Troubleshooting

If something is not working, start here. The page covers the symptoms users hit most often during setup, connection, and first use.

If your problem is not listed, email support@axtolab.com or use the WordPress.org support forum at https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/axtolab-ai-connector/. Include your WordPress version, plugin version, AI client, the visible error message, and what you tried. Do not send passwords, Application Passwords, or tokens.

Wizard issues

”Network error. Please try again.” when clicking Create connection

Fixed in 1.0.1. Earlier 1.0.0 builds could fail at the Create step even when Verify reported authenticated successfully. Update the plugin to 1.0.1 or later — the wizard now handles the Application Password the same way WordPress core does internally, and surfaces the real server message on any other failure.

If you are on 1.0.1 or later and still see “Network error”:

1. Reload the AI Connector page and start the wizard again. Some browsers cache stale form state if you navigated away and came back.
2. Try the wizard in an incognito or private window. A browser extension may be blocking the request.
3. Check your hosting’s PHP error log for a fatal error on the create request. Some hosts block uncommon REST API requests by default.

”Could not match the Application Password to a stored record”

The connector could not find the Application Password in your WordPress profile.

Causes:

1. The Application Password was deleted between Verify and Create.
2. You pasted the password from a different WordPress user than the one you authenticated as.
3. Browser autofill replaced the field with a different stored credential.

Fix: open Users → Profile → Application Passwords, confirm the password still exists, and paste it directly into the connector wizard (avoid autofill).

”Authenticated as the wrong user”

The Verify step succeeded but as a different WordPress user than you expected. This usually means another user on the site uses the same browser session.

Fix: log into WordPress as the user you intend to connect, generate a fresh Application Password as that user, and use it in the wizard.

Connection issues

Connection shows as Active but Claude says it sees no tools

1. Capability preset is too narrow. Check the connection at AI Connector → Connections → (your connection). If only read is enabled, the AI sees only read tools. Widen the preset and retry.
2. Client cached an old tool list. Restart Claude Desktop or refresh the web client.
3. Plugin was deactivated. Re-activate the plugin in Plugins → Installed Plugins.

”Authorisation failed” during OAuth (Claude Web, ChatGPT)

The OAuth redirect could not complete.

1. HTTPS missing. OAuth 2.1 requires HTTPS in production. Switch your site to HTTPS first.
2. Permalinks set to Plain. REST endpoints need structured permalinks. Go to Settings → Permalinks, pick Post name, save.
3. Site URL mismatch. Settings → General must show WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) matching the URL you are visiting. A trailing slash difference can break the redirect.
4. Security plugin blocking REST. Temporarily relax rules that block /wp-json/* and /wp-login.php.
5. Aggressive caching layer. Bypass cache for the authorisation flow.

”Authorisation expired” on a previously working OAuth connection

OAuth tokens are bound to the connection record. They can stop working when:

• The plugin was deactivated and reactivated, which clears OAuth state.
• The site URL changed since the connection was created.
• The connection was revoked from another tab.

Fix: revoke the broken connection and re-authorise. Old tokens cannot be revived.

Claude Desktop issues

Claude Desktop does not show the extension after dragging the .mcpb file

Operating systems sometimes block files downloaded from a browser, or Claude Desktop’s drag-and-drop fails silently.

1. Right-click the .mcpb file, choose Open With → Claude Desktop.
2. Or, in Settings → Extensions, look for an Install from file or Add extension button and select the file manually.
3. Re-download the file from AI Connector → Desktop AI clients in case the original download was corrupted.

Extension installed but Claude does not see WordPress tools

1. Confirm the connection token is pasted in the extension’s settings, and that you saved settings.
2. Quit and restart Claude Desktop.
3. In WordPress, confirm AI Connector → Connections shows the connection as Active.
4. If you regenerated the token after pasting it, paste the new one and restart Claude Desktop again.

Tool execution errors

”rest_forbidden” or “Sorry, you are not allowed…”

The action is not permitted by the underlying WordPress user, or the connection’s preset hides it.

1. Check the connection’s capability preset. Tools outside the preset cannot be called.
2. Check the connected user’s WordPress role. A Contributor cannot publish, regardless of preset.
3. To grant more access, change the preset at AI Connector → Connections → (your connection). WordPress role changes happen at Users.

”Confirmation token required”

The AI tried to publish, trash, or restore without first requesting a confirmation token. This is the connector’s safety check — destructive actions cannot happen in a single step.

Ask the AI to request a review first (“review what you plan to publish before you publish it”). Modern Claude versions do this automatically.

”Rate limit exceeded”

Too many requests in a short window.

1. Check whether multiple clients share the same connection. Split them into separate connections.
2. Ask the AI for smaller batches.
3. Adjust rate limits at AI Connector → Settings → Rate limits if your site has genuine high-volume AI traffic.

Plugin update issues

Plugin updated, Connections page now broken

Try in order:

1. Deactivate and reactivate the plugin. This re-runs the activation hook, which can migrate state if needed.
2. Check the WordPress error log at wp-content/debug.log if WP_DEBUG_LOG is enabled in wp-config.php.
3. Clear object cache if your hosting uses Redis or Memcached.

Connections stopped working after an update

Plugin updates preserve connections and tokens. If they stop working, it usually means:

• The plugin was uninstalled and reinstalled, which clears connection state. Use Update, never Delete + Install.
• The site URL changed since the connections were made.

Where to get more help

If nothing here matches your issue:

• Email support@axtolab.com.
• WordPress.org support forum: https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/axtolab-ai-connector/.

Useful information to include:

• Plugin version (visible in AI Connector).
• WordPress version.
• AI client and version.
• Exact error text or a screenshot.
• Steps to reproduce.

Do not send passwords, Application Passwords, license keys, or full connection tokens.