WordPress Studio MCP

Give Claude direct access to your local WordPress sites — read files, query databases, run WP-CLI, call the WordPress REST API, and inspect site status. Part of a four-component AI-powered WordPress development stack.

The Complete WordPress AI Stack
Install — Claude Desktop
Install — Claude Code IDE
wordpress-studio-mcp Tools (48)
wordpress-studio Tools (13)
WP-CLI Reference
wordpress.com MCP Tools (17)
wordpress.com Plugin Commands
Environment Variables
Key Paths
Security
Troubleshooting

The Complete WordPress AI Stack

Four components work together. Install all four for the full experience.

Claude Desktop / Claude Code
│
├── 🌐 wordpress-com            REMOTE  HTTP + OAuth 2.1  →  public-api.wordpress.com
│   Automattic · auto-installed with plugin                   17 tools — content authoring,
│                                                              site settings, stats, users,
│                                                              security, subscriptions
│
├── 🎨 wordpress.com            PLUGIN  skills only        →  Claude Code plugin system
│   Automattic · v0.0.1                                        4 commands — /design-site
│   Marketplace: claude-plugins-official                       /preview-designs  /quick-build
│                                                              /site-specification
│
├── 🖥  wordpress-studio         LOCAL   stdio              →  npx wp-studio@latest mcp
│   Automattic · wp-studio@1.7.7                               13 tools — site lifecycle,
│                                                              WP-CLI, preview, screenshot
│
└── 🔧 wordpress-studio-mcp     LOCAL   stdio              →  node dist/index.js
    This project · github.com/movinginfo/wordpress-studio-mcp  48 tools — filesystem,
                                                               SQLite DB, WP-CLI, REST API,
                                                               theme tokens, blueprints,
                                                               WP.com MCP proxy,
                                                               VIP Design System

Total: 4 commands + 78 MCP tools covering the full WordPress development lifecycle.

Requirements

| Requirement | Version | Notes | |---|---|---| | Node.js | ≥ 22.5.0 | Built-in node:sqlite — no Python or native build | | WordPress Studio | 1.7.7 | Provides local site runtime and CLI | | Claude Desktop or Claude Code | latest | |

Install — Claude Desktop

Step 1 — Clone and build

git clone https://github.com/movinginfo/wordpress-studio-mcp.git "C:\Work\wordpress-studio-mcp"
cd "C:\Work\wordpress-studio-mcp"
npm install
npm run build

Verify:

node "C:\Work\wordpress-studio-mcp\dist\index.js"
# Shows startup banner on stderr, then waits — press Ctrl+C to exit

Step 2 — Edit `claude_desktop_config.json`

notepad "$env:APPDATA\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json"

Full working config:

{
  "preferences": {
    "coworkScheduledTasksEnabled": false,
    "ccdScheduledTasksEnabled": true,
    "sidebarMode": "code",
    "coworkWebSearchEnabled": true
  },
  "mcpServers": {
    "wordpress-studio-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "C:\\Work\\wordpress-studio-mcp\\dist\\index.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "STUDIO_HOME": "C:\\Users\\YourName\\.studio",
        "STUDIO_SITES_ROOT": "C:\\Users\\YourName\\Studio\\sites"
      }
    },
    "wordpress-studio": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "wp-studio@latest", "mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Replace YourName with your actual Windows username.

Step 3 — Install the wordpress.com plugin

Claude Desktop → Settings → Connectors → Browse plugins → search "wordpress.com" → Install.

This adds the /design-site, /preview-designs, /quick-build, /site-specification commands and the remote wordpress-com MCP (17 tools) with automatic OAuth 2.1 login.

Step 4 — Restart and verify

Fully quit Claude Desktop (system tray → Quit) and reopen. Click the ⊕ plug icon in the chat input:

✓ wordpress-studio-mcp    48 tools
✓ wordpress-studio        13 tools
✓ wordpress-com           17 tools   (after plugin install)

Install — Claude Code IDE

Step 1 — Clone and build

git clone https://github.com/movinginfo/wordpress-studio-mcp.git "C:\Work\wordpress-studio-mcp"
cd "C:\Work\wordpress-studio-mcp"
npm install
npm run build

Step 2 — Register MCP servers

# This extension — 27 tools
claude mcp add --scope user wordpress-studio-mcp `
    --env "STUDIO_HOME=C:\Users\$env:USERNAME\.studio" `
    --env "STUDIO_SITES_ROOT=C:\Users\$env:USERNAME\Studio\sites" `
    -- node "C:\Work\wordpress-studio-mcp\dist\index.js"

# Official Studio MCP — 13 tools
claude mcp add --scope user wordpress-studio `
    -- npx -y wp-studio@latest mcp

Step 3 — Install the wordpress.com plugin

Open Claude Code → Plugins panel → Browse → "wordpress.com" → Install.

