How to connect your WordPress site to Claude
Want Claude to actually manage your WordPress site — not just write drafts you paste in? Install one free plugin on your self-hosted site, follow the guided setup, and connect Claude. No code, no terminal, a few minutes. New to MCP? Start with the WordPress MCP server guide.
What can Claude do on your WordPress site once it's connected?
Once connected, Claude acts on your live WordPress site with real tools — it does the work itself instead of handing back text you paste in. Ask in plain English and it can draft and schedule posts, put a WooCommerce collection on sale, run a Wordfence scan, or back up the site before an update. Cowboy MCP turns your site into an MCP server Claude can act on directly.
Does this work on self-hosted WordPress, or do I need WordPress.com?
A self-hosted WordPress site runs on hosting you control, where you can install plugins — and that is exactly where Cowboy MCP lives: it is a plugin inside your own site, so the site itself becomes the MCP server. WordPress.com's built-in MCP covers WordPress.com and Jetpack-connected sites through Automattic's platform; hosting-level MCP servers such as Hostinger's are tied to a hosting account, not installed per site. Cowboy MCP needs only WordPress 6.2+ and PHP 8.0+, and Claude talks straight to your own domain.
Local sites count too: Claude Code connects directly with an API key and Claude Desktop uses a small on-machine bridge — see the Claude Desktop guide. Only claude.ai needs a public HTTPS address.
How do you connect Claude to a self-hosted WordPress site in three steps?
Connecting takes three steps and no code. Install the free Cowboy MCP plugin, open Settings → Cowboy MCP, and follow the built-in guided setup — it walks you through connecting Claude Desktop or Claude.ai with a browser sign-in. There are no config files to hand-edit and no terminal for the standard path; approve Claude's first action and it's managing your site.
- 1
Install the free plugin
In WordPress, go to Plugins → Add New, search for Cowboy MCP, and click Install then Activate.
- 2
Turn on the Desktop Connector
On the Connections tab pick claude.ai or Claude Desktop and click Enable Desktop Connector — it's off by default.
- 3
Click Add to Claude and approve access
Click Add to Claude. Claude opens in a new tab with your site already filled in — check the address, then click Continue and Add. Claude then opens a sign-in page on your site: log in as an administrator, choose Full access or Read-only, and click Approve. Then just ask.
The Add to Claude button appears on public HTTPS sites — the only ones Claude can reach. To add the connector yourself, open Add it by hand instead on the same panel, copy the connection link, and in Claude go to Customize → Connectors, click + Add → Add custom connector, paste it, then click Continue and Add. Custom connectors work on every Claude plan (Free is limited to one).
Prefer the terminal? Claude Code uses an API key instead: pick Claude Code, click Generate API key (shown once), and run the pre-filled claude mcp add command — see the Claude Code guide.
Is it safe to let Claude manage your live WordPress site?
You're handing Claude the keys, so Cowboy MCP keeps guardrails on: safe mode is on by default (destructive actions ask first), any change can be previewed as a dry run, and every action is written to an audit log. Each connection's scope can be narrowed or revoked from the Connected apps table. It all runs on your own server. More on security →
Questions, answered.
Does this work on self-hosted WordPress, or only on Claude.ai?
Any self-hosted WordPress site (version 6.2 or newer, on PHP 8.0+) where you can install plugins. It runs on your own server and isn't tied to WordPress.com or any particular host.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. Install the free plugin and follow the guided setup in Settings → Cowboy MCP — no code, no terminal, and no config files for the standard path.
Does my content get sent to Anthropic?
Only what Claude needs to read to do the task you asked. Cowboy MCP adds no cloud, proxy, or tracking of its own — your site talks directly to the Claude app you chose, and everything runs on your own server.
Claude Desktop, Claude.ai, or Claude Code — which should I use?
Any of them. Claude Desktop and Claude.ai connect with a no-terminal browser sign-in; Claude Code is the terminal option. Pick whichever you already use — the guided setup covers each.
I get a 401 or 403 when connecting — what's wrong?
Run the Connection Doctor on the Connections tab. A 401 with a Basic Auth prompt means server-level password protection answers before WordPress — exclude /wp-json/cowboy-mcp/ and /.well-known/ from it; MCP clients can't send two Authorization headers. A 403 or 503 from Cloudflare is a bot challenge; a 403 or 406 mentioning ModSecurity is a firewall blocking JSON POSTs. Still stuck? Paste the report into the support forum (opens in new tab).
The connector says no tools are available — why?
A short list is normal: Cowboy MCP exposes two gateway tools, cowboy_discover and cowboy_run, instead of loading every schema into Claude's context — ask it to “discover tools for WooCommerce”. If even those two are missing, the connection's scope is probably empty: check it under Connected apps on the Connections tab. Still nothing? Ask in the support forum (opens in new tab).
My host blocks the connection (Cloudflare, SiteGround, LiteSpeed, Basic Auth) — what do I change?
The fix is always an exclusion for the MCP paths. Cloudflare: a WAF skip rule (or disable Bot Fight Mode) for /wp-json/cowboy-mcp/* and /.well-known/oauth-*. SiteGround and other ModSecurity-style firewalls: ask support to allowlist POST /wp-json/cowboy-mcp/v1/endpoint. LiteSpeed or any page cache: exclude /wp-json/cowboy-mcp/ and the root /.well-known/ paths from caching. Basic Auth: exclude /wp-json/cowboy-mcp/ and /.well-known/. If the fix doesn't take, paste the Connection Doctor report into the support forum (opens in new tab).
Ready to connect Claude to your WordPress site?
Install the free plugin, enable the Desktop Connector, and Claude is working your site minutes later. For per-app detail see the Claude Desktop and Claude Code guides; the same site also connects to ChatGPT.