accelerate-connect

Accelerate — Connect your site

Your job is to get the user's WordPress site talking to the toolkit. The conversation should feel like a friendly setup wizard, not a technical manual.

What you're setting up

Three pieces of information need to land in ~/.config/accelerate-ai-toolkit/env:

1. Connection URL (WP_API_URL) — the full WordPress MCP server URL, e.g. https://their-site.com/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server for sites running the MCP Adapter, or https://their-site.com/wp-json/wp/v2/wpmcp for legacy wordpress-mcp sites. The user only ever gives you the bare site address; this skill probes the site and saves whichever full URL responds.
2. Username — the WordPress username to authenticate as
3. Application password — a WordPress Application Password (not their login password)

Once those are set, the .mcp.json file that ships with this plugin will pick them up via shell environment variables and the wordpress MCP server will connect automatically next time the user starts their agent session.

The conversation

Walk the user through these steps one at a time. Wait for a response before moving to the next step. Be patient and don't assume technical knowledge.

Step 1 — Welcome

Explain briefly what's about to happen, in plain language:

"To connect your site, we need three things: your site's web address, your WordPress username, and a special password that only this toolkit will use. I'll guide you through generating that password in a moment. It takes about two minutes."

Step 2 — Ask for the site URL

Ask:

"What's the web address of your WordPress site? For example: https://mysite.com"

Accept whatever they give you and normalise it to the site root:

• Strip any trailing slash.
• If they pasted something ending in /wp-json/... or /wp-admin, strip that back to the site root and politely confirm ("I'll use https://mysite.com as the site address — sound right?").
• If they gave you something with a content path like https://mysite.com/blog, confirm whether that's the correct WordPress root or whether the WordPress install lives at https://mysite.com.
• If they omitted https://, assume https://.

Keep the normalised site-root value (no path, no trailing slash) in working memory as SITE_ROOT. You'll combine it with the connector path detected in step 7b to build the full WP_API_URL saved in step 5.

Step 3 — Generate an Application Password

Tell the user:

"Now we'll create a dedicated password for this toolkit. This lets you revoke access later without changing your main login.

1. Open your site's admin area in a browser: <their-site>/wp-admin
2. Go to Users → Profile (or Users → Your Profile)
3. Scroll down to the Application Passwords section near the bottom
4. Type Accelerate AI Toolkit as the name
5. Click Add New Application Password
6. WordPress will show you a password that looks like abcd efgh ijkl mnop. Copy it exactly as shown, spaces and all.

Let me know once you've got it."

If they report the Application Passwords section is missing, it usually means either:

• Their WordPress is older than 5.6 — tell them they need to update.
• The site is served over plain HTTP in production — Application Passwords require HTTPS. For local development they can set WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE to local in wp-config.php to bypass this. Suggest they ask their site administrator for help.

Step 4 — Collect username and password

Ask:

"Great. What's your WordPress username? And please paste the application password you just copied."

Collect both. The username goes into WP_API_USERNAME. The password goes into WP_API_PASSWORD exactly as WordPress displayed it — do not strip the spaces.

Step 5 — Verify the environment and discover the connector URL

Before saving anything, run two quick checks. Both must pass before you can write a working configuration.

5a — Verify npx is the real Node.js binary

Use the Bash tool:

NPX_PATH=$(command -v npx 2>/dev/null)
NPX_VER=$(npx --version 2>&1 | head -1)
NPX_REAL=$(realpath "$NPX_PATH" 2>/dev/null || echo "$NPX_PATH")
echo "path=$NPX_REAL version=$NPX_VER"

Check both conditions:

1. The version output looks like a semver number (e.g. 10.8.2), not an error or "Unknown command"
2. The resolved path is inside a standard Node.js location (the path contains node, npm, nvm, fnm, volta, or is in /usr/local/bin, /usr/bin, or a Homebrew prefix)

If npx is missing, returns a non-semver version, or resolves to an unexpected location, tell the user:

"The toolkit needs a working copy of npx (part of Node.js) to connect to your site, but the npx in your current shell doesn't appear to be the standard Node.js version. This usually happens when another tool in your shell is intercepting the command.

