How to Connect Your WordPress Site to Claude Desktop Using the MCP Server?

Overview

The WordPress MCP Adapter allows you to connect your Claude Desktop to your WordPress site and give Claude direct access to your WordPress posts, pages, and site settings via the REST API. Once the connection is set up, Claude can read and manage your WordPress content without leaving the desktop app.

This guide covers the full setup process, including editing the config file, generating an Application Password, and confirming the connection is live.

Pre-requisites : Download And Installation

Before you begin, make sure you have the following ready:

• WordPress v6.9 or higher is required (for WordPress v6.8, the Abilities API plugin must be used)
• Upload and activate the WordPress MCP adapter plugin in your WordPress site

Configuration Steps

Step 1: Get Your Application Password

To fill in the WP_API_PASSWORD field, generate an Application Password from your WordPress admin panel.

• Log in to your WordPress Admin Dashboard.
• Go to your User Profile.
• Scroll down to the Application Passwords section.
• Give it a name like Claude Desktop, and click Add New Application Password to generate the key.
• Copy the generated password and paste it into the WP_API_PASSWORD field in the config as mentioned in step 4.

Step 2: Navigate to the Developer Tab

• Open Claude Desktop and go to Settings, then click on the Developer tab.

Step 3: Open the Config File

• Under the Local MCP Servers section, click Edit config. This opens the file browser and takes you directly to the claude_desktop_config.json file.

Step 4: Place Your Server Code

• All MCP servers are registered inside the mcpServers object in this file. For a remote WordPress site using the REST API, add the HTTP transport configuration below.

    {
        "mcpServers": {
            "wordpress-mcp-server": {
                "command": "npx",
                "args": ["-y", "@automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote@latest"],
                "env": {
                    "WP_API_URL": "<your-domain>/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server",
                    "WP_API_USERNAME": "<your-username>",
                    "WP_API_PASSWORD": "<your-password>"
                }
            }
        }
    }

Step 5: Save and Restart Claude Desktop

• Save the claude_desktop_config.json file once your configuration is complete. Then fully restart Claude Desktop. It only reads MCP server configurations on startup, so a restart is required for the changes to take effect.

Step 6: Verify the Connection

• Go back to the Developer tab in Claude Desktop. Under Local MCP servers, you should see your WordPress MCP server listed. If you see a Running Status next to the server name, you are connected, and Claude is ready to work with your WordPress site.

• If the server does not show as running, check that your WP_API_URL, WP_API_USERNAME, and WP_API_PASSWORD values are correct and that Node.js is installed on your machine.

You have successfully connected your WordPress site to Claude Desktop using the configured WordPress MCP server and completed the setup process. The integration is now active and ready for use.

Related Articles

• WordPress Single Sign On (SSO)
• WordPress Abilities API in v6.9 and Role of MCP
• Connect AI Agents to WordPress with miniOrange GPT App
• From Abilities to AI Agents: Introducing the WordPress MCP Adapter