Stefano Lissa

<p>The MCP Servers plugin enables WordPress to expose “abilities” – standardized functions that AI agents (such as Claude, Mistral, or ChatGPT) can invoke.</p>
<p>These abilities allow plugins and themes to describe their functionalities and required parameters in a structured way, facilitating seamless interaction with AI agents via the MCP (Model Context Protocol).</p>
<h4>Use Cases</h4>
<ul>
<li>A newsletter plugin can expose abilities to manage subscribers or newsletters.</li>
<li>A form manager can provide abilities to handle forms or process submissions.</li>
<li>No limits: Any functionality can be exposed and utilized by AI agents.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Creating a server</h4>
<p>Go to the “Servers” page and add a server. By default, a new MCP server does not expose any abilities. You can:</p>
<ul>
<li>Select one or more ability categories.</li>
<li>Choose individual abilities to expose.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Best Practices</h4>
<ul>
<li>Avoid exposing all abilities: This can overwhelm AI agents and lead to overlapping functionalities.</li>
<li>Limit abilities to those necessary for your current workflow.</li>
<li>Create multiple MCP servers to enable only the tools required for specific tasks on the agent side.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Connecting to a server</h4>
<p>AI agents can connect to your MCP server(s) in several ways. The simplest method is:</p>
<ul>
<li>Create an administrator user named “mcp”.</li>
<li>Generate an application password for this user in the WordPress dashboard.</li>
<li>Use Basic Authentication with the mcp username and the application password to set up the connection from the AI agent.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Note on Authentication</h4>
<p>Not all AI agents support Basic Authentication. For example, Claude requires OAuth2.</p>
<p>To enable OAuth2, install a compatible plugin (e.g., WP OAuth Server).</p>
<h4>References</h4>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="https://www.satollo.net/plugins/mcpservers" rel="nofollow ugc">MCP Servers official page</a></li>
<li>The <a href="https://github.com/wordpress/mcp-adapter" rel="nofollow ugc">MCP Adapater library/plugin</a></li>
<li>Introduction to the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/ai/2025/07/17/ai-building-blocks/" rel="nofollow ugc">WP AI building blocks</a></li>
<li>The <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/ai/2025/07/17/ai-experiments-plugin/" rel="nofollow ugc">AI Experiments plugin</a></li>
<li>The <a href="https://www.satollo.net/plugins/monitor" rel="nofollow ugc">Monitor plugin</a></li>
</ul>
<p>The AI Experiments plugin contains the “Ability explorer” a very useful tool.</p>
<h4>Tech details</h4>
<p>The plugin uses the WP MCP Adapter library or the MCP Adapter plugin (if installed), with priority given to the latter.</p>
<p>Once the Adapter plugin is officially available, it will be added as a dependency, and the PHP library will be removed.</p>
<h4>Warning</h4>
<p>Abilities are registered an implemented by plugins and themes: check carefully what they do before exposing!</p>
<p>And be aware that permission checks are up to the single ability.</p>


Satollo MCP Servers

Configure and publish MCP servers to expose abiltities to AI agents

Respira for WordPress

<p>Inhale: MCP Abilities is a small, focused utility that solves one problem: the default WordPress MCP server (provided by the official MCP Adapter plugin) does not expose any registered abilities by default. Site administrators have to write PHP filters to opt each ability into the public MCP surface.</p>
<p>This is the workaround pattern documented in WordPress contributor blog posts and developer guides since the MCP Adapter shipped. Inhale: MCP Abilities replaces the PHP-filter workaround with a simple settings page.</p>
<p>Once installed and activated, you’ll find a new page at Settings > Inhale: MCP Abilities where you can check off the abilities you want exposed to your default MCP server.</p>
<h4>What the Inhale: MCP Abilities plugin does</h4>
<ul>
<li>Lists every registered WordPress ability across all active plugins and themes</li>
<li>Lets you select which abilities are exposed to the default MCP server with simple checkboxes</li>
<li>Shows annotation metadata (read-only, destructive, idempotent) on each ability so you can make informed decisions</li>
<li>Requires explicit confirmation when you inhale an ability marked as destructive</li>
<li>Provides connection info for popular MCP clients (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code)</li>
<li>Respects each ability’s own permission_callback. The Inhale: MCP Abilities plugin controls visibility, not authorization.</li>
</ul>
<h4>What the Inhale: MCP Abilities plugin doesn’t do</h4>
<ul>
<li>Inhale: MCP Abilities does not run any MCP servers, transports, or authentication. Those are handled by the official MCP Adapter plugin, which the Inhale: MCP Abilities plugin extends.</li>
<li>Inhale: MCP Abilities does not register any abilities of its own. It only toggles visibility of abilities other plugins have registered.</li>
<li>Inhale: MCP Abilities does not phone home, collect telemetry, or make external network requests.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Requirements</h4>
<ul>
<li>WordPress 6.8 or later (Abilities API in core since 6.9; 6.8 requires the Abilities API plugin)</li>
<li>PHP 7.4 or later</li>
<li>The official WordPress MCP Adapter plugin installed and active</li>
</ul>
<h4>About MCP</h4>
<p>Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open specification originally developed by Anthropic. Inhale: MCP Abilities is a third-party plugin and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Anthropic. Respira is an independent company.</p>
<h4>About Respira</h4>
<p>The Inhale: MCP Abilities plugin is built and maintained by Respira, which ships AI infrastructure for WordPress. The main product is Respira for WordPress, a safety layer that registers 130+ abilities across 12 page builders (Elementor, Bricks, Divi, Beaver Builder, Oxygen, Breakdance and 6 more) with snapshot-before-write protection, render validation and one-click rollback. Inhale: MCP Abilities is a free utility offered to the WordPress community. Learn more at https://respira.press/inhale?utm_source=inhale&utm_medium=wp-org&utm_campaign=readme-description.</p>


Inhale: MCP Abilities by Respira

A small settings page that lets WordPress site administrators choose which registered abilities are exposed to the default MCP server.

Satollo MCP Servers vs Inhale: MCP Abilities by Respira