What Makes Respira Different

Other WordPress MCP servers wrap the REST API. They can create posts and pages, but they can't touch your page builder content.

Respira includes a WordPress plugin that gives AI native access to 17 page builders, plus element-level precision, full page creation from structure, HTML-to-builder conversion, storefront design intelligence, stock image search, and bulk operations across hundreds of pages.

New in 8.3: Design Direction, the site's design system as an artifact

• One saved design direction per site. Identity, DTCG-subset tokens, plain-language guidance including the don'ts, and waivers, saved on the site with revisions. Agents read it before building anything; activation refuses a direction that is missing its core roles and names exactly what is absent.
• Any token format in, strict DTCG out. Import DTCG 2025.10, Tokens Studio exports, Tailwind configs, or pasted :root CSS into a draft (dry-run by default), apply into the builder's NATIVE token store with a per-builder report, export as strict DTCG 2025.10 with builder mapping metadata under $extensions["press.respira"].
• A design check that can say "not done yet". wordpress_check_design runs deterministic slop-and-drift rules against draft content or a saved post: off-palette colors and fonts, filler copy, placeholder names, AI-default palettes, and probes generated from the direction's own don'ts. With rendered: true (plugin 8.6.20+) it renders the real page at desktop and mobile widths: contrast, type-scale coherence, three equal cards, hero filling the viewport, section repetition, spacing rhythm, broken layout, and off-palette colors as actually painted, with screenshots attached. Anything it cannot verify is listed as unchecked instead of silently skipped.
• Build skills run the check before treating any page as done.

New in 8.2: Resonance, a persistent memory for every site

• Your AI forgets your site every session. Resonance remembers. wordpress_remember, wordpress_forget, and wordpress_list_memory maintain a capped, per-site store of conventions, preferences, and lessons that rides into the site context of every future session, from any connected client.
• Rules are enforced, not suggested. A memory of type rule can protect content (post ids or slugs); the WordPress plugin refuses agent writes to protected content at the write path, server side. Agents can add protection in conversation; only the site owner can remove it, from the Respira dashboard.
• Compatible with WordPress core's Knowledge direction. On sites running the Gutenberg Knowledge experiment, published guideline scopes join the same memory block.
• Included on Builder and Studio plans with plugin 8.3+, at no extra cost.

New in 8.1: MCP 2026-07-28, without breaking existing clients

• Modern protocol negotiation. Compatible clients can use server/discover and negotiate MCP 2026-07-28, including stateless per-request metadata and typed result contracts.
• Legacy clients keep working. Existing clients continue through the established initialize handshake and receive the same Respira tool catalog. Connection commands, site keys, and configuration files do not change.
• Verified compatibility. The release suite starts the packaged stdio server twice: once pinned to 2026-07-28, and once as a legacy client. Both must initialize and enumerate the complete release catalog.
• Patched runtime dependencies. Axios, FormData, Sentry, and OpenTelemetry dependencies were updated; the production dependency audit reports zero known vulnerabilities.

Read the complete changelog.

Shipped in 8.0: verified FSE and WooCommerce operations

• First-class Site Editor tools. Agents can list, inspect, create, target-update, and reset block templates and template parts; create and safely edit synced/unsynced patterns; and traverse native block navigation as exact nested paths. Every editable surface uses stale-write fingerprints, structural proposals, snapshots, compact diffs, cache invalidation, and truthful stored/rendered verification.
• Native design-token tools. Gutenberg theme.json colors, typography, and spacing variables are exposed through the existing WordPress storage model rather than a parallel token database.
• Truthful storefront writes. Woo product-card, checkout, sale-badge, and low-stock-badge tools resolve the real FSE template and registered block paths. An unsupported layout now returns respira_woo_fse_write_not_supported; it never reports an applied change that only logged intent.
• Bounded, defined commerce reporting. Revenue, sales time series, top products, order summaries, and privacy-safe customer summaries use paginated WooCommerce data-store queries compatible with HPOS. Responses state currency, timezone, boundaries, statuses, coverage, and metric definitions.
• Safe store operations. Read-only store configuration, payment gateway, shipping-zone, and tax-rate discovery is joined by approval-gated Woo webhooks with HTTPS targets, allowlisted topics, write-only secrets, and redacted rate-limited tests.
• Agent-visible audit history. Activity list/detail tools connect compact diffs to snapshots, proposals, approvals, and rollbacks.
• Truthful capability discovery. wordpress_search_abilities labels each result as Respira-native, inhaled, unavailable, or replaced by a safer audited Respira workflow, and returns the exact next action.
• Explicit feed recovery. woocommerce_get_feed_status stays read-only while woocommerce_repair_feed_scheduler can clear only a confirmed-stale Respira lock, resume the idempotent build, verify the repair, and preserve Action Scheduler history.
• Safer plugin activation. Dependency/version preflight, a signed fresh-process activation probe, REST/frontend boot checks, and narrowly scoped rollback prevent a broken plugin from taking the controlling request down with it.
• Generated release integrity. A public tool catalog and machine-readable tool-capabilities.json are generated from the declarations used in release CI. Missing native or documentation coverage requires an explicit, reviewable exclusion.

