Connect other MCP apps

If your app is not on the list, it can still connect when it supports remote MCP servers over Streamable HTTP with a custom header. You add your site's address and your key, and the app lists the site's tools.

Before you start#

Create a connection. Open PowerWP AI › Connections, choose Create connection, pick Other app, name it and choose what it may do. Choose Create key and show steps. The window shows the address and key to copy. The key is shown once. Here it appears as <your key>.

What the app needs#

Copy the address from PowerWP AI instead of typing it: with plain permalinks it has a different shape. Keys start with wpai_. Prefer the X-WPAI-Token header: many hosts (Apache with FastCGI, some proxies and JWT plugins) strip the Authorization header before it reaches WordPress. If your app only has a field for a bearer token, put the key there. The environment checks on the PowerWP AI dashboard test both headers.

Your site must answer over HTTPS. PowerWP AI refuses plain HTTP, except on local development sites.

1. In your app, add a remote (HTTP) MCP server with the address above.
2. Add the header with your key, or put the key in the bearer token field.
3. Test the connection. Most apps list the site's tools once they connect.

Protocol versions#

The endpoint speaks several versions of the Model Context Protocol, so most clients work without settings:

• 2026-07-28: stateless. Every request carries the protocol version and the client's capabilities.
• 2025-11-25, 2025-06-18, 2025-03-26 and 2024-11-05: the initialize handshake, with an optional Mcp-Session-Id.

Responses are always a single JSON object. The server does not stream, because long jobs such as backups run in the background and the app checks on them.

Apps that sign in#

An app that follows the MCP authorization specification needs only the address. It opens your site's sign-in, you choose what it may do, and it gets credentials of its own. See Sign-in for AI apps.

Apps that only run local programs#

Some apps can start a local program (stdio) but cannot call a remote server. Use mcp-remote, a small free connector that needs Node.js 18 or newer. This is the shape the Claude app uses:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "your-store": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://your-store.com/wp-json/wpai/v1/mcp",
               "--header", "X-WPAI-Token:${POWERWP_TOKEN}"],
      "env": { "POWERWP_TOKEN": "<your key>" }
    }
  }
}

Ollama has no MCP support of its own. Use LM Studio for models on your computer.

Check it works#

Give me an overview of my site.

The app calls site_overview and answers with your WordPress version, theme and plugins. If the app is an AI agent that can change its own settings, you can also paste the message from Choose how to connect instead of setting it up by hand.

Troubleshooting#

• 401 "Authentication required". The key did not reach WordPress or was copied incompletely. Send X-WPAI-Token, then run the environment checks on the dashboard.
• 403. The request came from an IP address that is not on the connection's allow-list, or a firewall (Cloudflare, Wordfence, Sucuri, a "disable REST API" plugin) blocks /wp-json/wpai/v1/. Allow that path.
• 429. Too many requests or failed attempts in a short time. Wait a few minutes.

Related#