Or from the terminal:

claude plugins install wordpress.com

Step 4 — Verify

claude mcp list

Type /mcp inside Claude Code — all servers should show green. Type / to see available commands.

Alternative — edit `~/.claude/settings.json` directly

notepad "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\settings.json"

Add inside mcpServers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wordpress-studio-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\Work\\wordpress-studio-mcp\\dist\\index.js"],
      "env": {
        "STUDIO_HOME": "C:\\Users\\YourName\\.studio",
        "STUDIO_SITES_ROOT": "C:\\Users\\YourName\\Studio\\sites"
      },
      "type": "stdio"
    },
    "wordpress-studio": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "wp-studio@latest", "mcp"],
      "type": "stdio"
    }
  }
}

Tool Reference

`wordpress-studio-mcp` · 48 tools · this project

Site Registry & Status

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | studio_registry | Full site list from ~/.studio/cli.json — paths, ports, auto-login URLs | | studio_auth_status | WordPress.com OAuth token status (no token value returned) | | studio_daemon_status | Check if Studio process daemon is running via named pipe | | studio_disk_usage | Disk size for one or all site directories | | studio_site_health | HTTP health check — status code, response time, WP headers | | studio_config_dump | Raw Studio config files — all secrets redacted |

Filesystem

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | fs_read_file | Read any file inside a site (max 2 MB) | | fs_write_file | Write or create a file — parent directories created automatically | | fs_list_dir | List a directory, optionally recursive (up to depth 4) | | fs_find_files | Glob search within a site, e.g. **/*.php or wp-content/themes/** | | fs_read_wp_config | Read wp-config.php — passwords and secret keys always redacted | | fs_read_error_log | Read wp-content/debug.log — last N lines (default: 100) |

SQLite Database

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | db_list_tables | List all tables in the site's .ht.sqlite database | | db_describe_table | Column names, types, constraints, and CREATE SQL | | db_query | Execute a SELECT query — read-only, enforced server-side | | db_execute | Execute a write statement — INSERT / UPDATE / DELETE | | db_export_sql | Full SQL dump — schema + INSERT rows for all tables |

WP-CLI Helpers

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | wpcli_plugin_list | List installed plugins with status and version | | wpcli_plugin_install | Install and optionally activate a plugin from wordpress.org | | wpcli_plugin_deactivate | Deactivate a plugin, optionally delete it | | wpcli_theme_list | List all installed themes | | wpcli_theme_activate | Activate a theme by slug | | wpcli_user_list | List all users with login, email, and roles | | wpcli_create_admin | Create a new administrator user | | wpcli_search_replace | Database search-replace — dry-run by default, confirm to apply | | wpcli_cache_flush | Flush object cache, rewrite rules, and all transients | | wpcli_core_update | Update WordPress core to latest or a specific version | | wpcli_run | Run any WP-CLI command — full passthrough via studio wp |

WordPress.com Remote API

Requires WordPress.com OAuth token in ~/.studio/shared.json (sign in through Studio Desktop).

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | wpcom_api_get | Authenticated GET to any WordPress.com API endpoint (/rest/v1.1/, /wp/v2/, /wpcom/v2/) | | wpcom_api_post | POST / PUT / PATCH / DELETE — requires confirmed: true | | wpcom_site_info | Site metadata: URL, name, description, plan, jetpack status | | wpcom_posts | List posts with filters: status, type, author, search, per_page, page | | wpcom_stats | Traffic summary: views, visitors, likes, comments for a date range | | wpcom_media | List media library items with MIME-type and date filters |

Local Site WP REST API

Calls the WordPress REST API directly on a running Studio site (http://localhost:{port}/wp-json/). Supports WordPress Application Passwords for write access.

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | wp_rest_get | GET any endpoint on a local site, e.g. /wp/v2/posts | | wp_rest_request | POST / PUT / PATCH / DELETE — requires confirmed: true | | wp_rest_routes | List all registered REST routes and their supported methods | | wp_rest_posts | List posts via /wp/v2/posts with status, search, per_page filters | | wp_rest_users | List users via /wp/v2/users | | wp_rest_taxonomies | List categories (/wp/v2/categories) or tags (/wp/v2/tags) | | wp_rest_settings | Read site settings via /wp/v2/settings (requires auth) |

Theme Design Tokens

Use these before generating block content to align with the site's visual design — use preset slugs (e.g. has-primary-color, has-large-font-size) instead of hard-coded hex/px values.