New in v7.6.2: clearer failures and trustworthy quality signals

• PageSpeed failures keep their real machine-readable reason. Rate limits, upstream outages, proxy HTML responses, and other structured WordPress errors no longer collapse into a generic failure, so agents can distinguish “retry later” from a Respira defect.
• PageSpeed tools reject incomplete requests before touching WordPress. Both PageSpeed schemas require either page_id or url, preventing avoidable calls that could only fail.
• Every transport attempt has its own identity. The logical call id remains stable for replay-safe writes, while attempt_id preserves each network attempt so a retry can never overwrite the evidence from the first timeout.
• Privacy remains metadata-only. Retry detection uses a process-secret target hash. Respira never sends prompts, raw arguments, tool results, or WordPress content.
• The admin quality dashboard now separates operational health from task completion. Expected approval/safety blocks, caller mistakes, customer setup, upstream services, product errors, unknown failures, and incomplete attempts are measured independently. Alerts use comparable site cohorts and require failures across multiple sites, reducing false alarms caused by one unusual customer setup.
• The npm package no longer publishes private repository metadata. Support and product links point to respira.press.

Reliability and builder additions since v7.5.2

• v7.5.3: Windows media paths and file:// uploads work correctly; delete_media approval tokens now reach the confirmation call.
• v7.5.4: tools/list shares one cached, two-second-bounded context fetch instead of making three sequential WordPress checks, preventing slow-site handshake disconnects.
• v7.5.5: subdirectory WordPress installs on the same hostname receive distinct site identities; custom Elementor widget guidance now uses live control schemas and targeted stable-ID updates.
• v7.5.6: a successful ?rest_route= diagnostic fallback becomes sticky for the rest of the MCP session.
• v7.6.0: WPML translation tools and Divi Theme Builder header, footer, and body-template tools.
• v7.6.1: wordpress_build_mega_menu creates a complete native Divi 4 or Divi 5 mega-menu hierarchy in one call.

Reconnect-safe writes and drop diagnostics (v7.5.2)

• Writes carry a stable idempotency key. The connector automatically retries transient reads. It retries a write only when WordPress explicitly confirms replay support; an ambiguous timeout/reset is reported as respira_write_outcome_unknown so the agent verifies the target before trying again.
• Telemetry queues and retries independently of tool execution. A dashboard or network interruption cannot block a WordPress call, and failed metadata batches are retained with bounded exponential backoff.
• Local API keys stay local. With Respira for WordPress 7.5.46+, a local respira_* key is exchanged inside WordPress for a revocable, site-scoped telemetry bearer. The central service never receives that local key.
• The quality dashboard can separate exact retries from editing sweeps. It records stable session/call identity, transport, incomplete calls, connector/plugin versions, total vs tool time, and privacy-safe stage durations. Target comparison uses a secret HMAC; arguments, results, prompts, and WordPress content are never sent.
• Native URL-connected clients gain timeout-safe writes. Plugin 7.5.46 adds _respira_async: true, respira_get_job_status, stable Mcp-Session-Id responses, replay-safe _respira_call_id, and a native respira_diagnose_connection tool. The native endpoint is stateless HTTP—independent POST requests, not a persistent “write channel.”

Also shipped between v7.1 and v7.5.1

• v7.2: cascade session rollback; dropped-styling/no-op guidance; page-parent schemas; Oxygen 6 build guidance; completed live-edit confirmation parameters; bounded heavy-write/docs timeouts; and route-aware capability negotiation that hides tools an older plugin cannot execute.
• v7.3: the WooCommerce add-on expanded from 21 to 56 tools across catalog, pricing, stock, storefront, brands, variations/attributes, coupons, customers, refunds, and AI-readiness.
• v7.4: Agent-Ready Commerce expanded WooCommerce to 79 tools with feeds + store llms.txt, readiness fixes, signed cart links/attribution, and Subscriptions, Bookings, and Memberships writes. v7.4.1 then made newly connected dashboard sites self-heal into a running connector session.
• v7.5.0: eight STAGGS configurator tools brought the WooCommerce total to 87.
• v7.5.1: fixed normalized ACF tool routing and preserved dashboard-token 401 machine codes.

New in v7.1 "Roots"

The biggest release since launch.

