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Managing Your Site with an MCP Server

Updated 9 hours ago

Starting from version 9.0, Zephyr ships with a built-in MCP (Model Context Protocol) server. It exposes your site's content and design settings as structured tools that any MCP-compatible AI agent — Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, and others — can call directly.

The MCP server gives an agent live, bidirectional access to your site. The agent can read what already exists, make changes, and confirm the result — all in one conversation, without you ever opening the WordPress admin.

What the MCP server can do #

The MCP server allows the following actions to an agent:

Content Management #

  • ✅ Generate content from scratch that follows Zephyr shortcodes structure, backed by a built-in library of 75 shortcodes and 18 pre-built section categories
  • ✅ Upload images into the Media Library directly from an external URL.
  • ✅ List and edit attachments in the Media Library.
  • ✅ List, read, create, edit, duplicate, and delete posts with the following post types:
    • Posts
    • Pages
    • Portfolio Pages
    • Testimonials
    • Page Templates
    • Reusable Blocks
  • ✅ List, create, and delete terms across the following taxonomies:
    • Categories
    • Tags
    • Portfolio Categories
    • Portfolio Tags
    • Testimonial Categories
  • ✅ Read and update custom fields that shipped within Zephyr:
    • Page Layout settings
    • Additional settings
    • SEO settings
    • Testimonial-related settings
  • ✅ List Grid Layouts — both custom layouts and built-in templates — so the agent can reference the correct layout key when composing a post list.
  • ✅ List Headers — the agent can reference the correct header ID when assigning it to a specific page.

Theme Options #

  • ✅ Generate a shareable preview URL that shows a draft combination of color changes, typography adjustments, site layout and button style edits — without touching the live site. The link stays valid for up to 24 hours and can be shared with a client or team member for approval before anything is published.
  • ✅ Read and update Layout settings from Theme Options → Site Layout, Theme Options → Pages Layout, Theme Options → Archives Layout
  • ✅ Read and update Colors settings from Theme Options → Colors
  • ✅ Read and update Typography settings from Theme Options → Typography
  • ✅ Read, add, update, reorder, and delete Button Styles from Theme Options → Button Styles.
  • ✅ Read, add, update, reorder, and delete Field Styles from Theme Options → Field Styles.

What is out of scope #

The MCP server does not currently give an agent access to:

  • 🚫 WooCommerce — products and all shop-related things are not exposed.
  • 🚫 Header Builder — the agent can list Headers and assign one to a page, but cannot create, edit or delete Headers.
  • 🚫 Grid Layout Builder — the agent can list layouts and reference them in shortcodes, but cannot create, edit or delete Grid Layouts.
  • 🚫 Custom Post Types — the agent cannot read, create or edit any post types except the ones described above.
  • 🚫 Custom Taxonomies — the agent cannot read, create or edit taxonomies except the ones described above
  • 🚫 Custom Fields — the agent cannot read, create or edit custom fields except the built-in into Zephyr

How to connect your AI application to MCP #

For production sites, we recommend creating a dedicated WordPress user for the AI agent. If you are testing MCP on a local or staging environment, you can connect using your main admin account.

Step 1. Enable MCP server in Theme Options #

Go to Theme Options > Advanced and activate the "Enable MCP server" switch: 

Click the "Application Passwords" link in the blue box that appeared below the switch.

Step 2. Create an Application Password #

  1. Go to the "Application Passwords" section of the current user profile.
  2. Type any suitable name (to identify this password in case of using multiple agents), for example, "Claude AI agent"
  3. Press the "Add Application Password" button. 

It will generate an application password:

Copy the generated password, note that you won't be able to retrieve it once you leave this page.

Step 3. Create MCP config #

Go back to Theme Options > Advanced and paste the copied password:

Two ready-to-use config snippets will appear: one - for Claude Desktop, another - for other AI applications. Copy the relevant snippet.

Step 4. Apply MCP config to your AI application #

Claude Desktop

To add MCP servers to Claude Desktop, navigate to the Developer tab (Claude → Settings → Developer). Under Local MCP servers click Edit config.

This will open a file browser to the location of the claude_desktop_config.json file, where you can add your MCP server configurations. MCP Servers are added to this file in an mcpServers object, an example configuration file might look like this: 

Once you save the configuration file, you will have to restart Claude Desktop, as it only reads the MCP server configurations on startup.

After that you should see your MCP server listed in the Developer tab under Local MCP servers. If you see the running status next to your server name, you’re ready to start using it in your conversations.

Claude Code

To add MCP servers to Claude Code, you can either add the mcpServers object with the relevant server configs to the .claude.json file in your home directory, or create a .mcp.json file in your project directory. Adding the MCP servers to the project directory allows you to have different MCP server configurations for different projects, whereas adding them to the home directory makes them available globally across all projects.

Either way, you can use the same configuration format as Cursor or Claude Desktop.

Cursor

In Cursor, navigate to the Settings tab (Cursor → Settings → Cursor Settings), then select the Tools and MCP section.

Click on Add Custom MCP button, which will open the mcp.json configuration file for Cursor.

The configuration for Cursor is the same as for Claude Desktop. Once you’ve added your MCP server configuration, save the file and navigate back to the Tools and MCP section in Cursor settings. You should see your MCP server listed there, and you can enable it for use in your coding sessions.