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | wpcom_theme_context | WordPress.com: active theme, color palette, font sizes/families, gradients, spacing scale, per-block style overrides. Operations: active, presets, styles, blocks, all | | wp_theme_json | Local Studio site: reads theme.json from the active block theme. Resolves active theme via SQLite — site does not need to be running. Sections: all, colors, fonts, spacing, blocks, raw |

Recommended sequence before content generation:

wp_theme_json (section: colors)  → get palette slugs
wp_theme_json (section: fonts)   → get font size slugs
wp_theme_json (section: blocks)  → get per-block overrides
→ use slugs in block attributes, not hard-coded hex/px

WordPress.com MCP Proxy

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | wpcom_mcp_call | Proxy any raw MCP protocol call directly to https://public-api.wordpress.com/wpcom/v2/mcp/v1. Methods: tools/list, tools/call, resources/list, resources/read. Use this to call any of the 17 official Automattic tools not explicitly wrapped here. |

Example — call the official statistics tool:

{
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "wpcom-mcp-site-statistics",
    "arguments": { "wpcom_site": "mysite.wordpress.com", "views": true }
  }
}

Blueprints

JSON recipes for creating reproducible Studio sites. Same format as WordPress Playground — portable across development environments.

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | studio_blueprint_list | List the 3 built-in featured blueprints (Quick Start, Development, Commerce) with full step definitions | | studio_blueprint_generate | Snapshot an existing site into a reusable blueprint JSON — captures active plugins, theme, site options, PHP/WP versions, wp-config constants | | studio_blueprint_apply | Apply a blueprint JSON to an existing Studio site — requires confirmed: true |

VIP Design System

Automattic's own design system (github.com/Automattic/vip-design-system) — the same token/component library used across WordPress.com, VIP, and Jetpack. Built on Theme UI + Radix UI.

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | vip_design_tokens | Query resolved VIP DS tokens: 10 color palettes (gold, gray, green, blue, red, yellow, orange, pink, salmon, parsely-green), semantic color roles (light + dark), responsive typography scale (12 steps, clamp() formulas), spacing scale, border radius, shadows, 50+ component inventory | | vip_design_theme_json | Generate a complete WordPress theme.json mapped from VIP DS tokens. Styles: default, minimal, full (all 10 palettes), dark. Write directly to a theme with fs_write_file. |

Color palettes: 10 palettes × ~12 key stops each. Semantic roles: primary, foreground, background, muted, border, success, warning, danger, info, link.

Typography: 12-step responsive scale using clamp() — xs through 5xl (display). Font families: System UI (body), Recoleta (serif), inherit (headings), monospace.

Design workflow with VIP DS:

1. vip_design_tokens section:semantic        → get brand colors
2. vip_design_theme_json style:default       → generate theme.json
3. fs_write_file path:themes/{theme}/theme.json  → write to site
4. wpcli_theme_activate slug:{theme}         → activate theme

27 supported blueprint steps:

| Category | Steps | |---|---| | Plugins & Themes | installPlugin, activatePlugin, installTheme, activateTheme, importThemeStarterContent | | Content & Data | setSiteOptions, updateUserMeta, runSql, resetData | | Files | writeFile, mkdir, cp, mv | | Code | runPHP, wp-cli | | Config | defineWpConfigConsts, setSiteLanguage | | Skipped | login, landingPage, enableMultisite, importWordPressFiles, importWxr, unzip, writeFiles, runPHPWithOptions |

Example blueprint:

{
  "$schema": "https://playground.wordpress.net/blueprint-schema.json",
  "preferredVersions": { "php": "8.3", "wp": "latest" },
  "steps": [
    { "step": "setSiteOptions", "options": { "blogname": "My Dev Site", "permalink_structure": "/%postname%/" } },
    { "step": "defineWpConfigConsts", "consts": { "WP_DEBUG": true, "WP_DEBUG_LOG": true } },
    { "step": "installPlugin", "pluginData": { "resource": "wordpress.org/plugins", "slug": "query-monitor" }, "options": { "activate": true } },
    { "step": "installTheme",  "themeData":  { "resource": "wordpress.org/themes",  "slug": "twentytwentyfour" }, "options": { "activate": true } }
  ]
}