• Four new page builders. Spectra, Kadence Blocks, and GenerateBlocks join with full read + write; SeedProd ships read + audit. Supported builders go from 12 to 16.
• Make a page responsive in one call on Bricks, Elementor, Divi 4, Beaver Builder, and WPBakery.
• Playbooks. Teach an agent a multi-step workflow once and rerun it as a single callable WordPress Ability. Five tools (create / list / get / update / delete), with static cycle detection and a runtime depth cap.
• Agent-creatable Custom Post Types, taxonomies, and ACF field groups (twelve tools), stored in options and registered on init. No PHP files, server-side slug allowlist, conservative deletes that report orphans.
• Native in-WP MCP endpoint. Point a client straight at your-site/wp-json/respira/v1/mcp (Streamable HTTP JSON-RPC; ?rest_route= fallback supported) with an API key, no npx process required. One-click connect-by-link mints and installs the key for you.
• System certificate-store trust. The connector trusts the OS certificate store at startup (verification stays on) with a bundled Mozilla CA fallback, so valid public certs stop being rejected on Claude Desktop's bundled Node.
• Bricks design-token import + section presets, the Elementor 4 atomic write path (partial: 20 atomic element types with $$type envelopes, per-breakpoint + per-state styling, and a clear 422 on unsupported types instead of a silent drop), and respira_generate_activity_report for client-ready reports.

New in v6.17.0: an MCP that knows how to behave

Three additions plus the agent persona that ties them together.

• SOUL.md, loaded into every handshake. Identity, voice, values, and rules of engagement an AI client reads before its first tool call. Lowercase i in first person. No "we." Privacy hard line. Builder-native edits only. Try yourself before asking the customer. Mirrored at respira.press/soul.md for outside-MCP integrations (Cursor system prompts, Claude Projects, GPT custom instructions).
• respira_search_docs, full-text search across the Respira documentation. The agent calls this before offering to file a bug because most "bugs" are documented known issues with workarounds. Public, unauthenticated, free to call.
• respira_report_issue, files a structured bug report from inside the AI chat directly to the maintainer. Auto-attaches site URL, builder + version, MCP version, OS, last tool, optional respira_diagnose_connection snapshot. Privacy hard line: prompts, tool args, tool results, and WP content never enter the payload.
• respira_diagnose_connection probe timeout default 30s (was 15s), new probe_timeout_ms arg clamped [5000, 60000]. Sites behind Cloudflare custom rules routinely cross 15s on first-hit HEADs while curl returns in under 4s; the old default produced spurious "MCP timed out but the site is fine" reports.
• Bootstrap stderr log includes the site list: respira-mcp vX.Y.Z ready · N sites: host1, host2, ..., so you can tell at a glance whether the MCP came back after a Claude restart and which sites it loaded.

The triage rule, baked into the handshake instructions: tool error → apply hint + retry once → respira_search_docs → respira_diagnose_connection → ask the customer if they want to file a bug → respira_report_issue. Never auto-file.

v6.16.0: usage telemetry ships by default

v6.16 introduced default per-tool telemetry so customers did not have to configure an OTEL bearer. As of v7.5.2 with plugin 7.5.46+, local WordPress API keys are never sent to the central ingest: the connector asks WordPress for a revocable, site-scoped telemetry token instead. Privacy remains metadata-only—no prompts, raw tool arguments, tool results, or WordPress content. RESPIRA_USAGE_OPT_OUT=1 disables the entire stream.

v6.3 — MCP Protocol Compliance

Every successful tool response includes structuredContent, the raw JSON object, alongside the existing content[0].text (stringified JSON). Follows the MCP 2025-06-18 spec. Clients that understand structuredContent get direct programmatic access to tool results without parsing JSON from text. Older clients are unaffected; the content array is still there. Unknown tool names return a proper CallToolResult with isError: true and a hint to discover available tools, instead of throwing a protocol-level JSON-RPC error. Lets LLMs self-correct gracefully rather than hitting a hard protocol failure.

v6.0 "Storefront" — Context-Aware Tool Filtering

The MCP server automatically filters the list based on the site's detected builder and active plugins, so clients receive only the useful subset. Fail-open: if detection fails, the full list is returned.

| Capability | Respira | Typical WordPress MCP servers | |---|---|---| | Page builder support | 17 builders (incl. Spectra, Kadence, GenerateBlocks) | None, or a single builder | | Element-level find/update/move/remove | Yes | No | | Build full pages from structure | Yes | No | | Convert HTML to native builder | Yes | No | | Stock image search + sideload | Yes | Rare | | Bulk operations (100 pages/call) | Yes | No | | 27 widget shortcuts (add_heading, etc.) | Yes | No | | Duplicate-before-edit safety | Yes | Rare | | Snapshot rollback | Yes, builder-aware | Rare, post content only | | SEO / Core Web Vitals / AEO analysis | Yes | Rare | | WooCommerce (products, orders, inventory) | Yes (add-on) | Rare | | Tool governance (per-tool enable/disable) | Yes | Rare |

Quick Start (3 Minutes)

Step 1: Install the WordPress Plugin

Download from respira.press/plugin → upload to WordPress → activate → go to Respira > API Keys → generate a key.

