LearnPress Developer Documentation

1. Introduction

LearnPress includes native support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling AI assistants and tools to interact directly with LearnPress LMS data through a standardized protocol.

2. Background

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that enables AI applications to securely connect to external data sources and tools. LearnPress’s MCP integration builds on two core technologies:

WordPress Abilities API – A standardized system for registering capabilities in WordPress
WordPress MCP Adapter – The core MCP protocol implementation

This architecture allows LearnPress to expose LMS operations as MCP tools through the flexible WordPress Abilities system while maintaining existing security and permission models.

3. What’s Available

LearnPress’s MCP integration provides AI assistants with structured access to core LMS operations:

Course Management

List courses with filtering and pagination
Retrieve detailed course information including curriculum summary
Filter courses by status, category, instructor, and price range
Search courses by keyword

Lesson Management

List lessons in a course with optional section filtering
Retrieve detailed lesson information including content, video intro, and materials
Filter lessons by status and section

Quiz Management

List quizzes in a course with pagination
Retrieve detailed quiz information including duration, passing grade, and question count

Student Progress Tracking

Get student progress and results for course enrollments
Track completion status and performance metrics

Enrollment Management

List course enrollments with filtering and pagination
Filter enrollments by course, user, and status

All operations respect LearnPress’s existing permission system and are authenticated using LearnPress MCP API keys.

Data Privacy Notice: Student progress and enrollment operations may expose personally identifiable information (PII) including names, email addresses, and learning data. You are responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable data protection regulations. Use least-privilege API scopes, rotate and revoke API keys regularly, and follow your organization’s data retention and handling policies.

4. Architecture

Data Flow Overview

AI Client (Claude, etc.)
   ↓ (MCP protocol over stdio/JSON-RPC)
Local MCP Proxy (mcp-wordpress-remote)
   ↓ (HTTP/HTTPS requests with authentication)
Remote WordPress MCP Server (mcp-adapter)
   ↓ (WordPress Abilities API)
LearnPress Abilities
   ↓ (Direct database queries and WordPress APIs)
LearnPress Core

Architecture Components

Local MCP Proxy (mcp-wordpress-remote)

Runs locally on the developer’s machine as a Node.js process
Converts MCP protocol messages to HTTP requests
Handles authentication header injection
Bridges the protocol gap between MCP clients and WordPress REST endpoints

Remote WordPress MCP Server (mcp-adapter)

Runs within WordPress as a plugin
Exposes the /wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server endpoint
Processes incoming HTTP requests and converts them to MCP protocol messages
Manages tool discovery and execution

WordPress Abilities System

Provides a standardized way to register and execute capabilities
Acts as an abstraction layer between MCP tools and actual operations
Enables flexible implementation approaches

Core Components

Abilities Registry (Abilities.php)

Centralizes LearnPress ability registration
Bridges WordPress Abilities API with LearnPress operations
Enables ability discovery for the MCP server
Provides MCP alias route at /wp-json/lp/v1/mcp

API Key Authenticator (ApiKeyAuthenticator.php)

Handles LearnPress MCP API key authentication
Validates credentials from query parameters or Basic auth
Enforces permission scopes (read, write, read_write)
Updates usage metrics for authenticated requests

API Keys Repository (ApiKeysRepository.php)

Manages API key persistence and lifecycle
Handles key creation, regeneration, and revocation
Stores hashed credentials securely
Tracks usage statistics (last access, call count)

Ability Schemas (AbilitySchemas.php)

Defines JSON schemas for all ability inputs and outputs
Provides structured data validation
Documents expected parameters and response formats

Ability Executors (AbilityExecutors.php)

Implements execution logic for each registered ability
Queries LearnPress database and APIs
Formats responses according to defined schemas

Implementation Approach

LearnPress abilities are implemented using direct database queries and WordPress APIs rather than REST endpoint proxying. This approach provides:

Optimized performance for LMS-specific operations
Direct access to LearnPress data models
Consistent permission checking through WordPress capabilities
Flexible query filtering and pagination

5. Enabling MCP Integration

Admin Interface

Navigate to LearnPress → Settings → Advanced
Scroll to the AI / MCP Integration section
Check Enable MCP Integration
Click Save Changes

Programmatically

update_option( 'learn_press_enable_mcp_integration', 'yes' );

WP-CLI

wp option update learn_press_enable_mcp_integration yes

6. Authentication and Security

API Key Management

LearnPress uses its own API key system for MCP authentication. To manage API keys:

Navigate to LearnPress → Settings → Advanced → MCP API Keys
Click Add Key
Select the user who will own the key
Enter a description (for example, Claude Desktop Integration)
Choose permissions:
- read – Allow read-only operations
- write – Allow write operations (reserved for future use)
- read_write – Allow all operations
Click Generate API Key
Copy and securely store the consumer key and secret (shown only once)

API Key Format

Consumer Key: ck_ followed by 40 hexadecimal characters
Consumer Secret: cs_ followed by 40 hexadecimal characters

Authentication Methods

Query Parameters

GET /wp-json/lp/v1/mcp?consumer_key=ck_xxx&consumer_secret=cs_xxx

HTTP Basic Authentication

Authorization: Basic base64(consumer_key:consumer_secret)

Permission Validation

read permissions: Allow all read-only abilities
write permissions: Reserved for future write operations
read_write permissions: Allow all operations

Additionally, the authenticated user must have the manage_options capability (customizable via filter).

Security Best Practices

Generate separate API keys for each integration or team member
Use descriptive names to identify key purposes
Rotate keys regularly using the regenerate function
Revoke unused or compromised keys immediately
Monitor key usage through the admin interface (last access, call count)
Use HTTPS in production environments

7. Server Endpoints

The LearnPress MCP server is available at two endpoints:

Primary Endpoint

https://yoursite.com/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server

LearnPress Alias Endpoint

https://yoursite.com/wp-json/lp/v1/mcp

Both endpoints provide identical functionality. The alias endpoint is provided for convenience and clearer identification of LearnPress-specific integrations.

8. Connecting to the MCP Server

Proxy Architecture

The current MCP implementation uses a local proxy approach to connect MCP clients with WordPress servers:

MCP Clients (like Claude Desktop) communicate using the MCP protocol over stdio/JSON-RPC
Local Proxy (@automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote) runs on your machine and translates MCP protocol messages to HTTP requests
WordPress MCP Server receives HTTP requests and processes them through the WordPress Abilities system

This proxy pattern is commonly used in MCP integrations to bridge protocol differences and handle authentication.

Claude Desktop Integration

To connect Claude Desktop to your LearnPress MCP server:

Go to LearnPress → Settings → Advanced → MCP API Keys
Create a new API key with Read or Read/Write permissions
Copy the consumer key and secret
Configure MCP using Claude Desktop:

claude mcp add learnpress_mcp \
  --env WP_API_URL=https://yoursite.com/wp-json/lp/v1/mcp \
  --env CUSTOM_HEADERS='{"Authorization": "Basic BASE64_ENCODED_CREDENTIALS"}' \
  -- npx -y @automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote@latest

Replace BASE64_ENCODED_CREDENTIALS with the base64-encoded value of consumer_key:consumer_secret.

Manual MCP Client Configuration

For other MCP clients, add this configuration to your MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "learnpress_mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "WP_API_URL": "https://yoursite.com/wp-json/lp/v1/mcp",
        "CUSTOM_HEADERS": "{\"Authorization\": \"Basic BASE64_ENCODED_CREDENTIALS\"}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important: Replace BASE64_ENCODED_CREDENTIALS with your actual base64-encoded credentials (consumer_key:consumer_secret).

