Shim MCP

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that allows AI clients like Claude to interact with external systems through a structured protocol. It defines how AI tools discover and use capabilities (called "abilities" in WordPress) provided by a server.

No. Shim MCP is self-contained: it bundles its own MCP server, and the Abilities API it registers against is part of WordPress from 6.9 onwards. Nothing else is required.

Only if you let it. The ability that rewrites the WP_DEBUG constants is switched off until you add define( 'SHIM_MCP_ALLOW_CONFIG_WRITES', true ); to wp-config.php yourself. Without that line the ability refuses, and it is refused again if DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT or DISALLOW_FILE_MODS is set, if the file is not writable, or if the rewritten contents fail a sanity check.

Two MCP server plugins running at once can register competing abilities and endpoints, which produces confusing results for the connected AI client. If Shim MCP detects another MCP server or a standalone Abilities API plugin, it shows a notice suggesting you run only one. This is a compatibility warning, not a judgement about the other plugin.

Any MCP-compatible client works. The admin dashboard provides ready-made config snippets for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and Cursor.

HTTPS is strongly recommended for production use since API credentials are transmitted with each request. The plugin will work over HTTP for local development.

Different abilities require different WordPress capabilities. For example, content abilities require edit_posts, user abilities require list_users or edit_users, and system abilities require manage_options. See the full abilities reference in docs/ABILITIES.md.