Step 2: Configure Your AI Tool

claude mcp add respira-wordpress -- npx -y @respira/wordpress-mcp-server

Create .cursor/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "respira-wordpress": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@respira/wordpress-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Add to your Windsurf MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "respira-wordpress": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@respira/wordpress-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "respira-wordpress": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@respira/wordpress-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Add Your Site

Create ~/.respira/config.json:

{
  "sites": [
    {
      "id": "my-site",
      "name": "My WordPress Site",
      "url": "https://yoursite.com",
      "apiKey": "respira_your-api-key",
      "default": true
    }
  ]
}

Or run the interactive setup wizard: npx @respira/wordpress-mcp-server --setup

Tool Limit? Use enabledTools

Some MCP clients (Antigravity, etc.) have a hard limit on active tools (often 100). Respira can expose up to 319 tools when the WooCommerce add-on is active. To stay under the limit, add enabledTools to your config — only those tools will appear in the listing:

{
  "sites": [{ "..." : "..." }],
  "preferences": {
    "enabledTools": [
      "respira_read_page",
      "respira_update_page",
      "respira_list_pages",
      "respira_find_element",
      "respira_update_element",
      "respira_build_page",
      "respira_get_site_context",
      "respira_get_builder_info"
    ]
  }
}

Site management tools (respira_list_sites, respira_switch_site, respira_get_active_site) are always included. Unlisted tools still work if called — the filter only controls what's advertised to the client.

Done. Restart your AI tool and start editing.

v6.3 — MCP Protocol Compliance

structuredContent in All Tool Results

Every successful tool response now includes structuredContent — the raw JSON object — alongside the existing content[0].text (stringified JSON). This follows the MCP 2025-06-18 spec. Clients that understand structuredContent get direct programmatic access to tool results without parsing JSON from text. Older clients are unaffected — the content array is still there.

Improved Error Taxonomy

Unknown tool names now return a proper CallToolResult with isError: true and a hint to discover available tools, instead of throwing a protocol-level JSON-RPC error. This lets LLMs self-correct gracefully rather than hitting a hard protocol failure.

v6.0 "Storefront" — What's New

Context-Aware Tool Filtering

The MCP server automatically filters its core and WooCommerce tools based on the site's detected builder and active plugins. Less noise, faster AI responses, lower token usage. Fail-open: if detection fails, the full list is returned.

Flatsome UX Builder (Builder #12)

Full round-trip shortcode editing, element-level precision, declarative page creation, and 55-element intelligence. Detected by active theme — mixed-builder sites handled per-page.

15 New WooCommerce Commerce Tools

Storefront design intelligence bridges commerce data and page builder visuals. Bulk pricing, catalog health audits, advanced filtering, natural language product search. Total WooCommerce tools: 103.

Element-Level Operations

Find, update, move, duplicate, and remove individual elements inside any page builder — by ID, type, CSS class, or content text.

respira_find_element({ post_id: 42, identifier_type: "type", identifier_value: "heading" })
respira_update_element({ post_id: 42, identifier_type: "content", identifier_value: "Old Title", updates: { heading: "New Title" } })

Build Full Pages

Create complete pages from a declarative widget structure in one call.

respira_build_page({ title: "Services", structure: [
  { type: "heading", settings: { heading: "Our Services", tag: "h1" } },
  { type: "text", settings: { text: "<p>We build amazing things.</p>" } },
  { type: "button", settings: { text: "Get Started", link: "/contact" } }
]})

HTML-to-Builder Conversion

Convert any HTML into native builder widgets — with CSS extraction, responsive mapping, and a fidelity report.

respira_convert_html_to_builder({ html: "<section>...</section>", options: { title: "Homepage", preserve_tokens: true } })
→ { page_id: 123, fidelity: { score: 92, sections_matched: 14 } }

Stock Images

Search Openverse (Creative Commons) and sideload directly into the Media Library with auto-attribution.

respira_search_stock_images({ query: "mountain landscape", per_page: 10 })
respira_sideload_image({ url: "https://...", caption: "Photo by...", alt: "Mountain" })

Bulk Operations

Apply changes across up to 100 pages in a single call — with mandatory snapshots for rollback.

respira_bulk_pages_operation({ page_ids: [12, 15, 18, 22], operation: { type: "find_and_replace", find: "2025", replace: "2026" } })

27 Widget Shortcuts

One-liner tools to add any widget to a page without building the full structure:

respira_add_heading({ post_id: 42, title: "Hello World", tag: "h2" })
respira_add_button({ post_id: 42, text: "Buy Now", url: "/shop" })
respira_add_image({ post_id: 42, image_url: "https://..." })

