Connections and keys

A connection is the access you give to one AI app. It has its own key (or sign-in), its own permissions and its own entries in the activity log, so you always know which app did what and you can stop one app without touching the others.

What a connection is#

• One AI app, one connection. If you use Claude Code and Cursor, that is two connections. A key belongs to one app on one computer, so add the computer to the name if you use the same app on more than one. An app that signs in, such as Claude, is one connection that works on claude.ai, in the app and on your phone.
• It works as the administrator who created it. If that user is deleted or is no longer an administrator, the connection stops working.
• It has limits you set: permissions, an expiry and, if you want, a list of allowed IP addresses.
• It counts towards your plan only while it is active. A revoked or expired connection frees its place. See Plans and limits.

Create a connection#

1. Open PowerWP AI › Connections and choose Create connection, or click your AI app under Choose your AI app.
2. Name the connection. Where the form asks what your app may do on your site, pick a preset, or choose Custom and tick permissions one by one. If you are new to this, keep Read-only diagnostics.
3. Optional: open More options: expiry, IP allow-list, notes. Choose when the key Expires (7 days, 30 days, 90 days, 1 year or never; 90 days is preselected). Add an IP allow-list: one IP address or range per line, or choose Add my IP. Add a note about who uses the connection.
4. Choose Create key and show steps. PowerWP AI shows the setup for your app with your site address and key already filled in. Follow it.
5. PowerWP AI waits for the app and shows when it reaches your site.

The permissions are explained in Permissions and presets. The steps for each app are in Connect your AI app.

The key is shown once#

PowerWP AI shows the key once, in the setup steps. It stores only a hash, a one-way fingerprint, plus the last four characters so you can tell connections apart. It cannot show the key again.

Lost the key? Create a new connection and revoke the old one. Treat a key like a password: keep it out of shared documents, support tickets and public repositories.

Connections you sign in to#

Some apps connect without a key. You add your site's address in the app, sign in to WordPress and choose what the app may do. This is new in PowerWP AI 1.6; see Sign-in for AI apps.

• The connection appears in the list with a Signed in badge. It has no key of its own.
• Permissions, plan limits, the change log and undo work exactly as for any other connection.
• You can edit its permissions in the list. Revoking it ends the app's access at once.
• Settings › Connection security › Sign-in for AI apps switches sign-in on and off. Switched off, signed-in apps are paused. Connections with a key keep working.

Management keys#

Further down the Connections screen, Advanced: management keys can create a separate kind of key for a management app on your computer. AI apps do not need one and cannot use one, and management keys do not count towards your plan.

Change, pause or revoke a connection#

• Edit a connection to change its name, expiry, permissions, IP allow-list or notes. The change applies from the app's next request.
• Revoke a connection to end its access immediately. A revoked connection cannot be restored; to give the app access again, create a new connection. Revoked and expired connections stay in the list under Revoked & expired.
• Pause everything with the AI access switch at the top of PowerWP AI. See AI access switch and read-only mode.
• An expired key stops working by itself.

Where you see your connections#

The Connections screen lists every connection with its app, permissions, when it was last used (time, IP address and number of requests), expiry, IP allow-list and status: active, revoked or expired. A connection that has never made a request shows Not connected yet with a link to its setup steps.

The Dashboard shows how many AI apps are connected right now, and the last 24 hours of AI requests, tool calls, errors and changes. While an app has been active in the last two minutes, the WordPress admin bar shows how many AI apps are connected.

Plan limits#

Your plan sets how many AI connections the site can have: Free 1 (read-only), Solo 1, Team 3, Crew 10. At the limit, PowerWP AI tells you to revoke one you no longer need or upgrade. Existing connections are never revoked because of the plan. If a site has more connections than its plan includes, the oldest ones can make changes and the newer ones can only read (marked “Can only read”). Local development sites need a key too.