WordPress MCP Server: 9 Options Verified and Compared

The WordPress MCP server to run in most cases is the official WordPress/mcp-adapter, version 0.6.1 released on 13 August 2026, with the free Enable Abilities for MCP plugin on top when you want a settings screen instead of Composer. The plugin most guides still recommend, Automattic’s wordpress-mcp, was archived read-only on 19 January 2026 and has had no release since July 2025. If the job is SEO and analytics rather than content, Easy MCP AI is the one server here that exposes Search Console, GA4 and rank-tracking tools; on WordPress VIP the answer is the platform’s own Secure MCP endpoint, included since 15 July 2026.

Jump to: what a WordPress MCP server is · the comparison · which one fits you · where the credential lives · the nine servers · how to connect · security · the verdict · questions

What does a WordPress MCP server actually do?

An MCP server answers two questions from an AI client such as Claude, Cursor or ChatGPT: what can I do here, and please do this one thing. A WordPress MCP server is the half of that conversation that lives next to your site. It publishes a list of tools (create a post, list media, query Search Console) and executes them as a WordPress user when the client calls one.

There are three ways to build one, and they fail differently. In-WordPress, ability-backed: a PHP package reads the Abilities API registry that shipped in WordPress 6.9 on 2 December 2025 and republishes every ability marked public as an MCP tool. That is WordPress/mcp-adapter. In-WordPress, self-defined: a plugin ships its own tool list and its own endpoint, which is what Easy MCP AI and WPVibe do. External proxy: a Node process on your laptop authenticates to the REST API with an application password and turns REST calls into tools, which is what server-wp-mcp and InstaWP’s mcp-wp do, and needs nothing installed on the site.

The official adapter adds no capabilities of its own. If nothing in your install registers an ability, an AI client connected through it can see nothing. That is the single most useful thing to know before installing one, because it is why “install the official server and Claude can manage your site” is not how the official path works: the adapter ships three housekeeping tools (discover-abilities, get-ability-info, execute-ability) and everything else comes from plugins that register abilities.

WordPress MCP servers compared

Figures read from each project’s GitHub repository, WordPress.org listing, Packagist or vendor documentation on 10 September 2026. WordPress.org “last updated” values converted to dates.

Not in the table: Automattic/wordpress-mcp. It still ranks first on Google for this query and still has 941 stars, but the repository was archived read-only on 19 January 2026 with a banner pointing at WordPress/mcp-adapter, and its last release, v0.2.5, dates from 24 July 2025. An archived plugin with write access to a production database gets no security patches. If you inherited it, it still works; plan the move to the adapter anyway.

Which WordPress MCP server fits your setup?

Pick what you want the assistant to do, which client you use and where the site is hosted. The answer is grounded in the tool lists and transports verified above, and where two of your answers pull in different directions the box says so.

Tool lists, transports and install counts read from each project’s repository, listing or documentation on 10 September 2026.

Where does the credential live, and can you narrow the agent?

Every list of WordPress MCP servers compares tool counts. The two questions that decide whether you can sleep are different: where the secret that unlocks your site is stored, and whether you can give the agent less than the connected user’s full role. The table below answers both from each project’s own documentation.

Read from each project’s README, WordPress.org listing or vendor documentation on 10 September 2026; months counted from that date.

Two things fall out of that table. The two Node proxies keep an administrator-grade secret in plain text on a laptop and cannot scope it; they are fine for a developer’s own site and wrong for a client’s. And all four plugin servers have shipped in the 30 days to 10 September 2026 while both Node servers and the archived Automattic plugin have gone a year without a release, which in a protocol whose specification moved to a 2025-11-25 revision is the difference between working with next quarter’s clients and not.

The nine WordPress MCP servers, verified

WordPress/mcp-adapter (official)

For developers who want to define exactly what an agent can do, on the path WordPress core has committed to. Version 0.6.1, released 13 August 2026; 1.6k stars, 179 forks and 41 open issues on GitHub; GPL-2.0-or-later; requires PHP 7.4 or later and WordPress 6.9 or later. Install it as a plugin zip from the releases page, with wp plugin install from the release URL, or with composer require wordpress/mcp-adapter, where Packagist counts 441,576 installs.