To check: open a regular terminal and run npx --version. If that works and shows a version number, your agent's shell has something overriding it. See the troubleshooting section in the installation guide for how to point the toolkit at the real npx binary."

If npx looks genuine, continue to 5b.

5b — Probe the site to discover the connector URL

Use the Bash tool to test the site's REST endpoints:

SITE="<the normalised site root from step 2>"
USER="<the username from step 4>"
PASS="<the application password from step 4>"

# Is Accelerate active?
ACCEL=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}' -u "$USER:$PASS" "$SITE/wp-json/accelerate/v1" 2>/dev/null)
# Which MCP connector route responds?
ADAPTER=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}' -u "$USER:$PASS" "$SITE/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server" 2>/dev/null)
LEGACY=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}' -u "$USER:$PASS" "$SITE/wp-json/wp/v2/wpmcp" 2>/dev/null)

echo "accelerate=$ACCEL adapter=$ADAPTER legacy=$LEGACY"

Interpret the results in order:

Is Accelerate installed?

If accelerate is 404: Accelerate isn't active on this site, or the Abilities feature isn't turned on. Tell the user:

"I can reach your site, but Accelerate doesn't seem to be active or its Abilities feature isn't turned on yet. Check that the Accelerate plugin is installed and active in your WordPress admin, and that the Abilities feature is enabled (see the installation guide for instructions)."

Stop here. Do not save credentials.

Which connector responds?

Pick the connector URL using this priority — adapter wins when both respond, since mcp-adapter is the actively maintained route:

The adapter route is POST-only, so a GET against a working adapter returns 405 (route exists) — that's the expected healthy signal here, not 200. Treat 405, 200, or 401 as "route exists".

adapter	legacy	Action
405/200/401	any	Set WP_API_URL="$SITE/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server". Proceed to step 6.
404	405/200/401	Set WP_API_URL="$SITE/wp-json/wp/v2/wpmcp". Proceed to step 6.
404	404	Stop. Accelerate is running but no MCP connector responded. Tell the user: "Accelerate is running on your site, but the WordPress connector isn't responding. This usually means the MCP Adapter plugin needs to be installed or activated. Check with your site administrator or see the installation guide."
Other	Other	Stop. Tell the user the site returned an unexpected response and suggest they check the URL is correct and the site is reachable in a browser.

Keep the chosen full URL in working memory as WP_API_URL. You'll write it in step 6.

Step 6 — Save credentials

Save credentials in two places so they work across all supported agents.

6a — Claude Code settings (primary)

This is what Claude Code reads when it starts the WordPress connector. Use the Bash tool to write the credentials into the project's .claude/settings.local.json (this file is gitignored and never committed):

# Read existing settings.local.json if it exists, merge env vars in
python3 -c "
import json, os, sys
path = '.claude/settings.local.json'
data = {}
if os.path.exists(path):
    with open(path) as f:
        data = json.load(f)
data.setdefault('env', {})
data['env']['WP_API_URL'] = sys.argv[1]
data['env']['WP_API_USERNAME'] = sys.argv[2]
data['env']['WP_API_PASSWORD'] = sys.argv[3]
data['env']['OAUTH_ENABLED'] = 'false'
os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(path), exist_ok=True)
with open(path, 'w') as f:
    json.dump(data, f, indent=2)
    f.write('\n')
" "<full_connector_url>" "<username>" "<app_password>"

Replace the three placeholders with the values from steps 4 and 5b. <full_connector_url> is the full URL chosen in step 5b — never the bare site root.

This file is folder-scoped. The connection works when Claude Code is started from this folder. Mention it briefly: "One thing to know — this connection is tied to the folder we're in now. If you want to use the toolkit from a different folder later, run /accelerate-connect there and I'll re-link it in seconds, no password needed." (The re-link path is in "If the user already has credentials" below.)

6b — Backup env file (for Codex CLI and other agents)

Also write a standard env file for non-Claude-Code contexts:

mkdir -p ~/.config/accelerate-ai-toolkit
cat > ~/.config/accelerate-ai-toolkit/env <<'EOF'
WP_API_URL="<full_connector_url>"
WP_API_USERNAME="<username>"
WP_API_PASSWORD="<app_password>"
EOF
chmod 600 ~/.config/accelerate-ai-toolkit/env

Important:

• Double-quote every value in the env file. Application Passwords contain spaces.
• chmod 600 is required — the file holds credentials.
• Do NOT echo the full password back to the user in chat after writing. Confirm by saying "Saved. ✓" instead.
• The .claude/settings.local.json file is automatically gitignored by Claude Code. Do not commit it.

