How to connect AI tools to your WordPress site via MCP

Pre-requisites

• A WordPress site hosted at Hostinger on a Business or Cloud plan
• The Hostinger AI Plugin installed and active on your site
• Node.js installed on your computer
• The @automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote npm package (this is installed automatically the first time the configuration runs — no manual installation required)
• Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or Cursor installed
• Your WordPress admin username and password

Step 1 — Create a WordPress Application Password

An Application Password is a dedicated credential that lets an external tool connect to your site securely. It is separate from your main WordPress login password, can be revoked at any time, and can be reused across sessions without needing to be regenerated.

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard (https://your-wordpress-site.com/wp-admin).
2. On the left sidebar menu, navigate to Tools → Hostinger Tools.
3. Locate the parameter labeled Disable application passwords and verify that it is turned off to allow connections.
4. Click on your user avatar or click Edit Profile in the top-right menu.
5. Scroll down to the bottom of your profile options to locate the Application Passwords section.
6. Under the New Application Password Name text field, type a clear, recognizable label mapping to your selected tool (e.g., Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or Cursor).
7. Click Add New Application Password.
8. Copy the random string displayed on your screen. Save it inside a secure manager.

Step 2 — Find your MCP endpoint URL

The Hostinger AI Plugin establishes a standardized communication gateway to interact with external tools. Your site’s native MCP endpoint string strictly matches the following path:

https://your-wordpress-site.com/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server

Step 3a: Connect Claude Code

Claude Code is an elite command-line tool built by Anthropic that manages its server connections automatically through user prompting.

1. Launch your operating system’s terminal shell window.
2. Navigate into your targeted project folder path and enter the following initialization script to wake up the assistant:
   claude
3. Paste the following configuration directive into your prompt terminal:

   Connect my WordPress site at https://your-wordpress-site.com to this project via MCP using the Hostinger AI Plugin. My WordPress username is your-username and my application password is your-application-password

4. Substitute the placeholder details with your live URL, username, and Application Password.
5. Type yes when prompted by the terminal block to authorize writing to your local project directory configurations.
6. Test the connection, ask Claude Code to list all pages on your site to confirm everything is working:

   List all the pages on my WordPress site

7. Compare the results with the Pages section in your WordPress dashboard to verify they match.

Step 3b: Connect Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop stores its integration protocols inside a central JSON file located on your local file structure.

1. Locate the configuration folder according to your machine’s operating system:
   • macOS: Navigate to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows: Access %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
2. Open the file inside a simple text handler (such as Notepad or TextEdit). If the file is blank or doesn’t exist, create it from scratch.
3. Paste the following schema, modifying your active fields, and save:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "wordpress": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": ["-y", "@automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote"],
         "env": {
           "WP_API_URL": "https://your-wordpress-site.com/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server",
           "WP_API_USERNAME": "your-username",
           "WP_API_PASSWORD": "your-application-password",
           "OAUTH_ENABLED": "false"
         }
       }
     }
   }

4. Completely close out of Claude Desktop. Right-click the app icon on your Taskbar (Windows) or Dock (macOS) and explicitly click Exit or Quit before launching it fresh to load the configuration.
5. Verify the connection by starting a new conversation in Claude Desktop. You should see a small tools or plug icon indicating MCP servers are active. Ask it:

   List all pages on my WordPress site

Step 3c: Connect Cursor

The Cursor code editor allows you to manage active MCP pathways natively inside its graphical layout settings panel.

1. Open Cursor and press Ctrl + , (Windows) or ⌘ + , (macOS) to trigger your global settings window.
2. Navigate to Tools & MCPs on the sidebar map and click New MCP Server.
3. Open the file to view the configuration structure and paste the exact same JSON setup block defined for Claude Desktop above.

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "wordpress": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": ["-y", "@automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote"],
         "env": {
           "WP_API_URL": "https://your-wordpress-site.com/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server",
           "WP_API_USERNAME": "your-username",
           "WP_API_PASSWORD": "your-application-password",
           "OAUTH_ENABLED": "false"
         }
       }
     }
   }

4. Replace the placeholders with your live domain, credentials, and Application Password. Save changes.
5. Open a new Cursor chat in Agent mode and ask it to list all pages on your WordPress site to confirm the connection works:

   List all the pages on my WordPress site

Step 4: Live Command Verification

Once your integration has connected successfully, open a live chat window in your active AI tool and try issuing structural queries to see live mutations on your site:

• Inspections: “List all the pages on my WordPress site” or “Which plugins are currently active?”
• Development: “Create a new draft page titled ‘About Us’ with a short introduction paragraph”
• Maintenance: “List all users and their roles”, “Check for any inactive themes and remove them”, or “Show me all images in the media library uploaded this month”

Troubleshooting Common Issues

The AI says it cannot connect to my site

Check the following:

• Make sure the MCP endpoint URL is correct and includes your full domain name (with https://).
• Confirm that the Hostinger AI Plugin is installed and activated in Plugins → Installed Plugins.
• Verify that Disable application passwords is turned off in the Hostinger Tools plugin settings under Tools.

I get an “Unauthorized” or 401 error

This usually means the credentials are wrong. Double-check that:

• Your WordPress username is correct (it is case-sensitive).
• The Application Password was copied in full, including any spaces.

I don’t see a WordPress MCP option in Claude Desktop or Cursor

Make sure you fully quit and reopened the application after editing the config file. On macOS, clicking the red close button does not fully quit the app — you need to right-click the Dock icon and choose Quit.

I want to revoke access

Go to Users → Profile in your WordPress dashboard, scroll to the Application Passwords section, and click Revoke next to the password you created. The AI tool will immediately lose access to your site.