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wpcom-remote-management

โ˜… 470

by automattic ยท part of automattic/studio

Manage a remote WordPress.com site with wpcom_request, including API namespace selection, endpoint discovery, content/template/theme/plugin operations, response-size limits, and visual verification.

๐Ÿงฐ Not standalone. This skill ships with automattic/studio and only works together with that tool โ€” install the tool first, then add this skill.

This is the playbook your agent receives when the skill activates โ€” you don't need to read it to use the skill, but it's here to audit before installing.

WordPress.com Remote Management

Use this skill after the mandatory remote-site plan check, before selecting endpoints or making changes to a WordPress.com site through wpcom_request.

Tool Shape

wpcom_request supports both the WordPress REST API and WordPress.com REST API endpoints:

  • method: GET, POST, PUT, or DELETE
  • path: relative to /sites/{siteId}/, such as /posts, /posts/123, or /templates
  • query: optional query parameters object
  • body: optional request body for POST and PUT
  • bodyFile: optional staged JSON file path for POST and PUT; the parsed JSON object becomes the entire request body
  • bodyFiles: optional map of top-level request body field names to staged file paths for POST and PUT; each file becomes that field's string value
  • apiNamespace: defaults to "wp/v2"; set to "" for WordPress.com REST API v1.1, or "wpcom/v2" for WordPress.com v2 endpoints

Prefix path with ! only for absolute paths such as !/me.

Namespace Selection

Prefer wp/v2 for standard WordPress resources:

  • Posts, pages, media, categories, tags, users, comments
  • Templates, template parts, navigation, global styles, block patterns
  • Block types and search

Use WordPress.com v1.1 by setting apiNamespace: "" for WordPress.com-specific resources:

  • Site info: GET /
  • Site settings: POST /settings
  • Plugin management: GET /plugins, POST /plugins/{slug}/install, POST /plugins/{slug} with body { active: true } or { active: false }
  • Theme switching: GET /themes, POST /themes/mine with body { theme: "slug" }
  • Media upload from URL: POST /media/new with body { media_urls: [...] }

Common wp/v2 Endpoints

  • Posts and pages: GET /posts, GET /posts/{id}, POST /posts, POST /posts/{id}, DELETE /posts/{id}
  • Media: GET /media, POST /media
  • Templates: GET /templates, GET /templates/{id}, POST /templates, POST /templates/{id}, DELETE /templates/{id}
  • Template parts: GET /template-parts, GET /template-parts/{id}, POST /template-parts, POST /template-parts/{id}
  • Navigation: GET /navigation, POST /navigation, POST /navigation/{id}
  • Global styles: GET /global-styles/{id}, POST /global-styles/{id}
  • Categories and tags: GET /categories, POST /categories, GET /tags, POST /tags
  • Block types: GET /block-types, GET /block-types/{name}
  • Search: GET /search?search={query}

To find the global styles ID, first call GET /themes?status=active; the active theme's _links["wp:user-global-styles"][0].href contains the ID.

Use per_page and page for pagination. Use status to filter by publish status. For creating or updating content, pass block markup in the content field of the request body.

Response Size Control

Minimize response sizes to avoid exceeding tool output limits:

  • Use _fields for wp/v2.
  • Use fields for WordPress.com v1.1.
  • Exclude heavy fields such as content when listing resources.
  • Fetch lightweight listings first, then fetch individual resources by ID when full content is needed.
  • When using fields with v1.1, always include ID.

Examples:

GET /posts?_fields=id,slug,title,status
GET /plugins?fields=ID,name,description,URL

Large Request Bodies

For generated page content, template content, template-part content, global styles, or CSS, do not inline large generated strings in wpcom_request.body.

Stage request payload files under tmp/ai-payloads/ within Studio app data using small Write or Edit steps.

Use bodyFiles when staged files should become string fields inside the request body:

body: { "status": "publish" }
bodyFiles: { "content": "tmp/ai-payloads/home.html" }

The bodyFiles keys must be top-level REST body field names such as content, excerpt, or css, not filenames or nested paths. Do not use keys like home.html, styles.css, content.raw, or styles.color.background.

Use bodyFile when the staged file is the complete JSON request body, especially for endpoints that expect nested JSON objects such as POST /global-styles/{id}:

bodyFile: "tmp/ai-payloads/global-styles.json"

Do not combine bodyFile with body or bodyFiles.

Workflow

  1. Check the site plan first. This is already required by the remote system prompt and must happen before any change.
  2. Understand the site with lightweight reads, such as GET /posts and GET /themes?status=active.
  3. Make changes with POST requests to create or update content, manage templates, switch themes, or manage plugins.
  4. Verify visually with take_screenshot using viewport: "all" for desktop and mobile.
  5. If an operation fails, inspect the error and try a lightweight GET request to discover the available shape before retrying.

Always confirm destructive operations, including deleting posts or deactivating plugins, before proceeding.