To generate the base64 value:

echo -n "ck_your_key:cs_your_secret" | base64

9. Available Abilities

learnpress/get-courses

List courses with optional filters and pagination.

Input Parameters:

status (string|array|null): Filter by post status (publish, draft, etc.)
category (integer): Filter by category ID
instructor (integer): Filter by instructor user ID
price_min (number): Minimum price filter
price_max (number): Maximum price filter
search (string): Search keyword
page (integer): Page number (default: 1)
per_page (integer): Items per page (default: 10, max: 100)

Output:

{
  "items": [
    {
      "course_id": 123,
      "title": "Introduction to WordPress",
      "status": "publish",
      "price": 49.99,
      "duration": "4 weeks",
      "permalink": "https://yoursite.com/courses/intro-wordpress",
      "instructor": {
        "id": 1,
        "name": "John Doe"
      },
      "categories": ["Web Development", "WordPress"]
    }
  ],
  "pagination": {
    "page": 1,
    "per_page": 10,
    "total_items": 25,
    "total_pages": 3
  }
}

learnpress/get-course-details

Get detailed information about a specific course including curriculum summary.

Input Parameters:

course_id (integer, required): Course ID

Output:

{
  "course": {
    "course_id": 123,
    "title": "Introduction to WordPress",
    "content": "Full course description...",
    "status": "publish",
    "price": 49.99,
    "duration": "4 weeks",
    "sections": [
      {
        "section_id": 1,
        "title": "Getting Started",
        "items": [
          {
            "item_id": 10,
            "type": "lp_lesson",
            "title": "Welcome to the Course"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

learnpress/list-lessons

List lessons in a course with optional section filtering.

Input Parameters:

course_id (integer, required): Course ID
section_id (integer): Filter by section ID
status (string|array|null): Filter by post status
page (integer): Page number (default: 1)
per_page (integer): Items per page (default: 10, max: 100)

learnpress/get-lesson-details

Get detailed lesson information including content, video intro, and materials.

Input Parameters:

lesson_id (integer, required): Lesson ID

learnpress/list-quizzes

List quizzes in a course with pagination.

Input Parameters:

course_id (integer, required): Course ID
page (integer): Page number (default: 1)
per_page (integer): Items per page (default: 10, max: 100)

learnpress/get-quiz-details

Get detailed quiz information including duration, passing grade, and question count.

Input Parameters:

quiz_id (integer, required): Quiz ID

learnpress/get-student-progress

Get user progress and results for a course enrollment.

Input Parameters:

user_id (integer, required): Student user ID
course_id (integer, required): Course ID

Output:

{
  "progress": {
    "user_id": 5,
    "course_id": 123,
    "status": "enrolled",
    "completion_percentage": 65,
    "items_completed": 13,
    "items_total": 20,
    "start_date": "2024-01-15",
    "results": {
      "grade": 85.5,
      "passed": true
    }
  }
}

learnpress/get-enrollments

List course enrollments with optional filters and pagination.

Input Parameters:

course_id (integer): Filter by course ID
user_id (integer): Filter by user ID
status (string|array|null): Filter by enrollment status
page (integer): Page number (default: 1)
per_page (integer): Items per page (default: 10, max: 100)

10. Extending MCP Capabilities

Adding Custom Abilities

Third-party plugins can register additional abilities using the WordPress Abilities API. Here’s an example:

add_action( 'wp_abilities_api_init', function() {
    wp_register_ability(
        'your-plugin/custom-lms-operation',
        array(
            'label'       => __( 'Custom LMS Operation', 'your-plugin' ),
            'description' => __( 'Performs a custom LMS operation.', 'your-plugin' ),
            'category'    => 'learnpress',
            'execute_callback' => 'your_custom_ability_handler',
            'permission_callback' => function () {
                return current_user_can( 'manage_options' );
            },
            'input_schema' => array(
                'type' => 'object',
                'properties' => array(
                    'course_id' => array(
                        'type' => 'integer',
                        'description' => 'Course identifier'
                    )
                ),
                'required' => array( 'course_id' )
            ),
            'output_schema' => array(
                'type' => 'object',
                'properties' => array(
                    'success' => array(
                        'type' => 'boolean',
                        'description' => 'Operation result'
                    )
                )
            ),
            'meta' => array(
                'annotations' => array(
                    'readonly' => true,
                    'destructive' => false,
                    'idempotent' => true
                ),
                'mcp' => array(
                    'public' => true,
                    'type' => 'tool'
                )
            )
        )
    );
});

Customizing Permission Checks

add_filter( 'learn-press/mcp/api-keys/base-capability', function( $capability, $ability_name, $input ) {
    if ( $ability_name === 'learnpress/get-student-progress' ) {
        return 'view_student_data';
    }
    return $capability;
}, 10, 3 );

Customizing Required Scopes

add_filter( 'learn-press/mcp/ability-required-scope', function( $scope, $ability_name, $input ) {
    if ( $ability_name === 'your-plugin/update-course' ) {
        return 'write';
    }
    return $scope;
}, 10, 3 );

11. Troubleshooting

Common Issues

MCP Server Not Available

Verify the enable_mcp_integration setting is enabled in LearnPress → Settings → Advanced
Check that WordPress 6.9 or later is installed (required for Abilities API)
Review WordPress debug logs for initialization errors

Authentication Failures

Confirm API key format: consumer key starts with ck_, secret starts with cs_
Verify API key permissions match operation requirements (read vs read_write)
Check that the user associated with the API key has manage_options capability
Ensure credentials are properly base64-encoded for Basic auth

Ability Not Found

Confirm abilities are registered during wp_abilities_api_init hook
Verify the ability category is set to learnpress
Check that ability callbacks are accessible and properly defined

WordPress Version Too Old

If you see the admin notice “LearnPress MCP Integration requires WordPress 6.9 or later”, you need to upgrade WordPress to use MCP features.

Debug Logging

Enable LearnPress debug mode to see detailed MCP operation logs:

Go to LearnPress → Settings → Advanced
Enable Debug Mode
Check WordPress debug.log for LearnPress MCP entries

12. Important Considerations

Developer Preview: This feature is in preview status and may change
Read-Only Phase: Current implementation focuses on read-only operations
WordPress 6.9+ Required: MCP integration requires WordPress 6.9 or later for Abilities API support
Production Testing: Thoroughly test before deploying to production
API Stability: The WordPress Abilities API and MCP adapter are evolving
Data Privacy: Be mindful of PII exposure when granting API access

13. Related Resources

WordPress Abilities API Repository
WordPress MCP Adapter Repository
Model Context Protocol Specification
LearnPress Documentation
mcp-wordpress-remote Troubleshooting

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1. Introduction

2. Background

3. What’s Available

Course Management

Lesson Management

Quiz Management

Student Progress Tracking

Enrollment Management

4. Architecture

Data Flow Overview

Architecture Components

Core Components

Implementation Approach

5. Enabling MCP Integration

Admin Interface

Programmatically

WP-CLI

6. Authentication and Security

API Key Management

API Key Format

Authentication Methods

Permission Validation

Security Best Practices

7. Server Endpoints

Primary Endpoint

LearnPress Alias Endpoint

8. Connecting to the MCP Server

Proxy Architecture

Claude Desktop Integration

Manual MCP Client Configuration

9. Available Abilities

learnpress/get-courses

learnpress/get-course-details

learnpress/list-lessons

learnpress/get-lesson-details

learnpress/list-quizzes

learnpress/get-quiz-details

learnpress/get-student-progress

learnpress/get-enrollments

10. Extending MCP Capabilities

Adding Custom Abilities

Customizing Permission Checks

Customizing Required Scopes

11. Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Debug Logging

12. Important Considerations

13. Related Resources