Cowboy MCP vs Novamira

What is Novamira?

Novamira is a free, open-source WordPress plugin and MCP server from Dynamic.ooo — the company behind Dynamic Content for Elementor — that gives an AI agent the full PHP runtime of your site: it can execute PHP, run WP-CLI, query the database, and read or write files directly. It is self-hosted like Cowboy MCP, and the connection is direct: as its README puts it, "Novamira is not a hosted proxy and your requests do not pass through Novamira servers" (opens in new tab). The project launched in February 2026 and ships fast — version 1.11.4 at the time of writing, with releases most weeks (changelog (opens in new tab)).

Its strengths deserve stating plainly. Where most WordPress MCP plugins hand the agent a menu of tools, Novamira hands it the language: the execute-php ability (opens in new tab) runs arbitrary code with the whole WordPress environment loaded, so an agent can build functionality on the spot rather than waiting for someone to ship a tool for it. Around that core sit a WP-CLI runner (opens in new tab) with background jobs, file read/write/edit/delete abilities with a crash-recoverable sandbox for generated PHP, a Block Editor workflow, Markdown "skills" the agent follows, a design-direction system, an in-dashboard Chat agent that runs on your own AI provider key, and OAuth sign-in for clients such as Claude, ChatGPT, and VS Code (changelog (opens in new tab)). A paid Pro add-on adds cross-session memory and specialised expertise for page builders and plugins such as Elementor, Bricks, WooCommerce, and ACF (novamira.ai/pro (opens in new tab)).

How do Cowboy MCP and Novamira differ?

The difference is one of philosophy before it is one of features. Cowboy MCP gives the agent a catalogue of typed, annotated tools wrapped in guardrails and a full undo trail, so it can be trusted on a live site; Novamira gives the agent direct PHP, WP-CLI, and filesystem access, and tells you to use it on development and staging copies with backups. The table below lines the two up on the attributes that actually differ; every Novamira claim links to a primary source.

Last verified: August 2026.

Attribute	Cowboy MCP	Novamira
Architecture & endpoint	Native MCP endpoint served by the plugin itself at /wp-json/cowboy-mcp/v1/endpoint — no Composer packages, no Node.js	Self-hosted plugin built on the WordPress Abilities API and the bundled official MCP Adapter; endpoint at /wp-json/mcp/novamira, reached directly or through the mcp-remote bridge (source (opens in new tab))
Requirements	WordPress 6.2 or later, PHP 8.0 or later	WordPress 6.9 or later, PHP 8.0 or later (README (opens in new tab))
What the agent gets	168 typed tools across content, WooCommerce, users, media, files, the database, and diagnostics, each annotated read-only or destructive	38 abilities centred on execute-php (arbitrary PHP with the full WordPress environment loaded), run-wp-cli, and file read/write/edit/delete; discover-abilities also exposes whatever other plugins register (source (opens in new tab))
Code & file writes	Confined to wp-content, written atomically, path-validated	PHP files only into wp-content/novamira-sandbox/, loaded with crash recovery; other files anywhere under the WordPress root (source (opens in new tab))
WP-CLI	Dangerous commands and flags blocked; a database checkpoint is taken automatically before mutating commands	Commands passed to WP-CLI as given, in the foreground or as background jobs (source (opens in new tab))
Action guardrails	Safe mode confirmation, dry runs, per-credential read-only or custom tool scope, protected-option and SQL denylists	AI Abilities off until an admin enables them, administrator accounts only, a warning when the site looks like production, per-ability on/off switches, and destructive annotations the client can prompt on (changelog (opens in new tab))
Reversibility	Per-change undo journal, one-click database checkpoints, always-on audit log	Sandbox files can be disabled or deleted; no undo journal, database checkpoints, or audit log — the README's guidance is backups on a dev or staging copy (README (opens in new tab))
Intended environment	Production, staging, or local	"For dev and staging environments. With backups. Always." (README (opens in new tab))
Authentication	API key as a hashed bearer token, or a native OAuth connector	WordPress Application Passwords for an administrator, or OAuth sign-in including a device-code flow (changelog (opens in new tab))
Distribution & updates	The WordPress.org plugin directory — one-click install and native updates (listing (opens in new tab))	A release ZIP downloaded from novamira.ai and uploaded by hand, updated by the plugin's own updater; not listed in the WordPress.org directory (README (opens in new tab))
License & price	Free, GPL-2.0, every tool included	Core free under AGPL-3.0; Pro add-on with memory and builder specialisations from €49 a year (novamira.ai/pro (opens in new tab))

Both plugins sit on the self-hosted side of the map — neither routes your requests through a vendor cloud — so the self-hosted vs hosted WordPress MCP comparison is the place to weigh that wider tradeoff. What separates these two is how much raw power the agent holds and what stands between a bad instruction and a broken site.

When is Novamira the better choice?

Novamira is worth choosing when the job is to build rather than to operate. Novamira is the better choice when you want an agent that can write and run arbitrary PHP against a staging copy of your site, and you are prepared to review its code and keep backups. Direct execution means the agent can prototype a custom post type, a theme tweak, or a plugin integration in one session and persist it as a sandbox file, with no tool catalogue to wait on.

That makes it a strong fit for developers building custom functionality on local or staging installs, for page-builder-heavy work where the Pro expertise for Elementor, Bricks, and Divi earns its keep, and for anyone who wants the in-dashboard Chat, skills, and design guidance alongside the MCP server. Its honest tradeoffs follow from the same power: there is no undo trail, its own documentation keeps it off live sites, it needs WordPress 6.9 or later, it installs from a downloaded ZIP rather than the directory, and the memory and specialisations that make page-builder work shine are part of the paid Pro tier.

When is Cowboy MCP the better choice?

Cowboy MCP is the stronger pick when the site is live and the agent is operating it day to day. Cowboy MCP is the better choice when you want an AI agent managing a production site with a safety net — every change undoable, every action logged, and each credential scoped to exactly the tools it needs. It trades the open PHP runtime for 168 purpose-built tools that know what they are touching.

Those tools cover content, WooCommerce, users, media, menus, Gutenberg blocks, plugins and themes, files, the database, and diagnostics, and each carries read-only and destructive annotations that drive safe mode and dry runs. A content editor's key can be read-only; a developer's can be full. When something does go wrong, the per-change undo journal, one-click database checkpoints, and audit log described on the security page put it right. It runs on WordPress 6.2 and later with no Composer or Node.js dependencies, installs and updates through WordPress.org, and is free under GPL-2.0 with every tool included — no Pro tier for the deep integrations.

Can you run both at the same time?

Running Cowboy MCP and Novamira on the same site is a valid setup rather than an either-or choice. Cowboy MCP and Novamira are independent plugins with separate endpoints, settings, and credentials, so installing both causes no conflict — the sensible split is by environment rather than by task. Novamira's own warning when a site looks like production points the way.

In practice that means Novamira on a local or staging copy, where an agent builds and tests new functionality with full PHP access, and Cowboy MCP on the live site, where the agent publishes, runs the store, fixes what breaks, and every change lands in the undo journal. Because both connect directly to your server, neither adds a relay to the data path, and each keeps its credentials in your own database. What does not change is the safety model each brings: Novamira's is backups and a staging copy, Cowboy MCP's is guardrails and undo on the site itself.

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