📋 What You’ll Need

🔑 Step 1: Generate Your API Key

1. Navigate to Settings → WebSamurai in your WordPress admin panel
2. Click on the API Keys tab
3. Enter a name for your key (e.g., “Claude Desktop” or “My Local Development”)
4. Click Generate API Key
5. Important: Copy the API key immediately – you won’t be able to see it again!

⚙️ Step 2: Configure Your MCP Client

Choose your AI chatbot below for specific setup instructions:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "websamurai": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@websamurai/mcp-wp-remote",
        "https://yoursite.com",
        "your-api-key-here"
      ]
    }
  }
}

claude mcp add -t http wordpress_site_name https://wp_site_url.com/wp-json/websamurai/v1/mcp --header "X-API-Key: <YOUR_API_KEY>"

claude mcp add -t http wordpress_site_name https://wp_site_url.com/wp-json/websamurai/v1/mcp --header "X-API-Key: <YOUR_API_KEY>" -e "NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=0"

export NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=0

set NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=0

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "websamurai": {
      "url": "https://www.Your.site/wp-json/websamurai/v1/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "API_KEY": "YOUR API KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "websamurai": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@websamurai/mcp-wp-remote",
        "https://yoursite.com",
        "your-api-key-here"
      ],
    }
  }
}

🎯 What You Can Do

Once connected, you can ask Claude to manage your WordPress content using natural language:

💬 Example Commands

Here are some example requests you can make to Claude once the MCP server is connected:

Local Development

For local WordPress installations, use your local URL:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "websamurai-local": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@websamurai/mcp-wp-remote", "http://localhost:8080"],
      "env": {
        "WEBSAMURAI_API_KEY": "local-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

❓ Troubleshooting

Server Not Appearing in Claude

• Verify the JSON syntax in your config file (use JSONLint to validate)
• Make sure you’ve restarted your local Chat program (i.e. Claude Desktop) completely
• Check that npx is installed (run npx --version in terminal)
• Ensure your WordPress site URL is correct and accessible

Authentication Errors

• Double-check your API key is correct
• Verify the API key hasn’t been deleted from WordPress
• Check for extra spaces or quotes around the API key

Connection Failures

• In the examples above, you need to make sure your replace the url of the site and the API key within them.
• Check you have the exact URL correct. If your site starts with “www” you must use that url, if the url specified has a redirect, it will not work.
• Confirm your WordPress site is online and accessible
• Check if your site has SSL issues, it may not connect if your certificate is not valid.
• if your site is https://yoursite.com/, you can specify either the site url (https://yoursite.com/) or your full MCP url (https://yoursite.com/wp-json/websamurai/v1/mcp), but not other urls on your site
• Verify no firewall is blocking the connection to the REST API. This includes if you have password protect plugins or REST API blocking, these will need a whitelist for https://yoursite.com/wp-json/websamurai/v1/mcp
• If you have curl on your command line, test the MCP endpoint directly:

curl -k -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
   -H "X-API-Key: <Replace with API KEY>" \
   -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "params":{"name":"echo","arguments":{"message":"test"}}}' \
   'https://<replacewithyoursite.com>/wp-json/websamurai/v1/mcp/'

Should Return:
{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":null,"result":{"content":[{"type":"text","text":"test"}]}}

Viewing Logs

To debug issues, check Claude Desktop’s logs:

• macOS: ~/Library/Logs/Claude/
• Windows: %APPDATA%Claudelogs
• Linux: ~/.config/claude/logs/

🔒 Security Best Practices

• Never commit API keys to version control – Keep them in your local config only
• Use different keys for different environments – Separate keys for production, staging, and local
• Rotate keys regularly – Generate new API keys periodically and delete old ones
• Monitor API usage – Check the “Last Used” column in your API Keys list
• Use descriptive key names – This helps you identify which key is used where
• Delete unused keys – Remove API keys you’re no longer using

📚 Additional Resources