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Claude Code can install everything this server ships in one step: the MCP server itself, the mainwp-dashboard agent skill, and ten /mainwp:* workflow commands.

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Credentials come from your environment

The plugin carries no credential values. The server it starts inherits MAINWP_URL, MAINWP_USER, and MAINWP_APP_PASSWORD from the environment Claude Code runs in, so export them in the shell profile (or launcher) that starts Claude Code. A central ~/.config/mainwp-mcp/settings.json works too; see the Configuration Reference. The same goes for every optional MAINWP_* setting, such as safe mode or tool filters: set them in the environment, not in a config file entry.

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If you already added a mainwp server by hand

Claude Code suppresses a plugin MCP server that duplicates a manually configured one, matching on the command and args. A hand-added mainwp entry that runs the standard npx -y @mainwp/mcp wins silently: the plugin’s server never starts, and the plugin still contributes its commands and skill. A manual entry that runs anything else (a pinned version, a local checkout) is not a duplicate, so both servers start and the plugin’s copy reads whatever MAINWP_* values the environment carries, or none. To switch to the plugin’s server:
  1. Move everything in the manual entry’s env block (credentials and any MAINWP_* settings such as safe mode or tool filters) into the environment that launches Claude Code.
  2. Remove the manual entry.
The plugin ships no env map by design, so its server reads MAINWP_* only from that environment. Skipping step 1 leaves the server running without credentials or with different settings than before.

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The agent skill

The mainwp-dashboard skill loads automatically when a task involves managing sites through MainWP. It teaches the agent how this server behaves: the tool catalog comes from your Dashboard at runtime and varies with version, extensions, and filtering; destructive operations stop for user confirmation; safe mode blocks destructive calls at execution, tool filtering can remove tools on purpose, and the agent reports either rather than working around it.

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Workflow commands

Commands that act on a specific site take a site ID or name as an argument and resolve it against the Dashboard before doing anything; they stop if the site cannot be found.