# Choose how to connect

> Which AI apps work with PowerWP AI, how each connects (sign-in, a pasted message, a button or a config file), where it runs and which page has its steps.

PowerWP AI connects your AI app to your site, and you choose how. Some apps sign in to your site, some connect themselves when you paste one message, and some use a one-click button, a command or a settings file. Every route ends the same way: the app can use your site's tools, with the permissions you gave it.

## Which app should I use?

| If you use | Start with |
|---|---|
| Claude on the web, in the Claude app or on your phone | [Claude](/docs/connect/claude/): sign in, no key |
| ChatGPT on the web or in its apps | [ChatGPT](/docs/connect/chatgpt/): sign in, no key |
| Claude Code (the Code tab of the Claude app, or a terminal) | [Claude Code](/docs/connect/claude-code/): paste one message. Recommended for developers and power users |
| The Codex of the ChatGPT desktop app, the Codex CLI or the Codex IDE extension | [Codex](/docs/connect/codex/): paste one message, or add one config file entry |
| Cursor or VS Code | [Cursor](/docs/connect/cursor/) or [VS Code](/docs/connect/vs-code/): one click |
| Models on your own computer | [LM Studio](/docs/connect/lm-studio/) |
| Another app | [Other apps](/docs/connect/other-apps/): the address and a key |

Claude and ChatGPT sign in, so they need a public HTTPS site. A site on your own computer, or one where sign-in is switched off, connects with a key instead: use Claude Code, Codex or another key-based app.

> [!TIP] Not sure where to start? Use [Claude Code](/docs/connect/claude-code/). It runs in the Code tab of the Claude app, so you do not need a terminal. One pasted message sets it up, and it can download your backups to your computer by itself.

**Names in these docs.** *Claude* is Anthropic's chat app on the web (claude.ai), in the Claude app and on your phone. *Claude Code* is Anthropic's agent app, in the Code tab of the Claude app or in a terminal. *Claude Desktop* means only the [older config-file route](/docs/connect/claude/#claude-desktop) for the Chat tab. *Codex* is OpenAI's coding agent, in the ChatGPT desktop app, a terminal or your editor.

## Apps at a glance

| App | How it connects | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|
| [Claude](/docs/connect/claude/) | Sign in, no key | Web (claude.ai), the Claude app and the Claude phone apps |
| [ChatGPT](/docs/connect/chatgpt/) | Sign in, no key | ChatGPT on the web and in its apps |
| [Claude Code](/docs/connect/claude-code/) (recommended for developers and power users) | Paste one message, or run one command | Desktop: Code tab of the Claude app. Terminal. |
| [Codex](/docs/connect/codex/) | Paste one message, or add one config file entry | Codex in the ChatGPT desktop app, Codex CLI (terminal), Codex IDE extension |
| [Cursor](/docs/connect/cursor/) | One-click button, pasted message or config file | Editor |
| [VS Code](/docs/connect/vs-code/) | One-click button, pasted message or config file | Editor, with GitHub Copilot agent mode |
| [Devin Desktop](/docs/connect/devin-desktop/) | Paste one message, or config file | Desktop editor (formerly Windsurf) |
| [Gemini CLI](/docs/connect/gemini-cli/) | Paste one message, or run one command | Terminal |
| [Kimi Code](/docs/connect/kimi-code/) | Paste one message, or config file | Terminal |
| [LM Studio](/docs/connect/lm-studio/) | One-click button, or config file | Desktop app with models on your computer |
| [Other apps](/docs/connect/other-apps/) | Address and key | Any app with remote MCP support |

## Four ways to connect

- **Sign in.** Claude and ChatGPT only need your site's address. They send you to your site's sign-in, you choose what they may do and click **Allow**. No key is copied. It needs a public HTTPS site.
- **Paste one message.** The app connects itself. You copy a message from the setup window and paste it into a chat in the app. It adds your site to its own settings and tells you the next step.
- **One-click button.** **Add to Cursor**, **Add to VS Code** and **Add to LM Studio** open the app and install your site's server.
- **Command or config file.** The manual route for every key-based app, with the exact command or file entry.

## Create a connection

For every app that uses a key, start in WordPress:

:::steps
1. Open **PowerWP AI › Connections** and choose **Create connection**.
2. Pick your app and give the connection a name, for example "Claude Code, Ana's laptop".
3. Choose what it may do: one of the four presets (Read-only diagnostics, Content manager, Developer, Full access) or single permissions. Under **More options** you can change the expiry (90 days by default) and limit the key to your IP addresses.
4. Choose **Create key and show steps**. The steps for your app appear with your site address and key already in them. The key is shown only once.
5. Follow the steps. A box in the window turns green as soon as the app reaches your site.
:::

For Claude and ChatGPT there is no key, and you choose the permissions on your site's sign-in screen instead. The window still shows the steps and waits for you to click **Allow**.

On every page in this section, `<your key>` stands for the key the plugin fills in for you. Never post a real key in a chat, a ticket or a public file.

## One connection per app

Make one connection for each app and each computer. Each has its own permissions and its own entries in the activity log, so you can change or stop one without touching the others.

Your plan sets how many AI connections a site can have: Free 1 (read-only), Solo 1, Team 3, Crew 10. Apps that sign in count like any other. When all of them are in use, PowerWP AI says so before it shows the steps. Revoke a connection you no longer need, or upgrade. See [Plans and limits](/docs/concepts/plans/).

## What the pasted message looks like

PowerWP AI builds the message for you, with your own address and key in it. This is its shape. The line for the app is a command or a settings entry that differs per app:

```
Please connect yourself to my WordPress site your-store.com through PowerWP AI, so you can use its tools.
Add this remote MCP server (Streamable HTTP) to your own settings for my user account:
- Name: your-store
- URL: https://your-store.com/wp-json/wpai/v1/mcp
- Header: X-WPAI-Token: <your key>

(the command or settings entry for this app)

Keep any servers that are already set up and don't repeat the key in your reply. When you are done, tell me the next step (for example: start a new session) and how to check the connection.
```

The message contains your key, so paste it only into your own account. The app may ask you to allow the change first.

## Next steps

:::cards
- [Claude Code](/docs/connect/claude-code/) — Recommended for developers and power users, in the Claude app or a terminal.
- [Claude](/docs/connect/claude/) — Sign in from claude.ai, the app or your phone.
- [ChatGPT](/docs/connect/chatgpt/) — Sign in from ChatGPT on the web or in its apps.
- [Cursor](/docs/connect/cursor/) — One click from the setup window.
- [Other MCP apps](/docs/connect/other-apps/) — The address and header any remote MCP app needs.
- [Permissions and presets](/docs/concepts/permissions/) — Decide what each app may do.
:::

Source: https://powerwp.ai/docs/connect/