Connect VS Code to your own WordPress site over the Model Context Protocol. VS Code 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
Top-level key
servers — not mcpServers
Transport
npx bridge over HTTP
Before you start
You need AcrossAI MCP Manager installed and active on the WordPress site you want VS Code to reach, plus an administrator account on that site. If you have not installed it yet, follow the Get Started guide first — it takes about a minute, and the MCP server ships bundled with the plugin.
You also need Node.js on the machine running VS Code, because the connection runs through an npx bridge, and a recent VS Code build with MCP support.
How to connect VS Code to WordPress
Step 1
Open Quick Connect and choose VS Code
In wp-admin go to AcrossAI → MCP, open the server you want to expose, and start Quick Connect. Pick VS Code from the client list. Everything below is generated for you with your real site URL and username already filled in.
Step 2
Generate an Application Password
Click Generate password in the wizard. This creates a standard WordPress Application Password — not your login password — scoped to this connection and revocable at any time from your user profile.
The password is shown once, at creation. Copy it whole, including the spaces — WordPress accepts them. If you lose it, generate a new one rather than trying to recover it.
Step 3
Paste the config under servers
Press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P and run MCP: Open User Configuration. That opens the user-level mcp.json — on macOS at ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/mcp.json. Paste the entry there.
To scope the connection to one project instead, create .vscode/mcp.json at the repository root and paste the same entry under servers there.
{
"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"
}
}
}
}Watch the key. VS Code uses servers, while Cursor, Claude and most other clients use mcpServers. Copying a snippet from another guide is the single most common reason a VS Code setup silently does nothing.
Step 4
Reload VS Code and switch to Agent mode
Reload the window so VS Code reads the new configuration. Then open the chat panel and switch the mode selector to Agent — MCP tools are only available in Agent mode, not in Ask or Edit. Your site’s toolsets appear in the tools picker. Try “Which plugins on this site need updating?” to confirm it is live.
What VS Code can do once it is connected
With Abilities Manager installed alongside it, your editor reaches 350+ abilities across 14 toolsets — rising past 800 once it detects the plugins you already run. Without leaving the editor it can:
- Debug against the real site — read the debug log with secrets redacted, check Site Health, list recent fatal errors and un-pause what WordPress auto-disabled.
- Inspect the database — schema and table sizes, index health, bloated autoloaded options, or
EXPLAINon a slow query. - Read and edit content — posts, pages and any custom post type, and surgically edit a page’s block tree without rewriting the page.
- Manage plugins, themes and core — install, update, roll back, and verify files against official checksums.
- Work with files — inside an allowlist you define, with optional pre-image backups and a changelog of what changed.
- Reach the plugins you already run — WooCommerce, Elementor, ACF, Rank Math, Yoast, WPCode and more, each registering only when that plugin is active.
Every ability runs WordPress’s own capability check for the calling user, so VS Code can never do anything your account could not already do. See the full platform overview for the complete catalogue.
Frequently asked questions
Is connecting VS Code to WordPress free?
Yes. AcrossAI MCP Manager and Abilities Manager are both free and GPL on WordPress.org, and there is no AcrossAI account to create. You use the AI subscription you already have — AcrossAI never charges for AI inference, because none of it runs here.
Does my site data pass through AcrossAI servers?
No. VS Code connects straight to your own domain and every request terminates at your /wp-json/ route. There is no relay, no gateway and no telemetry. Whatever the model reads is still processed by your AI provider, so treat it as you would any other prompt.
Is this the same as the GitHub Copilot setup?
Nearly — they share the same mcp.json file and the same servers key, because Copilot Chat runs inside VS Code. The Copilot guide covers the same steps from the Copilot side, including the Agent-mode requirement.
Can VS Code 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.
How do I disconnect VS Code 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
The server never appears
Nine times out of ten the entry is under mcpServers instead of servers — VS Code ignores the wrong key without complaining. Check that first. Then confirm the file is valid JSON, and reload the window; VS Code reads MCP configuration at startup.
The server is listed but no tools show in chat
Check the chat mode selector — MCP tools only appear in Agent mode. If you are in Agent mode and the list is still empty, then 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
Application Passwords are shown once and are not your login password. Generate a fresh one from Quick Connect rather than retyping an old one, and copy it complete with spaces. If the request is being refused rather than failing, check the server’s access rules — a new server requires manage_options until you add a rule, and the gate fails closed.
Works in one project but not another
You have probably configured it in .vscode/mcp.json at a repository root rather than at user level. Workspace configuration only applies inside that folder. Move the entry to the user-level file via MCP: Open User Configuration if you want it available everywhere.
npx is not found
The bridge runs through npx, which ships with Node.js. Install Node.js and reload VS Code. If Node came from a version manager such as nvm, VS Code launched from the dock may not inherit your shell’s PATH — either launch it from the terminal with code ., or point command at the absolute path from which npx.
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 GitHub Copilot, 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.