[BUG] MCP server fails to connect (no logs generated) — WordPress remote connector, Windows
Preflight Checklist
- [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
- [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
- [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code
What's Wrong?
Claude Code version: 2.1.216
OS: Windows (PowerShell)
I'm trying to connect the @automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote MCP server to a WordPress/Breakdance site. The server consistently fails to connect (/mcp shows "failed") with no diagnostic information available.
What I've confirmed works:
The WordPress MCP endpoint is healthy — a manual HTTPS POST with the same Basic Auth credentials returns a valid 200 OK MCP initialize response with correct protocol version and capabilities
Credentials are correct (confirmed via the same manual test)
npm install -g @automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote@latest installs cleanly with no errors
Running npx -y @automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote manually in a terminal starts the process with no errors (sits waiting on stdio as expected)
Pointed the config directly at the installed binary's full .cmd path instead of relying on npx -y — same failure
Tested in both a normal and an Administrator-elevated terminal — same failure in both
What Should Happen?
What fails:
claude mcp add ... succeeds in registering the server in .claude.json
/mcp inside a claude session always shows this server as ✘ failed, both via npx -y @automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote and via the direct installed binary path
No log file is generated anywhere I could find under %USERPROFILE%\.claude or %LOCALAPPDATA%\claude*
claude --debug did not surface additional error detail in the terminal for this specific failure
This suggests the process is failing to complete its stdio handshake with Claude Code specifically, despite working correctly when run standalone.
(text written by Claude)
Error Messages/Logs
Steps to Reproduce
Title: MCP server fails to connect (no logs generated) — WordPress remote connector, Windows
Body:
Claude Code version: 2.1.216
OS: Windows (PowerShell)
I'm trying to connect the @automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote MCP server to a WordPress/Breakdance site. The server consistently fails to connect (/mcp shows "failed") with no diagnostic information available.
What I've confirmed works:
The WordPress MCP endpoint is healthy — a manual HTTPS POST with the same Basic Auth credentials returns a valid 200 OK MCP initialize response with correct protocol version and capabilities
Credentials are correct (confirmed via the same manual test)
npm install -g @automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote@latest installs cleanly with no errors
Running npx -y @automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote manually in a terminal starts the process with no errors (sits waiting on stdio as expected)
Pointed the config directly at the installed binary's full .cmd path instead of relying on npx -y — same failure
Tested in both a normal and an Administrator-elevated terminal — same failure in both
What fails:
claude mcp add ... succeeds in registering the server in .claude.json
/mcp inside a claude session always shows this server as ✘ failed, both via npx -y @automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote and via the direct installed binary path
No log file is generated anywhere I could find under %USERPROFILE%\.claude or %LOCALAPPDATA%\claude*
claude --debug did not surface additional error detail in the terminal for this specific failure
This suggests the process is failing to complete its stdio handshake with Claude Code specifically, despite working correctly when run standalone.
Claude Model
Not sure / Multiple models
Is this a regression?
Yes, this worked in a previous version
Last Working Version
_No response_
Claude Code Version
2.1.216
Platform
Anthropic API
Operating System
macOS
Terminal/Shell
Terminal.app (macOS)
Additional Information
_No response_