Step 7 — Shell profile (Codex CLI users only)

If the user is using Codex CLI (not Claude Code), they also need to source the env file from their shell profile so Codex picks up the values. Tell them:

"Since you're using Codex, you'll also need to add a line to your shell profile so the credentials load automatically."

Show the appropriate line based on their shell:

For zsh / bash:

[ -f ~/.config/accelerate-ai-toolkit/env ] && set -a && . ~/.config/accelerate-ai-toolkit/env && set +a

For fish:

if test -f ~/.config/accelerate-ai-toolkit/env
    for line in (cat ~/.config/accelerate-ai-toolkit/env)
        set -gx (string split -m 1 '=' $line)
    end
end

If the user is using Claude Code, skip this step entirely — Claude Code reads credentials from settings.local.json and doesn't need shell profile changes.

Step 8 — Restart the agent session (advice differs by agent)

Getting this wrong sends the user into a restart loop that never picks up the new values, so match the advice to how their credentials load.

Claude Code (credentials come from settings.local.json, re-read every session start):

"One last step — close this Claude Code session and start a new one. The connection settings load at startup, so they'll kick in next session. When you're back in, run /accelerate-status to confirm everything works."

Codex CLI, or any agent using the shell-profile method from step 7: restarting the agent is not enough. The agent inherits its environment from the terminal, and the terminal keeps whatever values were exported when it was opened — restarting the agent in the same terminal re-inherits the old values every time. Tell them:

"One last step — open a new terminal window (or run exec zsh in this one) so the new connection settings load, then start a fresh Codex session there. Restarting Codex in this terminal won't pick them up. When you're back in, run /accelerate-status to confirm everything works."

This matters most when updating existing credentials (new password, new site, or the old bare-root address being upgraded to the full connector URL): every already-open terminal keeps exporting the stale values until it reloads its profile.

Things to watch for

• Don't skip the chmod. Credentials must not be world-readable.
• Don't write the env file anywhere else. The .mcp.json in the plugin root expects WP_API_URL, WP_API_USERNAME, and WP_API_PASSWORD as environment variables, sourced from the ~/.config/accelerate-ai-toolkit/env path.
• WP_API_URL is the full connector URL. It must include the /wp-json/... path discovered in step 5b. Never save just the site root — the toolkit's status check will flag it as stale and tell the user to rerun this skill.
• Don't embed credentials in the plugin folder. Never write to a .env or env file inside the repository; it must go in the user's home directory.
• Never show the full password in chat output after writing it. It's fine to show the first and last four characters for confirmation (e.g., abcd **** **** mnop), but never the whole string.

If the user already has credentials

Check the on-disk sources, not just the live shell environment — the shell can hold stale values exported by a terminal that was opened before the last update:

echo "live=${WP_API_URL:-NOT_SET}"
sed -n 's/^WP_API_URL=//p' ~/.config/accelerate-ai-toolkit/env 2>/dev/null | tr -d '"' | sed 's/^/file=/' || true
python3 -c "
import json
print('settings=' + json.load(open('.claude/settings.local.json')).get('env', {}).get('WP_API_URL', 'NOT_SET'))
" 2>/dev/null || echo "settings=NOT_SET"

Route on what you find:

• All present and agreeing — already configured. Suggest /accelerate-status to verify it works. Offer to overwrite if they want to connect a different site.
• Env file has credentials but this folder's settings.local.json doesn't — they set up the toolkit in a different folder. Offer to re-link: "You've already connected [site] from another folder — want me to link it here too? Takes a second, no password needed." If yes, read all three values from ~/.config/accelerate-ai-toolkit/env and write them into .claude/settings.local.json using the step 6a snippet, then send them through step 8. Do not ask for the password again.
• Live value differs from an on-disk value — the shell environment is stale. Don't re-collect anything; give them the step 8 advice for their agent (for shell-profile users: new terminal window or exec zsh, then a fresh session).