17 Supported Page Builders

| Builder | Support Level | Element Ops | Build Page | Dynamic Schemas | |---|---|---|---|---| | Elementor | Full Intelligence | Native API | Yes | Yes — runtime control registry | | Divi 5 | Full Intelligence | Native API | Yes | Yes — 40+ module definitions | | Divi 4 | Full Intelligence | Tree utility | Yes | Static schemas | | Flatsome | Full Intelligence | Tree utility | Yes | Yes — 55-element intelligence | | Beaver Builder | Full Support | Tree utility | Yes | Static schemas | | Bricks | Full Intelligence | Native API | Yes | Yes — 20 dedicated tools, ACSS integration | | Gutenberg | Full Support | Tree utility | Yes | Block registry | | Oxygen | Smart Defaults | Tree utility | Yes | Static schemas | | WPBakery | Smart Defaults | Tree utility | Yes | Static schemas | | Breakdance | Smart Defaults | Tree utility | Yes | Static schemas | | Spectra | Full Support | Native blocks | Yes | Block registry | | Kadence Blocks | Full Support | Native blocks | Yes | Block registry | | GenerateBlocks | Full Support | Native blocks | Yes | Block registry | | GreenShift | Full Support | Native blocks | Yes | Block registry | | SeedProd | Read + Audit | Inspection | No | Static schemas | | Brizy | Basic | Tree utility | Best-effort | — | | Thrive Architect | Basic | Tree utility | Best-effort | — | | Visual Composer | Basic | Tree utility | Best-effort | — |

All Tools

Native Site Editor structures (10 tools) — Shipped in v8.0

These are Respira-native WordPress operations, not a copied generic tool catalog. User-owned structures use the same approval, revision, snapshot, no-op detection, read-back, and render-verification contract as template editing. Theme and plugin patterns are inspectable but remain owned by their source.

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | wordpress_list_site_patterns | List user, theme, plugin, and core patterns with source, sync status, and fingerprints | | wordpress_get_site_pattern | Inspect a pattern as a lossless path-addressed block tree | | wordpress_create_site_pattern | Stage a synced or unsynced user pattern | | wordpress_update_site_pattern | Apply exact block operations with stale/wrong-target protection | | wordpress_delete_site_pattern | Delete through approval; referenced patterns are refused by default | | wordpress_list_site_navigations | List block navigation entities with compact nested items and exact paths | | wordpress_get_site_navigation | Inspect the full native navigation block document and its references | | wordpress_create_site_navigation | Stage a native block navigation entity | | wordpress_update_site_navigation | Target one link/submenu while preserving unknown extension blocks | | wordpress_delete_site_navigation | Delete through approval; referenced navigation is refused by default |

Design Direction (12 tools)

One saved design direction per site — identity, DTCG-subset tokens, dials, guidance, waivers — that agents read before building anything. Readiness is computed on every response: ready needs the bg + ink + accent color roles plus a heading/body font pair, and activation refuses a direction that is not ready. The direction document is site data, not instructions.

The token standard lane: import any token format (DTCG 2025.10 lenient, Tokens Studio, Tailwind, pasted :root{} CSS) into a draft, activate once ready, apply into the builder's NATIVE token store, export as strict DTCG 2025.10 with per-builder mapping metadata under $extensions["press.respira"].

The design check closes the loop: wordpress_check_design runs deterministic slop-and-drift rules (no rendering) against draft content or a saved post, honors the direction's waivers, and lists what only the planned rendered check can verify — run it after building, before treating the work as done.

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | wordpress_get_design_direction | Read the active direction (or one by id) with computed readiness | | wordpress_list_design_directions | List saved directions with readiness and the active flag | | wordpress_save_design_direction | Save or update a schema-validated DRAFT; response reports readiness | | wordpress_activate_design_direction | Activate through approval; refuses a not-ready direction | | wordpress_deactivate_design_direction | Stop resolving builds against the active direction through approval; clears the site pointer only, so the document keeps its tokens, guidance and history and reactivating is one call. Returns 409 respira_no_active_direction when nothing is active | | wordpress_delete_design_direction | Trash through approval; clears the active pointer if needed | | wordpress_import_design_tokens | Import DTCG / Tokens Studio / Tailwind / CSS tokens into a draft; dry-run by default, returns the readiness delta, never activates | | wordpress_apply_design_direction | Push the direction's tokens into the resolved builder's native store through approval; snapshot first, per-builder report persisted | | wordpress_export_design_direction | Export strict DTCG 2025.10 with roles + per-builder apply reports in $extensions["press.respira"] | | wordpress_check_design | Design check: deterministic slop-and-drift rules, plus rendered: true (plugin 8.6.20+) for contrast, structure and painted colors on the real page, screenshots attached | | wordpress_mint_design_preview | Mint a 15-minute signed preview URL (plugin 8.6.22+) that renders the real page, drafts and duplicates included, frameable by the respira.press dashboard only; stores nothing | | wordpress_get_design_apply_reports | Read the stored per-builder apply reports for a direction: what apply actually wrote, straight from the site |

Bricks Deep Intelligence (20 tools)