It bridges the Abilities API to MCP: every ability registered with wp_register_ability() and marked public becomes a tool, resource or prompt, and each ability’s permission_callback decides who may call it. Transports are stdio through wp mcp-adapter serve and Streamable HTTP at /wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server, following the 2025-11-25 MCP specification.

The limitation is that it is a package, not a product. There is no settings screen, it exposes nothing until a plugin registers abilities, and at v0.6.1 it is still a pre-1.0 package whose interfaces can change between releases.

WordPress/mcp-adapter on GitHub

Enable Abilities for MCP

For anyone who wants the official adapter with a control panel. Version 2.8.1, updated 9 September 2026, 3,000+ active installs, 5.0 out of 5 from 10 reviews, tested up to WordPress 7.1, requires WordPress 6.9 and PHP 8.0. Free, by Fabio Montenegro.

It registers 102 abilities across 21 categories, from posts and media through SEO, WooCommerce, events and multilingual plugins, and gives each one a toggle. It also runs an OAuth 2.1 authorisation server so that claude.ai can connect as a custom connector, accepts application passwords and bearer tokens for Claude Desktop and Cursor, and logs every execution with the user and time. Abilities registered by other plugins appear in the same panel.

The honest limitation is the trust surface: an OAuth server inside a 3,000-install plugin now sits between the internet and your write operations. Ten reviews is not a track record; the per-ability toggles and the execution log are the right features, and they are why it is the content pick above.

Enable Abilities for MCP on WordPress.org

Easy MCP AI

For SEO and analytics work, and for anyone who wants one plugin with no bridge and no relay. Version 1.7.17, updated in September 2026, 10,000+ active installs, 5.0 out of 5 from 8 reviews, tested up to WordPress 7.1, requires WordPress 6.0 and PHP 7.4. Free with no paid tier; the third-party data comes from your own GA4, Search Console, DataForSEO, SE Ranking, Semrush or Ahrefs accounts.

WPNeon runs it on this site, and the page you are reading was researched through it. The endpoint is /wp-json/easy-mcp-ai/v1/mcp over Streamable HTTP; clients connect with OAuth 2.1 and PKCE or a bearer token that is hashed in the database and shown once. The listing says 243 tools; the number an actual connection sees depends on which plugins are installed. On WPNeon’s connection on 10 September 2026 the client listed 135 tools: 6 wp_gsc_* Search Console tools, 11 wp_ga_* GA4 tools, 8 wp_dfs_* DataForSEO tools, 15 wp_seranking_* tools, 3 wp_rm_* Rank Math tools, 3 wp_ability_core_* passthroughs from the Abilities API, a wp_replace_in_post find-and-replace and 14 delete tools. No WooCommerce tools appeared because WooCommerce is not installed here.

The limitation is concentration: 135 to 243 tools in one plugin is a wide surface, and the GitHub mirror has 3 stars, so scrutiny comes from the WordPress.org review rather than a large developer community. Create the token without delete tools unless you need them.

Easy MCP AI on WordPress.org

WPVibe (SeedProd)

For site owners who want an assistant to manage themes, plugins and builders as well as content, without touching a config file. Version 1.16.4, updated 6 September 2026, 20,000+ active installs, 4.9 out of 5 from 34 reviews, tested up to WordPress 7.1, requires WordPress 6.0 and PHP 7.4. The plugin is free; the WPVibe service has a free tier with daily action limits and paid plans that raise them.

It is the broadest tool set on the page: posts, pages, media, taxonomies, users, menus, theme file editing with a draft preview, WP-CLI-style commands dispatched through PHP, WooCommerce products, Elementor, Bricks, Breakdance, Beaver Builder and Divi, restricted database queries, and Abilities API integration. Authorisation is one-click OAuth.

