WordPress MCP + Abilities API Example

This repository demonstrates how to expose WordPress functionality as MCP tools using the WordPress Abilities API and the MCP Adapter plugin.

The example shows how to:

• Register Ability Categories
• Register Abilities with input/output schemas
• Make abilities discoverable by AI agents
• Attach abilities to an MCP Server
• Test the server using MCP JSON-RPC requests

Requirements

• WordPress 6.9+
• MCP Adapter plugin
  https://github.com/WordPress/mcp-adapter
• Run composer install inside the MCP Adapter plugin directory

What This Example Does

This example exposes a Create Post ability that allows an AI agent to:

• Create WordPress posts
• Control post status (draft/publish)
• Receive the created post URL as output

The ability is marked as public, so MCP-compatible agents can discover and use it.

Default Server (Zero Configuration)

Since mcp-adapter v0.3.0, the adapter automatically creates a default MCP server. You do not need to call create_server() for basic use.

Simply register your ability with meta.mcp.public = true and it will be discoverable on the default server at:

http://<your-site>/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server

This demo uses a custom server (create_server()) to show how to explicitly control which abilities are exposed and as which MCP component type (Tool / Resource / Prompt).

Usage

1. Copy the code from example-abilities.php
2. Paste it into your theme’s functions.php file or a custom plugin
3. Ensure the MCP Adapter plugin is active
4. Access the MCP endpoint: http://<your-site>/wp-json/site-content-server/

If the server is registered correctly, you’ll see a response similar to the following:

{"namespace":"site-content-server","routes":{"\/site-content-server":{"namespace":"site-content-server","methods":["GET"],"endpoints":[{"methods":["GET"],"args":{"namespace":{"default":"site-content-server","required":false},"context":{"default":"view","required":false}}}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost:10077\/wp-json\/site-content-server"}]}},"\/site-content-server\/mcp":{"namespace":"site-content-server","methods":["POST","GET","DELETE"],"endpoints":[{"methods":["POST","GET","DELETE"],"args":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost:10077\/wp-json\/site-content-server\/mcp"}]}}},"_links":{"up":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost:10077\/wp-json\/"}]}}

Testing Tools via Terminal

curl -X POST http://<your-site>/wp-json/site-content-server/mcp/
-H "Content-Type: application/json"
-H "Mcp-Session-Id: session-id"
-u username:appPassword
-d '{
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"id": 1,
"method": "tools/list"
}'

Testing with STDIO (WP-CLI)

List all registered MCP servers

wp mcp-adapter list

Test tools/list

echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list","params":{}}' \
  | wp mcp-adapter serve --user=admin --server=site-content-server

Test the create-post tool

echo '{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 2,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "wpv-create-post",
    "arguments": {
      "title": "Hello from MCP",
      "content": "This post was created by an AI agent via MCP.",
      "status": "draft"
    }
  }
}' | wp mcp-adapter serve --user=admin --server=site-content-server

Test the get-posts resource

echo '{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 3,
  "method": "resources/list",
  "params": {}
}' | wp mcp-adapter serve --user=admin --server=site-content-server

Connect to Claude Desktop (STDIO)

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Create Post on Website": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "WP_API_URL": "https://your-site.com/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server",
        "WP_API_USERNAME": "Username",
        "WP_API_PASSWORD": "Application Password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Notes

• This is a minimal example intended for learning.