claude-wordpress-skills MCP — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

WordPress Coding Standards (WPCS) baked in
Gutenberg block development with modern tooling
Security patterns: nonces, capabilities, sanitization, escaping
Performance: object cache, transients, query tuning
Theme/plugin packaging, i18n, accessibility checklists

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

claude-wordpress-skill.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude-wordpress-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/elvismdev/claude-wordpress-skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/claude-wordpress-skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude-wordpress-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/elvismdev/claude-wordpress-skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/claude-wordpress-skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude-wordpress-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/elvismdev/claude-wordpress-skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/claude-wordpress-skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude-wordpress-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/elvismdev/claude-wordpress-skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/claude-wordpress-skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "claude-wordpress-skill",
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/elvismdev/claude-wordpress-skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/claude-wordpress-skills"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "claude-wordpress-skill": {
      "command": {
        "path": "git",
        "args": [
          "clone",
          "https://github.com/elvismdev/claude-wordpress-skills",
          "~/.claude/skills/claude-wordpress-skills"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add claude-wordpress-skill -- git clone https://github.com/elvismdev/claude-wordpress-skills ~/.claude/skills/claude-wordpress-skills

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use claude-wordpress-skills

How to build a Gutenberg block the modern way

👤 WordPress developers building custom blocks ⏱ ~45 min intermediate

When to use: You need a custom editor block and don't want to hand-roll outdated ESNext + webpack scaffolding.

Prerequisites

Node 18+ and WordPress 6.3+ — nvm install 18; wp-env or local install
Skill cloned — git clone https://github.com/elvismdev/claude-wordpress-skills ~/.claude/skills/claude-wordpress-skills

Flow

Describe the block

Build a Testimonial block: quote text, author name, author photo — edit and save views.✓ Copied

→ block.json + edit.js + save.js scaffolded, @wordpress/scripts build setup
Add attributes and controls

Add an alignment control and a color picker.✓ Copied

→ BlockControls / InspectorControls added correctly
Bundle and register

Write the PHP that registers the block from block.json.✓ Copied

→ register_block_type( __DIR__ . '/build/block.json' )

Outcome: A working modern Gutenberg block with proper packaging.

Pitfalls

Missing i18n wrappers — Skill reminds Claude to wrap strings with __() and _x()

Combine with: filesystem

Audit a plugin for common WordPress security issues

👤 Plugin maintainers, site owners ⏱ ~60 min advanced

When to use: Before shipping a plugin or inheriting one.

Flow

Scope the audit

Audit this plugin for: nonce usage on every form, capability checks on every action, output escaping, SQL prep.✓ Copied

→ Per-category findings with file:line
Fix the highest-risk ones

Apply the top 3 fixes — nonces on the admin form, esc_html on the dashboard widget, $wpdb->prepare on the custom query.✓ Copied

→ Diffs to the plugin files
Regression test

List what to manually test to confirm the fixes don't break anything.✓ Copied

→ Short manual test checklist

Outcome: A more secure plugin with documented fixes.

Pitfalls

False positives on nonces where a REST permission callback is already in place — Provide context: REST routes with permission callbacks don't need form nonces

Combine with: github

Do a performance pass on a slow WordPress site

👤 Developers responsible for WordPress site perf ⏱ ~60 min advanced

When to use: TTFB is bad, dashboard is slow, or a specific template is dragging.

Flow

Identify the bottleneck

Walk me through common WordPress perf bottlenecks and which log/profiling tool to start with.✓ Copied

→ Query Monitor, debug.log, object cache check
Query tuning

Here are the top 5 slow queries. Suggest indexes or query rewrites.✓ Copied

→ Per-query recommendations
Cache strategy

Which caching layers should be active here? Object cache, page cache, fragment caching — suggest a stack.✓ Copied

→ Concrete cache plan with plugins/services

Outcome: Concrete perf wins you can measure on the next deploy.

Pitfalls

Adding a caching plugin without fixing the underlying slow query — Always measure before and after each change

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

claude-wordpress-skill + filesystem

Operate across a plugin/theme directory for audits and refactors

Audit wp-content/plugins/my-plugin/ for security issues and apply the top 5 fixes.✓ Copied

claude-wordpress-skill + github

Open PRs for security fixes with proper descriptions

Open a PR titled 'Security: nonces on admin forms' with the patches.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call
gutenberg-block-authoring	block intent + attributes	Any custom block work
wp-security-audit	plugin/theme path	Pre-ship or inheritance review
wp-performance-review	slow endpoints + config	When speed matters
wp-coding-standards	any PHP/JS code	Auto-applied during authoring

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: none
Tokens per call: 5–20k per audit or block
Monetary: free
Tip: Scope by file or feature; don't feed Claude 100 plugins at once

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Credential storage: none at the skill level; WP admin creds if you also use a deploy/REST tool

Data egress: none

Security audits are advisory — commission a proper audit for production e-commerce

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

Block build fails with @wordpress/scripts

Verify Node version and that @wordpress/scripts is in devDependencies; rebuild.

Verify: node -v && npx wp-scripts --version

Claude suggests outdated enqueue patterns

Specify the WordPress version you target and prefer register_block_type_from_metadata.

Alternatives

claude-wordpress-skills vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
claude-code-owasp-skill	You need general web app security, not WordPress-specific	Broader but misses WP idioms
symfony-ux-skill	You're in Symfony instead of WordPress	Different stack

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

🔍 Browse all 400+ MCP servers and Skills