The limitation is the relay. Requests pass through WPVibe’s hosted service, which holds encrypted credentials for your site, and the listing does not state per-tool scoping or a call log. That is a reasonable trade for a personal site and a harder one for a client’s.

WPVibe on WordPress.org

WordPress VIP Secure MCP

For every site on WordPress VIP. Generally available since 15 July 2026 at no additional cost, it is one endpoint, https://api.wpvip.com/mcp, in front of two toolsets: VIP MCP for the platform (deployments, environments, domains, logs, backups, WP-CLI, data sync) and WordPress MCP, a server that runs inside the site for content and configuration. VIP counts 57 tools across the two.

The deciding capability is governance. Org admins switch MCP on in the Integrations Center, app admins enable each toolset per application, the agent inherits exactly the authorising user’s dashboard and WordPress permissions, and every call lands in an MCP Call Log flagged with its source. Clients authorise once in a browser and refresh tokens themselves; VIP’s guide covers Claude Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop, Gemini CLI, Codex and any HTTP client, with mcp-remote for stdio-only ones.

The limitation is scope: the documented WordPress tools are post publishing, page creation and template updates, and the VIP Dashboard email must match the WordPress user’s email for the site tools to work.

Secure MCP in the WordPress VIP documentation

WordPress.com MCP

For sites hosted on WordPress.com. Available on all paid plans, and on free sites for 30 days after creation; the documentation was published on 3 October 2025 and revised on 19 August 2026. The endpoint is https://public-api.wordpress.com/wpcom/v2/mcp/v1 with OAuth 2.1, PKCE, dynamic client registration and token rotation, so nothing is stored on your machine but an expiring access token.

The deciding detail is the default: read-only tools are on and write tools are off until you toggle categories in your account settings, which is the safest default of any server on this page. It is listed in Claude Desktop’s connector directory and Cursor’s plugin directory, and connects to Claude Code, Codex and VS Code over HTTP; ChatGPT needs a Plus, Pro, Team or Enterprise plan.

The limitation is that the tools themselves are listed in a separate reference document, so what an agent can reach for SEO or commerce is not visible from the overview.

MCP in the WordPress.com developer documentation

WP Engine Smart Search AI MCP

For WP Engine customers who want an assistant to answer from live site content and nothing more. Part of the AI Toolkit’s Smart Search AI product; the product page was revised in June 2026 and lists no price for the underlying subscription. Enabling MCP in the toolkit settings generates a unique server URL that any MCP client can use, with ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor and VS Code with Copilot named.

It is read-only by design: semantic retrieval over a managed vector index of published content. That removes the entire write-access question, which is an advantage when reading is the job.

The limitation is the same fact from the other side. It cannot create, edit or delete anything, so for content or site work on WP Engine you install a plugin server exactly as you would on any host.

MCP server at WP Engine

server-wp-mcp (emzimmer)

For a developer who cannot or will not install a plugin. A Node stdio server, MIT-licensed, with 115 stars, 29 forks and 4 open issues; 9 commits in total and no tagged release, with version 1.0.1 on npm seeing 22 weekly downloads. It reads a wp-sites.json of site aliases and application passwords, and needs WordPress 5.6 or later over HTTPS.

It exposes exactly two tools: wp_discover_endpoints, which maps the REST API of a site, and wp_call_endpoint, which runs GET, POST, PUT, DELETE or PATCH against any of them. That is why it never goes stale: the tool list is the REST API itself.

The limitation is that the application password sits in plain text on your disk with the connected user’s full reach, and there is no scoping below that. It is also stdio only, so ChatGPT and other web clients cannot use it.

server-wp-mcp on GitHub

InstaWP/mcp-wp

For the same no-plugin case with typed tools instead of raw endpoints. A Node server published as @instawp/mcp-wp, needing Node 18 or later, with 98 stars, 31 forks and 1 open issue on GitHub and 75 commits. Its last tagged release is v0.2.0 on 19 August 2025.

