Connect WordPress and WooCommerce to Claude (MCP)

XenMCP signs in with an application password, built into WordPress since 5.6. There is nothing to install on the site. Claude or ChatGPT sees what this WordPress user may see – everyone on the team signs in to XenMCP as themselves, and access can be revoked at any time.

If WooCommerce runs, orders, products and sales reports come along – with the same password. Read-only by default. With read-only off the AI client writes drafts of posts, pages and products and moderates comments. Publishing, changing what is live and deleting are not possible.

What you can ask Claude

Which posts have I not updated for a year, and which of them have no category?
Write a draft “10 tips for winter” in the Guides category, in the style of our last three posts.
Which comments are waiting for approval? Mark the obvious spam.
How much did the shop sell in October, and which five products sold best?

Typical tools

site_info: Site, time zone, WooCommerce yes or no, the signed-in user and what they may do
list_posts / get_post: Search and read posts and pages, drafts too; content as block markup
list_terms / list_comments / list_media / list_users / list_plugins: Categories, tags, comments, media library, authors and plugins
shop_sales / shop_top_sellers: WooCommerce: sales, orders, discounts, refunds and best sellers for a period
shop_list_orders / shop_get_order / shop_list_products / shop_get_product / shop_list_categories: WooCommerce: orders, products with variations and stock, product categories
create_draft / update_draft / create_term: Write drafts of posts and pages and submit them for review, add categories and tags (with read-only off)
moderate_comment: Approve comments, hold them or mark them as spam (with read-only off)
shop_create_product_draft / shop_update_product_draft / shop_add_order_note: WooCommerce: product drafts, private order notes (with read-only off)
Publish, change what is live, delete: Not there

What you need to connect

WordPress 5.6 or newer with HTTPS and the REST API reachable
A WordPress user (best an Editor, for WooCommerce a Shop Manager) and their application password (Users → Profile → Application Passwords)

Security

Read-only by default; even with read-only off only drafts are written. XenMCP never changes what is live and never sends WordPress a delete request.
An application password is not your login password: it works only for the API and can be revoked on its own in the profile at any time. We store it encrypted (AES-256-GCM) and never show it again.
Email, phone and street of customers and commenters appear in no answer – only name, city and country.
The sandbox reaches only your site, always from the same IP address. XenMCP’s call log keeps only tool, status and duration.

Built on

There is no open server for this system yet that meets our criteria. We are building one on the official API.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to install a plugin?

No. Application passwords are built into WordPress since 5.6. Some security plugins (e.g. Wordfence) switch them off – allow them there again.

Can Claude publish or delete anything?

No. New posts, pages and products are always drafts; published content is not changed. You review and publish in WordPress yourself.

The check says 401 – what now?

Check the username and the application password (not the login password). Some hosts drop the Authorization header; one line in .htaccess fixes it, which your host or agency knows.

Connect WordPress and WooCommerce to Claude