`wordpress-studio` · 13 tools · Automattic (`wp-studio@1.7.7`)

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | site_create | Create a new local Studio site | | site_list | List all local sites with status | | site_info | Detailed info for a specific site | | site_start | Start a local site server | | site_stop | Stop a local site server | | site_delete | Delete a site (optionally including files) | | preview_create | Deploy to WordPress.com for a shareable preview link | | preview_list | List active preview environments | | preview_update | Redeploy changes to an existing preview | | preview_delete | Remove a preview environment | | wp_cli | Run any WP-CLI command on a local site | | validate_blocks | Validate Gutenberg block markup | | take_screenshot | Screenshot a running site (desktop 1040 px + mobile 390 px) |

WP-CLI Reference

WP-CLI is the command-line interface for WordPress. Use it through the wpcli_run tool (any command) or the specific helper tools above. In Studio, WP-CLI runs via PHP-WASM — no separate WP-CLI install is required.

Docs: developer.wordpress.com/docs/developer-tools/studio/cli

Common commands via `wpcli_run`

Site information

wp core version                          # WordPress version
wp core verify-checksums                 # Verify core file integrity
wp option get siteurl                    # Get site URL
wp option get blogname                   # Get site name
wp option list --search="active_plugins" # See active plugins

Plugins

wp plugin list                           # All plugins with status
wp plugin install woocommerce --activate # Install + activate
wp plugin activate contact-form-7        # Activate installed plugin
wp plugin deactivate akismet             # Deactivate
wp plugin delete hello-dolly            # Delete plugin files
wp plugin update --all                   # Update all plugins

Themes

wp theme list                            # All themes with status
wp theme install astra --activate        # Install + activate
wp theme activate twentytwentyfour       # Switch active theme
wp theme delete twentytwentyOne          # Delete theme files

Users

wp user list                             # All users
wp user create john john@example.com --role=editor --user_pass=password
wp user update 1 --user_pass=newpassword # Change admin password
wp user delete 3 --reassign=1           # Delete user, reassign content
wp user add-role 2 administrator         # Add role to user

Content

wp post list --post_type=post --post_status=publish   # Published posts
wp post list --post_type=page                         # All pages
wp post create --post_title="Hello" --post_status=publish --post_type=post
wp post delete 42 --force                             # Permanently delete
wp post meta get 42 _thumbnail_id                     # Get post meta

Database

wp db query "SELECT ID, post_title FROM wp_posts WHERE post_status='publish'"
wp db export backup.sql                  # Export full DB to SQL
wp db import backup.sql                  # Import from SQL
wp db size                               # DB size breakdown
wp db tables                             # List all tables
wp search-replace "http://old.local" "https://new.com" --dry-run
wp search-replace "http://old.local" "https://new.com" --precise

Cache and performance

wp cache flush                           # Flush object cache
wp transient delete --all                # Delete all transients
wp rewrite flush                         # Flush rewrite rules
wp cron event list                       # List scheduled events
wp cron event run wp_scheduled_delete    # Run a cron event manually

Debug and maintenance

wp eval "echo phpversion();"             # Run PHP inline
wp eval-file debug-script.php           # Run a PHP file
wp maintenance-mode activate             # Enable maintenance mode
wp maintenance-mode deactivate           # Disable maintenance mode
wp error_log                             # Read error log
wp doctor check --all                    # Site health diagnostics

WooCommerce (when installed)

wp wc product list                       # List products
wp wc order list --status=processing    # Processing orders
wp wc tool run clear_transients          # Clear WC transients

Search-replace workflow (URL migration)

Always dry-run first, then apply:

# 1. Dry run — preview changes
"Dry-run search-replace http://mysite.local → https://mysite.com on site mysite"

# 2. Review output, then apply
"Apply the search-replace http://mysite.local → https://mysite.com on site mysite"

# 3. Flush caches after migration
"Flush all caches on site mysite"

`wordpress.com` MCP · 17 tools · Automattic (remote HTTP)

The remote WordPress.com MCP connects to public-api.wordpress.com via OAuth 2.1 (PKCE). It manages hosted WordPress.com sites — not local Studio sites.

Docs: developer.wordpress.com/docs/mcp/tools-reference

Write / Delete Tools

All write and delete operations go through a single unified tool: wpcom-mcp-content-authoring

Safety protocol: Every write operation requires a mandatory confirmation step. The agent must describe the action, ask for explicit confirmation, and include user_confirmed: true in params. Write operations are never auto-executed.

