Give GitHub Copilot agent access to your own WordPress site over the Model Context Protocol. Copilot talks to your site directly — there is no relay in between, no account to create, and your credentials never leave your machine.
Free plugin · No account · Runs on your own server · Any WordPress host
Config file
mcp.json (VS Code user config)
Top-level key
servers — not mcpServers
Required mode
Agent mode in Copilot Chat
Before you start
You need AcrossAI MCP Manager active on the WordPress site you want Copilot to reach, an administrator account on it, and Node.js on your machine for the npx bridge. If the plugin is not installed yet, start with the Get Started guide.
You also need an active GitHub Copilot subscription with Copilot Chat available in your editor. Copilot’s MCP support lives in VS Code, so this guide shares its configuration file with the VS Code guide — if you have already connected VS Code, the server is there and you only need step 4.
How to connect GitHub Copilot to WordPress
Step 1
Open Quick Connect and choose GitHub Copilot
In wp-admin go to AcrossAI → MCP, open the server you want to expose, and start Quick Connect. Pick GitHub Copilot — the wizard fills in your site URL and username for you.
Step 2
Generate an Application Password
Click Generate password. This creates a standard WordPress Application Password — not your login password — scoped to this connection and revocable from your user profile. It is shown once; copy it whole, spaces included.
Step 3
Paste the config under servers
Press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P and run MCP: Open User Configuration, then paste the entry under servers. On macOS the file is ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/mcp.json.
{
"servers": {
"your-site-mcp-adapter-default-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote@latest"],
"env": {
"WP_API_URL": "https://example.com/wp-json/acrossai/mcp",
"WP_API_USERNAME": "your-wp-username",
"WP_API_PASSWORD": "xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx"
}
}
}
}Step 4
Switch Copilot Chat to Agent mode
Reload the window, open Copilot Chat, and change the mode selector to Agent. This is the step people miss: MCP tools are unavailable in Ask and Edit mode, so a perfectly correct config looks broken until you switch. Your site’s toolsets then appear in the tools picker, where you can enable or disable individual ones per conversation.
Try “Which plugins on this site need updating?” to confirm the connection is live.
What Copilot can do once it is connected
With Abilities Manager installed alongside it, Copilot reaches 350+ abilities across 14 toolsets — rising past 800 once it detects the plugins you already run. In Agent mode it can debug against the live site, inspect the database, read and edit content and block trees, manage plugins, themes and core, work with files inside an allowlist you define, and reach WooCommerce, Elementor, ACF, Rank Math, Yoast and the rest.
Every ability runs WordPress’s own capability check for the calling user, so Copilot can never do anything your account could not already do. See the full platform overview for the complete catalogue.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a paid Copilot plan?
You need whatever Copilot plan gives you Copilot Chat with Agent mode — that is a GitHub requirement, not ours. AcrossAI itself is free and GPL on WordPress.org, with no account to create and no charge for AI inference.
Is this different from the VS Code setup?
The configuration is identical — same mcp.json, same servers key — because Copilot Chat runs inside VS Code. The difference is on the Copilot side: you must be in Agent mode for MCP tools to appear. If you followed the VS Code guide already, the server is configured and you only need step 4.
Does my site data pass through AcrossAI servers?
No. The connection is from your editor straight to your own domain, terminating at your /wp-json/ route. There is no relay, no gateway and no telemetry. Whatever Copilot reads is still processed by GitHub and its model providers, so treat it as you would any other prompt.
Can Copilot break my site?
Every ability runs WordPress’s own capability check for the calling user, so it can never exceed what your account can already do. Higher-risk operations refuse to run without an explicit confirmation flag, file access is confined to an allowlist you define, search-and-replace is a dry run by default, and any ability can be disallowed site-wide. You can also switch individual tools off in Copilot’s own tools picker.
How do I disconnect Copilot again?
Revoke the Application Password from your WordPress user profile, or remove the entry from mcp.json. Access is re-checked on every request, so revoking takes effect immediately even if the config is still on the machine.
Troubleshooting
No tools in Copilot Chat
Check the mode selector first — MCP tools only exist in Agent mode. This accounts for most reports. If you are in Agent mode and the tools picker is still empty, check the tools picker itself: individual servers can be toggled off there.
The server never appears at all
Almost always the key: the entry must sit under servers, not mcpServers. VS Code ignores the wrong key silently. Then confirm the file is valid JSON and reload the window.
The server connects but has no tools
Either Abilities Manager is not installed, or the abilities are not exposed to this server. Open AcrossAI → MCP, select the server, and check its Tools and Abilities tabs. Reload after changing what a server exposes: clients receive their tool list once, at connection time.
Authentication fails
Generate a fresh Application Password from Quick Connect rather than retyping an old one, and copy it complete with spaces. If the request is being refused, check the server’s access rules — a new server requires manage_options until you add a rule, and the gate fails closed.
Connect a different AI client
The same server works with every MCP client — only the config file and top-level key change. See the guides for VS Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Codex, Windsurf, Zed and every other client.
Not installed yet?
Install MCP Manager on your site, then come back and run Quick Connect.