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | respira_list_bricks_global_classes | List all global CSS classes with settings | | respira_create_bricks_global_class | Create a new global CSS class | | respira_update_bricks_global_class | Update an existing global class (merge) | | respira_delete_bricks_global_class | Delete a global class by ID | | respira_get_bricks_theme_styles | Get site-wide theme style configuration | | respira_update_bricks_theme_styles | Update theme styles (full replace) | | respira_get_bricks_color_palette | Get color palette groups | | respira_update_bricks_color_palette | Update color palette (full replace) | | respira_get_bricks_typography | Get global CSS variables and typography scales | | respira_update_bricks_typography | Update global variables and categories | | respira_list_bricks_components | List all Bricks templates/components | | respira_get_bricks_component | Get a component with full element structure | | respira_apply_bricks_component | Insert a component into a page with ID remapping | | respira_search_bricks_elements | NEW Search across all pages by element type, class, or setting | | respira_bricks_health_check | NEW Diagnostic: orphaned elements, duplicate IDs, broken refs | | respira_bricks_detect_acss | NEW Detect Automatic.css installation and design tokens | | respira_bricks_import_acss | NEW Import ACSS utility classes into Bricks global registry | | respira_bricks_query_loops | NEW Find all query loop elements, filter by post type | | respira_bricks_style_profile | NEW Analyze page design patterns (colors, spacing, typography) | | respira_bricks_design_system | NEW Single-call export of complete Bricks design system |

Element Operations (7 tools)

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | respira_find_element | Find element by ID, type, CSS class, or content text | | respira_update_element | Update settings on a specific element | | respira_move_element | Move element to a different container/position | | respira_duplicate_element | Clone an element with new IDs | | respira_remove_element | Remove an element from the page | | respira_batch_update | Apply multiple operations atomically (extract once → apply all → inject once) | | respira_reorder_elements | Reorder children within a container |

Page Building (3 tools)

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | respira_build_page | Create a complete page from declarative widget structure | | respira_convert_html_to_builder | Convert HTML into native builder widgets with fidelity report | | respira_bulk_pages_operation | Apply operations across up to 100 pages with mandatory snapshots |

Stock Images (2 tools)

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | respira_search_stock_images | Search Openverse for Creative Commons images | | respira_sideload_image | Download and import image into Media Library with attribution |

27 Widget Shortcuts

Add any widget to a page in one call:

respira_add_heading · respira_add_text · respira_add_button · respira_add_image · respira_add_video · respira_add_section · respira_add_divider · respira_add_spacer · respira_add_icon · respira_add_icon_list · respira_add_social_icons · respira_add_form · respira_add_map · respira_add_counter · respira_add_progress_bar · respira_add_testimonial · respira_add_tabs · respira_add_accordion · respira_add_toggle · respira_add_alert · respira_add_html · respira_add_menu · respira_add_sidebar · respira_add_search · respira_add_gallery · respira_add_slider · respira_add_pricing_table

Page Builder Tools (6 tools)

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | respira_get_builder_info | Active builder, version, modules, support level | | respira_extract_builder_content | Extract structured content from any page | | respira_inject_builder_content | Replace page content with builder data | | respira_update_module | Update one module by path or label (v1 — use update_element for v2) | | respira_find_builder_targets | Find editable targets in a page | | respira_apply_builder_patch | Apply a JSON patch to builder content |

Pages & Posts (15 tools)

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | respira_list_pages / respira_read_page | List and read pages with builder detection | | respira_update_page / respira_delete_page | Update (with safe duplicate) and delete | | respira_create_page_duplicate | Create working copy before editing | | respira_list_posts / respira_read_post | List and read posts | | respira_update_post / respira_delete_post | Update and delete posts | | respira_create_post_duplicate | Duplicate a post | | respira_list_custom_posts / respira_get_custom_post | Custom post types | | respira_create_custom_post / respira_update_custom_post / respira_delete_custom_post | CRUD for CPTs |

Snapshots & Rollback (4 tools)

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | respira_list_snapshots | List all snapshots for a post | | respira_get_snapshot | Get snapshot content | | respira_diff_snapshots | Compare two snapshots | | respira_restore_snapshot | Restore a previous version |

Analysis (13 tools)

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | respira_analyze_seo | Full SEO audit with actionable recommendations | | respira_analyze_performance | Page speed and optimization | | respira_get_core_web_vitals | LCP, FID, CLS scores | | respira_analyze_aeo | AI search engine optimization | | respira_analyze_readability | Flesch score, sentence analysis | | respira_analyze_images | Image optimization audit | | respira_check_seo_issues | Technical SEO checklist | | respira_check_structured_data | Schema.org validation | | respira_analyze_rankmath | RankMath score + ready-to-apply fixes | | respira_scan_page_accessibility | WCAG accessibility scan | | respira_list_accessibility_scans | Previous scan history | | respira_get_accessibility_scan | Detailed scan results + violations | | respira_apply_accessibility_fixes | Auto-fix a11y violations |

Menus (12 tools)

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | respira_list_menus / respira_get_menu / respira_create_menu / respira_update_menu / respira_delete_menu | Full menu CRUD | | respira_list_menu_items / respira_get_menu_item / respira_create_menu_item / respira_update_menu_item / respira_delete_menu_item | Menu item management | | respira_list_menu_locations / respira_assign_menu_location | Theme location assignment |

Media (6 tools)

