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Connect Cursor to WordPress with Delta’s MCP server

Cursor and WordPress usually means writing plugin or theme PHP in the editor. With Delta the agent in Cursor operates the site itself: it creates pages, builds templates, changes the design system and drives the plugins Delta integrates. Delta’s MCP server is part of the theme, so Cursor connects to the site directly.

What you need

  • A site with Delta active and an administrator login.
  • Cursor installed. Delta’s tools run in Cursor’s agent chat.
  • A site your machine can reach. Cursor connects from your computer, so local sites (.test, .local, localhost) work as well as live ones.

Step 1: connect from the Connect screen

In wp-admin open Delta → Connect and pick the Cursor tab. Click Connect in Cursor. Cursor opens with the server prefilled; confirm the install. The server is named delta- followed by your host, for example delta-example-com.

If you would rather edit the file yourself, merge this into ~/.cursor/mcp.json (every project) or .cursor/mcp.json (one project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "delta-example-com": {
      "url": "https://example.com/wp-json/21press-delta/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Step 2: sign in

Open Cursor’s MCP settings. The server appears with a login prompt. Log in; a browser tab opens on your WordPress login screen. Log in as an administrator and approve. No password is written to any file. The sign-in is OAuth against your own site, and the token can be revoked from the Connect screen at any time.

If the server stays red, toggle it off and on, or relaunch Cursor.

Step 3: say hello

In agent chat ask: “look at delta-example-com and tell me what’s there”. The agent reads its Delta briefing, checks the design system and reports back. If it does, you are connected. On a new site, carry on with Set up your site.

Alternative: Application Password

Use this when OAuth cannot complete, such as a host that blocks /.well-known/ paths. On the same tab, Delta creates a WordPress Application Password named for Cursor and gives you a ready-to-paste block with the header included:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "delta-example-com": {
      "url": "https://example.com/wp-json/21press-delta/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Basic …" }
    }
  }
}

The password is shown once. Generating again replaces it.

Working in Cursor

Cursor sees four tools and they never change: start-here, discover-abilities, get-ability-info and execute-ability. Everything else is an ability the agent discovers as it needs it. See Tools and abilities.

Cursor’s own strengths still apply. Keep your site.css notes, brand brief or content drafts in the project folder and the agent can read them alongside the site. Keep the site open in a browser; the Front panel lets you select an element on the live page and tell the agent which one you mean. Actions that hand out control of the site wait for your approval.

If it does not connect

  • The server never turns green: check the URL ends in /wp-json/21press-delta/mcp and the site is reachable from your machine.
  • Login opens but Cursor does not pick it up: toggle the server off and on, or relaunch Cursor.
  • The server worked and now fails: the token may have been revoked on the Connect screen. Log in again from Cursor’s MCP settings.
  • The Connect screen warns that discovery is blocked: your host blocks the OAuth discovery URLs. Use the Application Password block.

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