VS Code

Configuring VS Code to connect to an MCP server requires setting up a JSON configuration file that describes the MCP server details. This file is usually named mcp.json and should be placed in a .vscode directory inside your project workspace.

The only difference between configuring VS Code and Claude Desktop is that you define your MCP servers in a servers object not an mcpServers object. The rest of the configuration is the same.

Once you create this file in your project workspace, VS Code displays an MCP control toolbar, where you can start, stop and restart the MCP server.

When the server has started correctly, it will also show you how many tools are available for the AI to use, in this case, three.

Helpful tips:

  1. Ask your AI agent where its configuration file is located.
  2. Ask your AI agent to help with applying MCP config. It will guide you through the process — it may ask you to update Node.js, run a test connection, or adjust formatting. Follow its instructions.
  3. Never share the config snippet in a conversation with your AI agent. The snippet contains your Application Password, which is transmitted to third-party servers.

Example prompts #

If you start a new conversation, always check that your AI agent has the MCP connection. Send it this message: "Check if you have access to my site via MCP"

1. New designs for the existing website #

Send this message:

Create 3 variations of color schemes, font combinations and site content width. No fonts or colors should repeat across variations. All variations should be modern and stylish — the choice is up to you. I expect a list of preview links for each combination.

Click the provided links and browse your site with new design applied. You can ask for editing some specific colors and font settings in any variation.

Ask it to apply the desired variation to your site, it overrides the current theme options.

2. Creating a landing page from scratch #

Send this message:

Generate a landing page for a custom WordPress development service by a freelance developer. The page should include the benefits of working together, a pricing table, client testimonials, and a contact form. I expect a clickable link in return.

Click the provided link and check the result. You can add:

Create 6 new portfolio pages with custom titles. Assign them suitable images that you can find on the internet. Then, on our page, create a section listing these portfolio pages, make this section be modern and stylish.

Refresh your opened page and check the result. You can add:

Generate a suitable minimalist footer and apply it only on this page.

Refresh your opened page and check the result.

You can replace the "custom WordPress development service" in the initial prompt to any desired service or product. For example: a photography studio, a law firm, a fitness coach, a restaurant, a SaaS product, a mobile app, an e-commerce store, a real estate agency, etc.

3. Creating an alternative home page with a different layout #

Send this message:

Duplicate the Home page as a draft called 'Home v2'. For each section you find, implement a different display without changing its content. Don't change colors and fonts unless necessary. You can change indents, text sizes, or use other elements in place of the current ones, but the main thing is not to change the content. I want the same content to take on a more stylish and modern look. I expect a clickable link in return.

Click the provided link and check the result.

4. Content audit and cleaning #

Send this message:

Please do a full content audit of this WordPress site:
1. List all pages (both published and drafts) — note which ones are drafts older than 30 days
2. List all blog posts — identify any without excerpts, without categories, or in draft status
3. List all portfolio items — flag any missing featured images or without categories
4. List all testimonials — check if any are drafts or missing ratings
After collecting all this data, give me:
- A summary table of content health (total counts, issues found per type)
- A prioritized action list: what to fix first, what to publish, what to delete
- Specific recommendations for any pages/posts that look incomplete.

5. Content plan: 4 posts per month #

Send this message:

Create a monthly content plan — 4 scheduled blog posts for July 2026:
1. July 7 — "5 Design Trends Dominating 2025" (tags: design, trends) — listicle, 350 words
2. July 14 — "How We Redesigned Our Homepage in 48 Hours" (tags: case-study, design) — behind-the-scenes, 500 words
3. July 21 — "Client Spotlight: E-commerce Redesign for FashionBrand" (tags: case-study, ecommerce) — project story, 400 words
4. July 28 — "Our Tech Stack in 2025: What We Use and Why" (tags: development, tools) — opinionated guide, 450 words
Create all tags that don't exist yet.
Write all post content as valid WordPress HTML, do not use inline styles or classes on HTML tags.
Schedule each post for 9:00 AM.

Security and best practices #

Because MCP clients act as logged-in WordPress users, follow these best practices to keep your site secure:

  • Create a dedicated user for MCP access.
  • Create a dedicated Application Password per AI client. Create one password for Claude Desktop, a separate one for Cursor, and so on. If a password is compromised, you can revoke only that one without affecting others.
  • Use a limited WordPress user role. The Application Password inherits the permissions of its WordPress user. You can edit user roles and capabilities via the "User Role Editor" plugin.
  • Back up Theme Options. Go to Theme Options → Manage Options and click the "Backup Options" button. The agent does not have access to this backup, so if it saves something incorrectly, you can always restore your settings from there.

FAQ #

Do I need a separate plugin or subscription? #

No. The MCP server is built into the UpSolution Core starting from version 9.0. Any MCP-compatible AI client can connect to it using a WordPress Application Password — no additional plugin, API key, or paid service is required.

Will MCP-generated pages work in the Live Builder and WPBakery Builder? #

Yes. Content created or updated via MCP uses the same Impreza shortcode markup as pages built in the WPBakery/Live Builder. You can open any MCP-generated page in the builder and edit it manually.

How to deactivate the MCP server #

Go to Theme Options > Advanced > AI assistant, and deactivate the "Enable MCP server" switch. Note that it deactivates the access to your site, but doesn't remove previously generated application passwords.