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | respira_list_media / respira_get_media | Browse media library | | respira_upload_media / respira_update_media / respira_delete_media | Upload, update metadata, delete | | respira_update_media_batch | Bulk update alt text, title, caption (up to 50 items) |

Users & Comments (10 tools)

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | respira_list_users / respira_get_user / respira_create_user / respira_update_user / respira_delete_user | User management | | respira_list_comments / respira_get_comment / respira_create_comment / respira_update_comment / respira_delete_comment | Comment operations |

Taxonomies (9 tools)

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | respira_list_taxonomies / respira_get_taxonomy | Browse taxonomies | | respira_list_terms / respira_get_term / respira_create_term / respira_update_term / respira_delete_term | Term CRUD | | respira_list_post_types / respira_get_post_type | Post type info |

Site & Plugins (15 tools)

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | respira_get_site_context | WordPress version, theme, plugins, URL | | respira_get_theme_docs | Theme documentation and structure | | respira_list_plugins / respira_install_plugin / respira_activate_plugin / respira_deactivate_plugin / respira_update_plugin / respira_delete_plugin | Plugin management | | respira_list_options / respira_get_option / respira_update_option / respira_delete_option | WordPress options | | respira_purge_cache | Purge page and object caches and report which caching layers were touched. Pass post_id for one page, omit it for the whole site. Every Respira write already purges what it changed; this is the manual lever for changes Respira did not make | | respira_validate_security | Security audit | | respira_get_server_compatibility | Plugin/MCP version check |

Multi-Site (3 tools)

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | respira_list_sites | List all configured WordPress sites | | respira_switch_site | Switch active site | | respira_get_active_site | Get current site info |

WooCommerce Add-on (105 tools)

Available when the WooCommerce add-on is installed. Included free with Studio and Founder plans.

| Category | Tools | |---|---| | Storefront intelligence (NEW in v6.0) | analyze_shop_page, analyze_product_page, update_product_card_layout, add_low_stock_badge, add_sale_badge, update_checkout_layout | | Product-card fields (NEW in 8.0) | analyze_storefront_card, update_storefront_card_field | | Catalog operations (NEW in v6.0) | list_products_advanced, bulk_update_products, analyze_catalog_health, find_product_by_natural_language | | Pricing (NEW in v6.0) | bulk_update_prices, schedule_sale, revert_pricing | | Inventory (NEW in v6.0) | bulk_update_stock, find_low_stock | | Product CRUD | list_products, get_product, create_product, update_product, duplicate_product | | Order management | list_orders, get_order, update_order_status | | Inventory control | get_stock_status, update_stock | | Product categories | list_categories, get_category, create_category, update_category, delete_category | | Product tags | list_tags, get_tag, create_tag, update_tag, delete_tag | | Analytics | sales_report (deprecated alias), revenue_summary, sales_timeseries, top_products, orders_summary, customers_summary | | Store configuration | get_store_configuration, list_payment_gateways, list_shipping_zones, list_tax_rates | | Webhooks | list_webhooks, get_webhook, create_webhook, update_webhook, delete_webhook, test_webhook |

Safe Editing

Every mutation creates a snapshot. Roll back anytime.

1. Snapshot captured before every edit
2. Duplicate-before-edit — original stays untouched
3. Approval workflow — review changes in WordPress admin
4. Rollback — restore snapshots (90-day retention, pinnable) with respira_restore_snapshot

Tool Governance

Admins can enable/disable individual tools from the WordPress dashboard. Governance applies to both REST API and WebMCP/Abilities API paths.

Multi-Site Support

Manage multiple WordPress sites from one config:

{
  "sites": [
    { "id": "production", "name": "Production", "url": "https://mysite.com", "apiKey": "respira_prod_key", "default": true },
    { "id": "staging", "name": "Staging", "url": "https://staging.mysite.com", "apiKey": "respira_staging_key" }
  ]
}

Switch sites: respira_switch_site({ siteId: "staging" })

For agencies managing many sites, use the hosted setup at respira.press/dashboard/mcp to generate configs and install commands from your account.

Tool Naming: respira_*

All tools use respira_* names (e.g. respira_update_page, respira_find_element). The legacy wordpress_* aliases are deprecated and will be removed in a future release. Update any prompts or workflows that still reference wordpress_* tools.

WordPress AI Ecosystem

Respira works with the official WordPress AI stack:

| Path | How it works | Requirements | |---|---|---| | Standalone MCP (this package) | npx @respira/wordpress-mcp-server | Node 18+, Respira plugin | | WordPress MCP Adapter | Abilities auto-discovered via WP-CLI STDIO | WP 6.9+, MCP Adapter, Respira v5.0+ | | WebMCP | Browser-native MCP via Chrome Abilities API | Chrome with WebMCP enabled, Respira plugin |

Quick Install

Three paths — pick the one that matches how you work.

One-command install (recommended)

npx add-mcp "npx -y @respira/wordpress-mcp-server"

Auto-detects your AI tool (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Codex, and 9+ more) and writes the correct config file. Powered by add-mcp.

