UAE AI Tools: Integration Setup

This guide covers manual setup for connecting an external AI client to your WordPress site using UAE AI Tools. Choose your client from the list below and follow the steps for that specific app.

Before you start: Make sure you have completed Step 1: Enable AI Tools in the main UAE AI Tools guide.

Jump to your client:

• Claude Desktop
• Claude Code
• Cursor
• VS Code (GitHub Copilot)
• Windsurf
• Codex (OpenAI)

Shared Prerequisites

These two steps apply to every client. Complete them once before configuring your specific app.

Create an Application Password

MCP uses WordPress Application Passwords to authenticate securely, you do not share your main WordPress password.

1. In your WordPress admin, go to Users → Profile.
2. Scroll to the Application Passwords section.
3. Enter a name, for example, the name of your AI client and click Add New Application Password.
4. Copy the password immediately. WordPress shows it only once.

Tip: Create a separate Application Password for each AI client so you can revoke them individually without affecting other clients.

Get Your Server URL

On the UAE → Settings → AI Tools page, find your server URL:

• If Standalone UAE Server is on:

https://yoursite.com/wp-json/uae/mcp

• If Standalone UAE Server is off, UAE tools are served from the default WordPress endpoint:

https://yoursite.com/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server

Generate Base64 Credentials (for most clients)

All clients except Claude Desktop use HTTP Basic Auth. Generate your encoded credentials once and reuse them:

echo -n “your-username:your-application-password” | base64

Copy the output. Use it in place of YOUR_BASE64_ENCODED_CREDENTIALS in the configs below.

Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop connects through a small Node.js bridge. Make sure Node.js 18+ is installed (node –version to check).

No Node.js? Go to Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector in Claude Desktop and paste your server URL directly, no Node.js or config file needed.

Config file location:

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

Open the file in any text editor and add the following inside the mcpServers object (create the file if it does not exist):

{

  "mcpServers": {

    "uae": {

      "command": "npx",

      "args": ["-y", "@automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote@latest"],

      "env": {

        "WP_API_URL": "https://yoursite.com/wp-json/uae/mcp",

        "WP_API_USERNAME": "your-username",

        "WP_API_PASSWORD": "xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx"

      }

    }

  }

}

Replace yoursite.com, your-username, and the Application Password with your actual values. Keep the spaces in the Application Password exactly as copied.

Save the file and fully quit and relaunch Claude Desktop.

Claude Code

Create .mcp.json in your project root for project-specific access, or ~/.claude/.mcp.json for global access across all projects:

{

  "mcpServers": {

    "uae": {

      "type": "http",

      "url": "https://yoursite.com/wp-json/uae/mcp",

      "headers": {

        "Authorization": "Basic YOUR_BASE64_ENCODED_CREDENTIALS"

      }

    }

  }

}

Cursor

Option A: Config file in your project: Create .cursor/mcp.json in your project root:

{

  "mcpServers": {

    "uae": {

      "url": "https://yoursite.com/wp-json/uae/mcp",

      "headers": {

        "Authorization": "Basic YOUR_BASE64_ENCODED_CREDENTIALS"

      }

    }

  }

}

Option B: Cursor settings UI: Go to Cursor Settings → Tools and MCP → Add Custom MCP and enter your server URL and credentials there.

VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your project root.

Important: VS Code uses a “servers” key instead of “mcpServers” this is different from all other clients.

{

  "servers": {

    "uae": {

      "type": "http",

      "url": "https://yoursite.com/wp-json/uae/mcp",

      "headers": {

        "Authorization": "Basic YOUR_BASE64_ENCODED_CREDENTIALS"

      }

    }

  }

}

Windsurf

Open (or create) ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json and add:

{

  "mcpServers": {

    "uae": {

      "serverUrl": "https://yoursite.com/wp-json/uae/mcp",

      "headers": {

        "Authorization": "Basic YOUR_BASE64_ENCODED_CREDENTIALS"

      }

    }

  }

}

Note: Windsurf uses “serverUrl” instead of “url” this is different from Cursor and VS Code.

Codex (OpenAI)

Open (or create) ~/.codex/config.toml and add:

[mcp_servers.uae]

url = "https://yoursite.com/wp-json/uae/mcp"

[mcp_servers.uae.http_headers]

"Authorization" = "Basic YOUR_BASE64_ENCODED_CREDENTIALS"

Note: Codex uses TOML format, not JSON.

After Setup

Restart your AI client after saving the config. Then test the connection by asking the AI to list your UAE templates or headers. If UAE tools are visible and responding, you’re all set.

If something isn’t working, see the UAE AI Tools Troubleshooting guide or contact our support team.