for access control.
• Trust: Only connect trusted MCP clients to your WordPress site to prevent unauthorized access.

The WordPress MCP plugin implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to allow AI systems to interact with WordPress sites via a standardized interface. It uses a modular architecture consisting of:

• Tools: Actions the AI can request the site to perform (e.g., creating posts).
• Resources: Data the AI can request from the site (e.g., site settings).
• Prompts: Pre-defined templates for common AI tasks.
• REST API Endpoints: The plugin exposes a JSON-RPC style interface at /wp/v2/wpmcp for MCP clients to communicate with the site.

You can install the plugin using either a quick manual installation or via Composer for development environments.

Quick Install

1. Download wordpress-mcp.zip from the releases page.
2. Upload it to your /wp-content/plugins/wordpress-mcp directory.
3. Activate the plugin through the WordPress admin 'Plugins' menu.
4. Configure it by navigating to Settings > WordPress MCP.

Composer Install (Development)

Use this method if you are developing locally and need to manage dependencies and build assets:

cd wp-content/plugins/
git clone https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-mcp.git
cd wordpress-mcp
composer install --no-dev
npm install && npm run build

To update the WordPress-specific validation rules:

1. Edit the wordpress-mcp-extensions.json file directly.
2. Ensure you validate the JSON syntax before committing changes.
3. Update the version number in the plugin when the schema is modified.