MCP Overview

MCP / Abilities Overview

Saltus Framework exposes its AI-facing tool surface through the WordPress-native MCP/Abilities API. Plugins built with Saltus do not run a separate MCP server. When the host WordPress version provides the Abilities API (WordPress 7.0+), Saltus registers saltus/* abilities from inside WordPress and dispatches calls through the existing REST layer.

• Current ability count: 18
• Ability namespace: saltus/*
• REST namespace: saltus-framework/v1

Requirements

• WordPress 7.0+ or a WordPress build that includes the Abilities API
• An active plugin that loads and registers Saltus Framework
• A WordPress-native MCP/Abilities client
• A WordPress user with the capabilities required by the requested operation

Older WordPress versions simply skip ability registration. The framework continues to work for CPT, taxonomy, settings, meta, and admin features.

Setup

No MCP-specific server process, local config file, port, token, or shell command is required. Install Saltus Framework in your plugin and register it normally:

$autoload = __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';
if ( is_readable( $autoload ) ) {
    require_once $autoload;
}

if ( class_exists( \Saltus\WP\Framework\Core::class ) ) {
    $framework = new \Saltus\WP\Framework\Core( dirname( __FILE__ ), __FILE__ );
    $framework->register();
}

Discovery

Native MCP/Abilities clients discover Saltus tools from the active WordPress site. Saltus registers ability names in the saltus/* namespace, using kebab-case ability names derived from snake_case tool names.

Tool	Ability
get_health	saltus/get-health
list_models	saltus/list-models
get_meta_fields	saltus/get-meta-fields
update_settings	saltus/update-settings

Permissions

Permissions are enforced in two layers:

1. Native ability permission callbacks check broad WordPress capabilities before execution
2. REST permission callbacks enforce the final operation-specific rules

Saltus reuses WordPress capability checks such as:

Operation	Typical capability check
Read/list tools	read or model-specific read/edit access
Create posts	post type create_posts capability, falling back to edit_posts
Update posts	edit_post for the target post
Delete posts	delete_post for the target post
Duplicate posts	edit_post for the source post
Export posts	export
Settings updates	manage_options
Term creation	taxonomy edit/manage capability

Feature Gating

See Feature Gating for details on per-model and per-feature MCP access control.

Further Reading

• MCP Tools Reference — full parameter details for every tool
• MCP Client Integration — integration guide, workflow, and anti-patterns
• Feature Gating — per-model MCP tool visibility