Connect Claude Code to your WordPress sites

In this guide, you use the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect Claude Code to your WordPress sites through the WP Engine AI MCP server. The guide covers everything from signing in to running your first ability. To configure Claude Desktop, see Connect Claude Desktop.

Prerequisites

• Claude Code installed (install guide)
• A WP Engine account with at least one WordPress site connected to it (a site connection)
• AI turned on for that account. An account owner accepts the WP Engine AI terms and turns on AI in the WP Engine User Portal

1. Add the MCP server

claude mcp add --transport http --scope user wpengine \
  https://api.ai.wpengine.com/v1/mcp

This command registers the server and sets the HTTP transport. Don’t add an Authorization header. You authenticate with OAuth in the next step.

--scope user makes the server available in every directory. Without it, Claude Code registers the server only for the directory you ran the command in.

2. Sign in

1. Start a Claude Code session.
2. Run /mcp.
3. Select wpengine, then select Authenticate.
4. Sign in with your WP Engine account in the browser window that opens.

Claude Code stores the sign-in and renews it for you. If Claude Code asks you to sign in again, repeat these steps.

3. Confirm Claude Code can see your sites

Ask:

claude "Use the wpengine MCP server to list my WordPress sites"

Claude Code calls list_accounts to find your account, then calls list_account_sites. It returns your active registered sites, similar to this:

You have 3 WordPress sites connected:
1. example.com (example-prod) - Active
2. staging.example.com (example-staging) - Active
3. dev.example.com (example-dev) - Active

See tool calls inline

Claude Code shows MCP tool calls inline in the conversation, including their requests and responses.

If no tools appear at all, see Fix a client that shows no tools.

4. Connect your WordPress account

With your current setup, you can list sites and search a knowledge base. You can’t run an ability yet. Running an ability needs a second, separate connection between you and each site.

Most people don’t expect this. Registering a site with WP Engine gives nobody permission to act on it, including the administrator who registered it. The two connections explains why.

Complete these steps once per site:

1. Ask Claude Code: “What’s the WordPress connection status for my sites?”

2. For each site that isn’t connected, Claude Code gives you a link. Open the link while you’re logged in to that site’s WordPress admin. If no link comes back, build it yourself:

   {site_url}/wp-admin/admin.php?page=power-overview&action=trigger_wp_connection

   Opening this link is the only way to start the connection. WordPress has no option to start it manually.

3. Review the permissions, then confirm with Connect WordPress user. You land back in wp-admin, now connected. See The consent screen.

5. Run your first ability

Ask:

claude "Create a draft post on example.com titled 'Today in the news with WP Engine' using the wpengine MCP server"

Claude Code then does the following:

1. Finds the site’s Create Post ability (wp-engine-ai/create-posts) with search_abilities
2. Runs it with run_site_ability
3. Returns the new post ID and a link to the draft

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TroubleshootingFixes by symptom, including a server your client can't see, the 'not personally connected' error, and what each error code means.

AuthenticationHow MCP clients authenticate with OAuth.

Site and WordPress account connectionsWhy you still can't write to a registered site.