Content Authoring operations

| Operation | Description | Reversible | |---|---|---| | posts.create | Create a new post (draft by default) | — | | posts.update | Update an existing post (live immediately if published) | Partial | | posts.delete | Move post to trash (30-day recovery) | Yes | | pages.create | Create a new page (draft by default) | — | | pages.update | Update an existing page (live immediately if published) | Partial | | pages.delete | Move page to trash (30-day recovery) | Yes | | comments.create | Add a comment to a post | — | | comments.update | Update comment content or status | Partial | | comments.delete | Move comment to trash | Yes | | media.update | Update media metadata (alt text, caption, title) | Partial | | media.delete | Move media to trash — may break content referencing it | Yes | | categories.create | Create a new category (supports parent hierarchy) | — | | categories.update | Update category (slug change breaks URLs immediately) | Partial | | categories.delete | Permanently delete — no trash, cannot be undone | No | | tags.create | Create a new tag | — | | tags.update | Update tag (slug change breaks URLs immediately) | Partial | | tags.delete | Permanently delete — no trash, cannot be undone | No |

Usage pattern:

action: "list"     → discover all available operations
action: "describe" → get the full input schema for an operation
action: "execute"  → run the operation (requires user_confirmed: true)

Tip: Before creating content, fetch theme.presets from wpcom-mcp-site-editor-context first — use preset slugs (e.g., has-primary-color, has-large-font-size) instead of hard-coded hex/px values so content adapts to theme changes.

Read-Only Tools

`wpcom-mcp-site-editor-context`

Query the active theme's design tokens: color palette, font sizes, font families, gradients, spacing scale, and per-block style overrides. Use before creating content to align with the site's visual design.

| Operation | Description | |---|---| | theme.active | Get active theme stylesheet slug and name | | theme.presets | Color palette, font sizes, font families, gradients, spacing scale | | theme.styles | Per-block and per-element style overrides from theme.json | | blocks.allowed | Registered block types with style variations, filtered by namespace |

Recommended sequence: theme.active → theme.presets → blocks.allowed → create content

`wpcom-mcp-posts-search`

Search posts across sites by query, type, status, author, category, tag, date range, and custom fields. Returns ID, title, content, excerpt, permalink, author, categories, tags.

`wpcom-mcp-post-get`

Retrieve a single post by ID or URL. Optionally include comments in the response.

`wpcom-mcp-site-comments-search`

Search comments within a site. Filter by status (approved/pending/spam/trash), post ID, author, date range. Returns threaded comment structure.

`wpcom-mcp-site-plugins`

List installed plugins with status, version, author, update availability. Filter by active/inactive/all.

`wpcom-mcp-site-settings`

Get site configuration: general settings, writing, reading, discussion, media sizes, permalink structure, privacy. Control which sections are included to reduce response size.

`wpcom-mcp-site-statistics`

Site traffic data: views, visitors, top posts/pages, referrers, geographic breakdown, device types. Supports day/week/month/year periods up to 365 periods back.

`wpcom-mcp-user-sites`

List all your WordPress.com sites with filtering (search, status, privacy, custom domain) and optional metrics (views, posts, storage, health score).

`wpcom-mcp-site-users`

List users on a specific site with roles, permissions, optional email, last login, and post counts.

`wpcom-mcp-user-profile`

Your WordPress.com profile: basic info, preferences, account stats, plan/subscriptions, social engagement, activity metrics. Request only the sections you need.

`wpcom-mcp-user-connections`

Social integrations (Twitter/X, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.): status, capabilities, last tested.

`wpcom-mcp-user-notifications`

Notification channel settings (email, push, timeline) and registered devices.

`wpcom-mcp-user-notifications-inbox`

Notification inbox: filter by type (like/follow/comment/mention/achievement), unread only, or date range.

`wpcom-mcp-user-security`

2FA status, active sessions, application passwords, login history (up to 90 days).

`wpcom-mcp-user-subscriptions`

Plans and billing: subscription details, billing history, payment methods, storage/bandwidth usage.

`wpcom-mcp-user-achievements`

Badges, feats, progress tracking, trophy case.

`wordpress.com` Plugin · Commands · Automattic (skills)

Install: Claude Code → Plugins panel → Browse → "wordpress.com"

No MCP server — pure Claude agent workflows using the Studio CLI and filesystem tools.

