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Core Concepts

How BuildPress Works

The Model Context Protocol, the in-WordPress MCP server, and how a build flows end to end.

BuildPress is an MCP server that lives inside WordPress. Your AI does not generate code for you to paste. It connects over the open Model Context Protocol and builds directly, with verification at every step.

MCP stands for Model Context Protocol, an open standard from Anthropic for connecting AI to external tools. Calls are structured and validated against real tool definitions. Your AI is not screen-scraping your admin or guessing the right HTML. It asks for a specific action with specific parameters, and BuildPress runs that action through WordPress. To learn more about the protocol itself, see the Model Context Protocol site.

Nothing in the middle

The server runs on your own server. There is no external BuildPress account, no proxy, no relay, and no BuildPress API keys. BuildPress itself never sends your data to an AI provider. Your tool responses go only to your own AI client, over HTTPS, the same way the official WordPress mobile app connects to your site.

  • No external BuildPress account.
  • No proxy and no relay between your AI and your site.
  • No BuildPress API keys, no cloud processing.
  • Authentication uses a standard WordPress Application Password over HTTPS.

BuildPress provides the tools, your AI provides the brain

The AI doing the building is your own MCP client (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, or another). BuildPress is the tooling that runs on your server. It is not in the loop with any AI provider for normal builds.

The request flow

Every build moves through the same path. A single plain-English request from you becomes one or more structured tool calls, each one validated and verified before it returns.

  1. Your AI client sends a tool call to your site's MCP endpoint.
  2. The BuildPress MCP server validates the call against your capabilities and access mode.
  3. It runs through WordPress core under your own user permissions.
  4. It reads the result back and verifies the render of the live output.
  5. It returns structured output to your client, which decides what to do next.
Your AI client
Claude / Cursor
Your server
BuildPress MCP
Your site
WordPress core
Validated tool call out, verified result back. Direct, over HTTPS.
The MCP request flow: your AI client to BuildPress to WordPress, with the validated tool call and verified result traveling back over HTTPS.

Because every write is checked, tool-call success is never treated as proof of a working page. After any change that produces visible output, your AI fetches the live page and confirms it actually rendered. See render verification for how your AI checks its own work.

Try it

Once you are connected, you talk to your AI in plain English and it picks the right tools. A first request to confirm the connection can be as simple as the prompt below.

Example prompttext
Read my site info over the BuildPress connection and tell me what builder and plugins you can see.

The endpoint your client connects to always includes /v1:

MCP URLtext
https://your-site.com/wp-json/buildpress/v1/mcp

Next steps

Once you understand the flow, read The Build Workflow to see how the Setup, Design, and Build phases turn a plain-English request into a finished, verified page.

Continue to The Build Workflow to see a build run end to end, or to render verification to understand the checks that run after every write.

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