Tools cover posts, pages and custom post types, media, users, comments, taxonomies, plugin management and plugin-repository search, and an optional read-only SQL query through a custom REST endpoint you add yourself. One instance manages up to 10 sites, each with its own application password in environment variables.

The limitation is the release cadence. A year without a tag in a protocol that revised its specification in November 2025 means you are running code written against an earlier client generation; InstaWP’s own guide now points customers to its hosted InstaMCP instead.

InstaWP/mcp-wp on GitHub

How do you connect Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor?

Three shapes cover every server on this page: a stdio process the client launches, a remote HTTP endpoint with a bearer header, and a remote HTTP endpoint with OAuth. Replace the hostnames, paths and tokens with your own.

Claude Desktop. The config file at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json on Windows launches stdio servers. This is the official adapter’s own example, running WP-CLI against a local install:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wordpress-mcp-server": {
      "command": "wp",
      "args": [
        "--path=/path/to/your/wordpress",
        "mcp-adapter",
        "serve",
        "--server=mcp-adapter-default-server",
        "--user=mcp-agent"
      ]
    }
  }
}

For a remote site on the adapter, Automattic’s @automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote bridge (179 stars, active, works with the adapter and the legacy plugin) turns an application password into a stdio server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wordpress-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote@latest"],
      "env": {
        "WP_API_URL": "https://example.com/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server",
        "WP_API_USERNAME": "mcp-agent",
        "WP_API_PASSWORD": "xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Servers with OAuth (Easy MCP AI, Enable Abilities for MCP, WordPress.com, VIP) do not go in that file at all: in claude.ai or Claude Desktop open Settings, then Connectors, then Add custom connector, paste the endpoint URL and complete the browser login.

Claude Code. One command per server, with --scope user if you want it in every project. A bearer-token endpoint such as Easy MCP AI:

claude mcp add --transport http mysite https://example.com/wp-json/easy-mcp-ai/v1/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer wpmcp_your_token_here"

An OAuth endpoint such as VIP, followed by /mcp inside the session to log in through the browser:

claude mcp add --scope user --transport http vip-platform https://api.wpvip.com/mcp

A stdio server, where everything after -- is the command Claude Code launches:

claude mcp add --transport stdio wp -- wp --path=/srv/example mcp-adapter serve --server=mcp-adapter-default-server --user=mcp-agent

Cursor. Put the server in .cursor/mcp.json in the project or ~/.cursor/mcp.json globally. Remote endpoints take a url and optional headers; Cursor handles OAuth for servers that require it, so the VIP and WordPress.com entries are just a URL:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wordpress": {
      "url": "https://example.com/wp-json/easy-mcp-ai/v1/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer wpmcp_your_token_here"
      }
    },
    "vip-platform": {
      "url": "https://api.wpvip.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

ChatGPT and other web-only clients. They attach remote HTTP servers with OAuth through their connector settings and cannot launch a stdio process, so the Node proxies and the adapter’s WP-CLI transport are out; Easy MCP AI, Enable Abilities for MCP, WordPress.com and WP Engine all offer an HTTPS endpoint they can reach.

What can an MCP server with admin credentials do to your site?

Everything the connected user can. On WPNeon’s own connection that is 135 tools, 14 of which delete things: posts, pages, media, comments, menus, terms, revisions and post meta. The adapter’s authors say it plainly: an MCP client acts as a logged-in WordPress user, and an administrator’s application password gives an agent administrator reach. An agent that is shown a tool will eventually call it; “it probably won’t use that” is not an access control.

Create a dedicated user. Give the MCP account the narrowest role that does the job, an Editor for content work, and never your own administrator login. On VIP and WordPress.com this is enforced for you; on a plugin server it is your first setting.

Use application passwords, one per client, and revoke them. They need WordPress 5.6 or later and HTTPS, they are listed on the user’s profile with a name and a last-used time, and each can be revoked without touching the account password. A token or password sent over plain HTTP is readable in transit; every server on this page that documents its transport requires HTTPS.