`/site-specification`

Extracts a structured specification from a plain-English site description. Output:

{
  "siteBrief": {
    "siteName":      "Bean & Brew",
    "siteType":      "restaurant",
    "primaryGoal":   "Drive in-store visits and online orders",
    "audience":      "Local coffee enthusiasts, remote workers",
    "tone":          "warm, artisanal, community-focused",
    "brandKeywords": ["cozy", "handcrafted", "local", "sustainable"]
  },
  "layoutNotes": [
    "Hero with full-bleed café atmosphere photo",
    "Menu section with three categories",
    "Location and hours with embedded map"
  ],
  "typography": {
    "primaryFont":  "Playfair Display",
    "secondaryFont": "Lato",
    "fontImport":   "https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=..."
  }
}

Typography inference by site type:

| Site Type | Primary Font | Goal | |---|---|---| | SaaS / Tech | Satoshi, Plus Jakarta Sans | Signups, demos | | E-commerce | Brand-matched | Purchases | | Professional Services | Serif + clean body | Credibility | | Restaurant / Food | Playfair Display | Visits, orders | | Creative / Portfolio | Distinctive display | Showcase work | | Blog / Media | Readable body font | Engagement, reads | | Non-profit | Warm, approachable | Awareness, donations |

`/preview-designs`

Generates three distinct HTML design directions (design-1.html, design-2.html, design-3.html) opened in browser. Each has inline CSS, Google Fonts, no external dependencies, WCAG 4.5:1 contrast, and prefers-reduced-motion support. Color temperature, typographic voice, and hero layout vary across the three options.

`/design-site`

Full multi-phase AI orchestration from brief to deployed WordPress block theme:

| Phase | What happens | |---|---| | 0.5 | Validates Studio CLI, creates or selects local site | | 0 | Detects new vs redesign, optionally imports existing content | | 1 | Extracts site spec, defines 3 aesthetic directions | | 2 | Parallel subagents generate style tiles → design tokens locked into design-tokens.json | | 3 | Three page layout variations using locked tokens | | 4 | Full HTML mockups for every planned page with realistic content | | 5 | Approved mockup → complete WordPress block theme → deployed to Studio site |

Design tokens are immutable once set. Core blocks only — no wp:html fallbacks. Theme slug must match ^[a-z0-9-]+$.

`/quick-build`

Fastest path: description → deployed site.

User:  /quick-build "SaaS landing page, dark mode, modern"

→  /site-specification extracts spec
→  /preview-designs generates 3 options
→  user picks one
→  full block theme built (theme.json, style.css, functions.php, templates)
→  theme activated on local Studio site

Example Prompts

# Full site build
/quick-build "coffee shop website, warm rustic feel, three menu sections"

# Design exploration
/preview-designs "portfolio site for a UI designer, clean minimal"

# Site inspection
Show me all my local WordPress Studio sites and their disk usage

# Theme editing
Read the functions.php from the active theme on site "my-shop"
Find all PHP files in the active theme on site "my-shop"

# Database
Show me all published posts from the "my-shop" SQLite database
Export the full "my-shop" database as a SQL dump

# Plugins
Install WooCommerce on site "my-shop" and activate it
List all active plugins on site "my-shop" with their versions

# Debugging
Show the last 100 lines of the PHP error log for site "my-shop"
Run wp doctor check on site "my-shop"

# URL migration
Dry-run search-replace http://my-shop.local → https://myshop.com on site "my-shop"

# WordPress.com (hosted sites)
Show me traffic stats for mysite.wordpress.com for the last 30 days
Search for all draft posts on mysite.wordpress.com
List all active plugins on mysite.wordpress.com

# Local REST API
List all available REST API routes on site "my-shop"
Get all published posts from site "my-shop" via the REST API
Show site settings for "my-shop" using Application Password user:password
Create a draft post on "my-shop" via wp_rest_request (requires confirmation)

# Theme design tokens
Show me the color palette and font sizes from the active theme on site "my-shop"
Get all theme.json design tokens from site "my-shop" before I write block content
What colors are available in the active WordPress.com theme on mysite.wordpress.com?

# VIP Design System
Show me the VIP DS color palette for the gold brand colors
Get the full semantic color roles from the VIP Design System
Generate a WordPress theme.json using VIP Design System tokens (style: default)
Generate a dark-mode theme.json using the VIP Design System
What components are available in the VIP Design System?

