{"id":10963,"date":"2026-02-05T16:46:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T21:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/?post_type=docs&#038;p=10963"},"modified":"2026-02-05T16:48:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T21:48:51","password":"","slug":"creating-wordpress-application-passwords-for-mcp","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/kb\/learndash-mcp-server\/getting-started-with-learndash-mcp-server\/creating-wordpress-application-passwords-for-mcp\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating WordPress Application Passwords for MCP"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-overview\"><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To connect LearnDash to an AI tool like <strong>Cursor<\/strong> using the <strong>Model Context Protocol (MCP)<\/strong>, a secure connection is required. WordPress provides this through <strong>application passwords<\/strong>, a safe way to let external tools access your site without sharing your main login.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This guide walks through how to generate and manage an application password from your WordPress dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-theme-palette-8-color has-theme-palette-1-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-651caf040ab8281e19c343933d00eefa\">Note: If you\u2019re using something like Angie, then you don\u2019t need to create an application password. Angie will connect to LearnDash for you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-an-application-password\"><strong>What Is an Application Password?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>An <strong>application password<\/strong> is a unique access key that allows tools like MCP servers to connect to your WordPress site using your user account\u2014without needing your main login credentials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Application passwords are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Secure<\/strong> \u2013 You can revoke them at any time without affecting your normal login<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>One per tool<\/strong> \u2013 Create a different password for each integration<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Built into WordPress<\/strong> \u2013 No plugin required (available since WordPress 5.6)<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-when-is-this-needed\"><strong>When Is This Needed?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ll need an application password anytime you are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Connecting LearnDash to an <strong>MCP server<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Using <strong>Cursor<\/strong> to set up a local MCP server<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Working with any other tool that requires access to your LearnDash API via MCP<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-step-by-step-how-to-create-an-application-password\"><strong>Step-by-Step: How to Create an Application Password<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Log in to your WordPress dashboard<\/strong> as an Administrator.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the left-hand menu, go to <strong>Users &gt; Profile<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong> (If you\u2019re managing multiple users, go to <strong>Users &gt; All Users<\/strong>, then click your own profile.)<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Scroll down to the section labeled <strong>Application Passwords<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong> This is usually near the bottom of the page.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the <strong>New Application Password Name<\/strong> field, enter a descriptive label.<br>Example:<br>LearnDash MCP \u2013 Cursor<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Add New Application Password<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A new password will appear on the screen (in plain text).<br><strong>Copy it immediately<\/strong> and store it somewhere secure.<br><strong>You won\u2019t be able to view it again later<\/strong>.<br><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-to-use-this-password\"><strong>How to Use This Password<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once copied, paste the application password into your MCP-connected tool when prompted. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In <strong>Cursor<\/strong>, the AI assistant may ask for your password to finalize the server connection.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In <strong>Angie<\/strong>, it may be used during the first-time authorization flow.<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The password is used alongside your <strong>WordPress username<\/strong> to authenticate API requests from the MCP server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-to-revoke-or-regenerate-a-password\"><strong>How to Revoke or Regenerate a Password<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can remove access at any time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Return to <strong>Users &gt; Profile<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Scroll to <strong>Application Passwords<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Locate the password by name<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Revoke<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>To generate a new one, simply repeat the steps above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-best-practices\"><strong>Best Practices<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Use one password per integration<\/strong> for better tracking<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Revoke old or unused passwords<\/strong> regularly<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Never share application passwords publicly<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Store passwords securely (password manager recommended)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-troubleshooting\"><strong>Troubleshooting<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t see the Application Passwords section?<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong>Make sure your site is running WordPress 5.6 or later and that REST API authentication is enabled.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Error when connecting with an AI tool?<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong>The application password may be incorrect, expired, or revoked. Try creating a new one.<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For more troubleshooting steps, see <a href=\"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/kb\/learndash-mcp-server\/getting-started-with-learndash-mcp-server\/troubleshooting-common-mcp-errors\/\">Troubleshooting Common MCP Errors<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview To connect LearnDash to an AI tool like Cursor using the Model Context Protocol (MCP), a secure connection is required. WordPress provides this through application passwords, a safe way to let external tools access your site without sharing your main login. This guide walks through how to generate and manage an application password from&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_helpful_status":1,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_swpsp_post_exclude":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"doc_category":[294],"doc_tag":[],"knowledge_base":[293],"class_list":["post-10963","docs","type-docs","status-publish","hentry","doc_category-getting-started-with-learndash-mcp-server","knowledge_base-learndash-mcp-server"],"year_month":"2026-04","word_count":485,"total_views":"312","reactions":{"happy":"0","normal":"0","sad":"0"},"author_info":{"display_name":"Stephanie Liy","author_link":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/author\/stephaniei\/"},"doc_category_info":[{"term_name":"Getting Started with LearnDash MCP Server","term_url":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/kb\/non-knowledgebase\/getting-started-with-learndash-mcp-server\/"}],"doc_tag_info":[],"taxonomy_info":{"doc_category":[{"value":294,"label":"Getting Started with LearnDash MCP Server"}],"knowledge_base":[{"value":293,"label":"LearnDash MCP Server"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"comment_info":0,"knowledge_base_info":[{"term_name":"LearnDash MCP Server","term_url":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/kb\/learndash-mcp-server\/","term_slug":"learndash-mcp-server"}],"knowledge_base_slug":["learndash-mcp-server"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/10963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/docs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10963"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/10963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11230,"href":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/10963\/revisions\/11230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"doc_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_category?post=10963"},{"taxonomy":"doc_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_tag?post=10963"},{"taxonomy":"knowledge_base","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learndash.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/knowledge_base?post=10963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}