Prefer scoped tokens over role tricks. Easy MCP AI lets a token carry only read tools or drop delete tools; Enable Abilities for MCP switches abilities off one by one; WordPress.com ships with write tools off. Use those before inventing a custom role.

Keep the secret off shared machines. The Node proxies store an application password in plain text in a JSON file or environment variable. That is acceptable on your own laptop and unacceptable on a shared build box.

Have a restore path before granting write access. An agent that deletes the wrong thing is a bad update at higher speed. Turn on the call log where the server has one, and check what each MCP setup exposes before you connect a client to a site that earns money.

Which WordPress MCP server should you choose?

For most sites, WordPress/mcp-adapter with Enable Abilities for MCP on top. It is the path WordPress core has committed to, it is under a month old at v0.6.1, and the plugin gives you an OAuth connector, per-ability switches and a log for nothing.

If the job is SEO and analytics, Easy MCP AI. Nothing else here puts Search Console, GA4, rank data and your SEO plugin’s meta fields in the same session, and its read-only tokens make analysis safe. If the job is theme and plugin management by chat, WPVibe, accepting the relay.

On VIP or WordPress.com, use the platform endpoint and nothing else unless it lacks a tool you need. Skip Automattic/wordpress-mcp, archived in January 2026, and treat the two Node proxies as developer conveniences for your own sites rather than something to hand a client.

Once you have chosen

• WordPress MCP security: what each setup exposes — the next job after picking a server is deciding which user it runs as and which tools it may see; this walks through the four gates.
• WordPress backup plugins — before an agent gets write access, you need a restore that you have actually run once.
• WordPress security plugins — adding an OAuth server or long-lived tokens changes your login surface; this covers the plugins that watch it.
• Rank Math vs Yoast SEO — if you chose Easy MCP AI for SEO work, the meta fields the agent edits belong to one of these two.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an official WordPress MCP server?

Yes. WordPress/mcp-adapter is the official package, maintained under the WordPress GitHub organisation, licensed GPL-2.0-or-later, at version 0.6.1 since 13 August 2026. It bridges the Abilities API that shipped in WordPress 6.9 to the Model Context Protocol. Automattic’s earlier wordpress-mcp plugin, which many articles still call the official server, was archived on 19 January 2026.

How do you enable MCP on a WordPress site?

Install a server. On the official path, upload the mcp-adapter release zip as a plugin, add Enable Abilities for MCP for a settings screen, and connect at /wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server with an application password or its OAuth connector. On WordPress VIP or WordPress.com, switch MCP on in the dashboard or account settings and connect to the platform endpoint; nothing is installed on the site.

Is Automattic’s wordpress-mcp plugin still safe to use?

It still works, but it is not maintained. The repository was archived read-only on 19 January 2026, the last release was v0.2.5 on 24 July 2025, and the banner directs users to WordPress/mcp-adapter. An archived plugin with write access to a production database receives no security fixes, so plan a migration to the adapter even if nothing is broken today.

Does a WordPress MCP server work with Cursor?

Yes. Cursor reads .cursor/mcp.json in the project or ~/.cursor/mcp.json globally. Remote servers such as Easy MCP AI take a url plus an Authorization header; OAuth servers such as WordPress VIP and WordPress.com need only the url because Cursor runs the login flow. Stdio servers such as server-wp-mcp use command and args in the same file.

Can you run a WordPress MCP server without installing a plugin?

Yes, with a Node proxy on your own machine. server-wp-mcp and InstaWP’s mcp-wp authenticate to the REST API with an application password and expose REST operations as tools, so the site needs nothing beyond WordPress 5.6 and HTTPS. They cannot scope access below the connected user and cannot be used from ChatGPT, which only attaches remote HTTP servers.

Does an MCP server slow down a WordPress site?

Not for visitors. An in-WordPress server only runs when an AI client calls a tool, so the front end is untouched. The cost is authenticated traffic that bypasses page caching while an agent works, which is why Easy MCP AI rate-limits at 60 calls a minute by default. Long bulk jobs are the case to watch, not ordinary editing.