# Blueprints
Show me the built-in Commerce blueprint
Generate a blueprint from my site "my-shop" so I can recreate it
Apply the Development blueprint to site "my-shop" (installs debug tools)
Apply this blueprint JSON to site "new-site": { ... }

# WordPress.com MCP proxy
Call wpcom-mcp-site-statistics for mysite.wordpress.com via wpcom_mcp_call
List all available official WordPress.com MCP tools

Environment Variables

| Variable | Default (Windows) | Description | |---|---|---| | STUDIO_HOME | %USERPROFILE%\.studio | Studio config directory (cli.json, shared.json) | | STUDIO_SITES_ROOT | %USERPROFILE%\Studio\sites | Root folder for local site files |

Find your actual paths:

ls "$env:USERPROFILE\.studio"       # should contain cli.json, shared.json
ls "$env:USERPROFILE\Studio\sites"  # your local sites

Key Paths

Windows
│
├── %APPDATA%\Claude\
│   └── claude_desktop_config.json     ← Claude Desktop MCP config
│
├── %USERPROFILE%\.claude\
│   └── settings.json                  ← Claude Code CLI MCP config
│
├── %USERPROFILE%\.studio\
│   ├── cli.json                        Local site registry
│   ├── shared.json                     WordPress.com OAuth token, locale
│   └── app.json                        Electron app data
│
└── %USERPROFILE%\Studio\sites\
    └── {site-name}\
        ├── wp-config.php
        └── wp-content\
            ├── database\
            │   └── .ht.sqlite          SQLite database (db_* tools)
            ├── plugins\
            ├── themes\
            └── debug.log               PHP error log (fs_read_error_log)

Project Structure

wordpress-studio-mcp/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts                  MCP server entry point (stdio transport)
│   ├── studio-config.ts          Reads ~/.studio/cli.json, path safety guard
│   └── tools/
│       ├── site-registry.ts      studio_registry, studio_daemon_status …
│       ├── filesystem.ts         fs_read_file, fs_write_file, fs_find_files …
│       ├── database.ts           db_query, db_execute, db_export_sql …
│       ├── wpcli.ts              wpcli_plugin_list, wpcli_run …
│       ├── rest-api.ts           wpcom_api_get, wp_rest_get, wpcom_mcp_call, wpcom_theme_context …
│       ├── blueprints.ts         studio_blueprint_list, studio_blueprint_generate, studio_blueprint_apply
│       └── vip-design.ts         vip_design_tokens, vip_design_theme_json
│
├── dist/                         Compiled JS — generated by npm run build
├── .claude-plugin/
│   ├── plugin.json               Claude Code plugin metadata
│   └── marketplace.json          Marketplace registration
├── .mcp.json                     MCP definition for Claude Code plugin system
├── setup.ps1                     One-command Windows setup
├── package.json
└── tsconfig.json

Security

Path sandboxing — all filesystem tools verify the resolved path is inside STUDIO_SITES_ROOT. Directory traversal is blocked at the server level.
Secrets redaction — wp-config.php passwords, keys, and salts are stripped before output. Config dumps redact all fields matching password, token, key, secret, or salt.
Read-only SQL — db_query rejects any statement not starting with SELECT or WITH. Writes go through db_execute explicitly.
No native binaries — uses Node.js built-in node:sqlite (stable since v22.5). No Python, no node-gyp.
WordPress.com write safety — wpcom-mcp-content-authoring requires user_confirmed: true in every write/delete call. Permanent deletions (categories, tags) additionally require confirm_permanent_delete: true.
REST API write safety — wpcom_api_post and wp_rest_request require confirmed: true in every mutating call. No write operations are auto-executed.
Application Passwords — local REST API auth uses WordPress Application Passwords (WordPress 5.6+). Generate in WP Admin → Users → Profile → Application Passwords. Never pass plain login passwords.

Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Fix | |---|---| | Servers not in Connectors | Fully quit Claude Desktop (system tray → Quit) and reopen | | Red dot next to server name | Click it to read the error — usually a wrong path in args | | Cannot find module 'dist/index.js' | Run npm run build in the project directory | | SQLite DB not found | Start the site first: use site_start tool or run studio site start | | studio: command not found | Studio Desktop → Settings → Studio CLI → Save, restart terminal | | Node.js version error | Run node --version — needs ≥ 22.5.0 | | wp-studio mcp fails | Run npx wp-studio@latest --version to verify the package downloads | | wpcli_run returns empty | Make sure the site is running: studio_site_health or site_start | | wordpress.com MCP returns 401 | Re-authenticate: Studio Desktop → WordPress.com → Log in again | | wp_rest_* returns 401 | Generate an Application Password in WP Admin → Users → Profile | | wp_rest_* connection refused | Site must be running — use site_start or studio_site_health first | | wpcom_mcp_call returns 401 | Re-authenticate: Studio Desktop → WordPress.com → Log in again | | studio_blueprint_apply plugin install fails | Site must be running for WP-CLI steps — start it first | | studio_blueprint_generate shows empty plugins | Site must be running; WP-CLI reads the live DB | | vip_design_theme_json font sizes look wrong | Set responsive_type: false for static px values instead of clamp() | | /quick-build can't find Studio | Run studio --version in terminal — CLI must be in PATH |