After running, set your environment variables:

# In your shell profile or .env
export WORDPRESS_URL="https://yoursite.com"
export WORDPRESS_API_KEY="respira_your_key"

Interactive setup wizard

npx @respira/wordpress-mcp-server --setup

Walks you through site URL, API key, HTTP auth (for staging sites), and connection testing. Saves config to ~/.respira/config.json.

Manual configuration

See the Quick Start section above for per-tool JSON config examples (Cursor, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Windsurf).

Installation Options

NPX (Easiest)

npx -y @respira/wordpress-mcp-server

Zero-install. Good for trying it out. Downside: the npx cache can get corrupted (interrupted installs, external drives, antivirus quarantine) and produce confusing ENOENT errors. If you hit any, see Troubleshooting below.

Global Install (Most Stable — Recommended for Daily Use)

npm install -g @respira/wordpress-mcp-server
respira-wordpress-mcp

Avoids the npx cache entirely. Best choice if you're using Respira every day or hit any npx-related errors.

Interactive Setup Wizard

npx @respira/wordpress-mcp-server --setup

CLI Options

| Flag | Alias | Description | |---|---|---| | --setup | | Interactive setup wizard | | --list | | List configured sites | | --test | | Test connection | | --stdio | | STDIO transport (MCP Adapter) | | --doctor | -d | Run health diagnostics | | --doctor --json | | Health diagnostics as JSON | | --help | | Help |

Environment Variables

export WP_SITE_URL=https://your-site.com
export WP_API_KEY=respira_your-api-key

Health Check

Verify your setup is working end-to-end:

npx @respira/wordpress-mcp-server --doctor

Checks Node.js version, config file, site connectivity, plugin version, API compatibility, and available updates. Reports pass/fail for each check with actionable messages.

npx @respira/wordpress-mcp-server --doctor --json

Machine-readable output for CI/CD pipelines or AI tool diagnostics.

Troubleshooting

Use the full path:

{ "command": "C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\npx.cmd", "args": ["-y", "@respira/wordpress-mcp-server"] }

Or install globally: npm install -g @respira/wordpress-mcp-server then use { "command": "respira-wordpress-mcp" }.

1. Check API key: WordPress > Respira > API Keys
2. URL must include https://
3. Plugin must be activated
4. Check if hosting blocks REST API

Some WordPress sites have plugin or theme rewrite rules that catch /wp-json/[anything] and rewrite the path to index.php without the ?rest_route= query var. The result: WordPress's redirect_canonical() 301-redirects the request to the homepage (you'll see x-redirect-by: WordPress on the redirect chain), and the MCP server gets HTML back where it expected JSON.

Since v6.11.2, the MCP server auto-detects this and transparently retries the call as ?rest_route=... against the site root. If the retry returns JSON, it sets a per-session sticky flag and routes every subsequent call directly through ?rest_route=, with one stderr warning on first activation.

For sites where you know this rewrite shadowing is in play, you can skip the pretty-permalink probe entirely by adding forceRestRoute: true to the site config:

{
  "sites": [
    {
      "id": "my-site",
      "name": "My WordPress Site",
      "url": "https://yoursite.com",
      "apiKey": "respira_your-api-key",
      "default": true,
      "forceRestRoute": true
    }
  ]
}

Run wordpress_diagnose_connection for triangulation — it now probes both the pretty path and the ?rest_route= form, and reports rest_route_fallback_worked, rest_route_fallback_active, and force_rest_route_configured.

1. Restart your AI tool completely
2. Validate JSON syntax in config file
3. Check config file location
4. Run npx @respira/wordpress-mcp-server --test to verify

Your npx cache is corrupted. Common causes: interrupted install, external drive disconnected mid-install, antivirus quarantining files, or npm cache clean running while npx was active.

Fix with one of these (in order of preference):

# 1. Switch to global install — most stable, recommended
npm install -g @respira/wordpress-mcp-server
# then in your AI client config, use:
#   "command": "respira-wordpress-mcp"   (no "npx" wrapper)

# 2. Or clear the npx cache and let it rebuild
npx clear-npx-cache
npx -y @respira/wordpress-mcp-server

# 3. Or nuke the entire npm cache
npm cache clean --force

Security

API key validation happens server-side in the WordPress plugin. The MCP server passes credentials but does not store or validate them.

wordpress_run_security_audit performs bounded read-only evidence collection for reviewed advisories. wordpress_update_core_security installs only an exact, catalog-approved security patch after backup confirmation and explicit two-step approval, and returns post-update verification evidence.

Report vulnerabilities to [email protected].

Links

• Website
• Documentation
• Download Plugin
• WooCommerce Add-on
• Support

Where to Find Respira

| Directory | Listing | |---|---| | npm | @respira/wordpress-mcp-server | | Official MCP Registry | io.github.webmyc/respira-wordpress | | Smithery | smithery.ai | | Glama | glama.ai/mcp/servers | | mcp.so | mcp.so | | cursor.directory | cursor.directory |

License

MIT © Respira