Development

npm run dev    # watch mode — tsx, no build step
npm run build  # compile TypeScript → dist/
npm run clean  # remove dist/

VIP Design System — Automattic's design tokens and React components (Theme UI + Radix UI)
wordpress.com Claude plugin — official Automattic skills plugin
WordPress Studio — local WordPress development environment
wp-studio CLI — official Studio CLI npm package (v1.7.7)
Studio CLI docs — full CLI reference
WordPress.com MCP tools reference — full remote MCP API
WP-CLI overview — WP-CLI on WordPress.com
Model Context Protocol — MCP specification

WordPress Studio MCP

Contents

The Complete WordPress AI Stack

Requirements

Install — Claude Desktop

Step 1 — Clone and build

Step 2 — Edit claude_desktop_config.json

Step 3 — Install the wordpress.com plugin

Step 4 — Restart and verify

Install — Claude Code IDE

Step 1 — Clone and build

Step 2 — Register MCP servers

Step 3 — Install the wordpress.com plugin

Step 4 — Verify

Alternative — edit ~/.claude/settings.json directly

Tool Reference

wordpress-studio-mcp · 48 tools · this project

Site Registry & Status

Filesystem

SQLite Database

WP-CLI Helpers

WordPress.com Remote API

Local Site WP REST API

Theme Design Tokens

WordPress.com MCP Proxy

Blueprints

VIP Design System

wordpress-studio · 13 tools · Automattic (wp-studio@1.7.7)

WP-CLI Reference

Common commands via wpcli_run

Site information

Plugins

Themes

Users

Content

Database

Cache and performance

Debug and maintenance

WooCommerce (when installed)

Search-replace workflow (URL migration)

wordpress.com MCP · 17 tools · Automattic (remote HTTP)

Write / Delete Tools

Content Authoring operations

Read-Only Tools

wpcom-mcp-site-editor-context

wpcom-mcp-posts-search

wpcom-mcp-post-get

wpcom-mcp-site-comments-search

wpcom-mcp-site-plugins

wpcom-mcp-site-settings

wpcom-mcp-site-statistics

wpcom-mcp-user-sites

wpcom-mcp-site-users

wpcom-mcp-user-profile

wpcom-mcp-user-connections

wpcom-mcp-user-notifications

wpcom-mcp-user-notifications-inbox

wpcom-mcp-user-security

wpcom-mcp-user-subscriptions

wpcom-mcp-user-achievements

wordpress.com Plugin · Commands · Automattic (skills)

/site-specification

/preview-designs

/design-site

/quick-build

Example Prompts

Environment Variables

Key Paths

Project Structure

Security

Troubleshooting

Development

Related

License

Install Package (if required)

Cursor configuration (mcp.json)

Step 2 — Edit `claude_desktop_config.json`

Alternative — edit `~/.claude/settings.json` directly

`wordpress-studio-mcp` · 48 tools · this project

`wordpress-studio` · 13 tools · Automattic (`wp-studio@1.7.7`)

Common commands via `wpcli_run`

`wordpress.com` MCP · 17 tools · Automattic (remote HTTP)

`wpcom-mcp-site-editor-context`

`wpcom-mcp-posts-search`

`wpcom-mcp-post-get`

`wpcom-mcp-site-comments-search`

`wpcom-mcp-site-plugins`

`wpcom-mcp-site-settings`

`wpcom-mcp-site-statistics`

`wpcom-mcp-user-sites`

`wpcom-mcp-site-users`

`wpcom-mcp-user-profile`

`wpcom-mcp-user-connections`

`wpcom-mcp-user-notifications`

`wpcom-mcp-user-notifications-inbox`

`wpcom-mcp-user-security`

`wpcom-mcp-user-subscriptions`

`wpcom-mcp-user-achievements`

`wordpress.com` Plugin · Commands · Automattic (skills)

`/site-specification`

`/preview-designs`

`/design-site`

`/quick-build`