If your agent’s Oxygen tools disappear or stop responding, the error usually tells you whether the problem is with the local connector process, the connection to WordPress, or authentication.

Start with the basics

1. Confirm that the connector is shown as Active under Oxygen → Settings → Agents & MCP.
2. Completely quit and restart your AI client.
3. Check whether the Oxygen tools appear in a new conversation.
4. Review the client’s MCP log immediately after reproducing the problem.
5. Consider what changed just before the connection stopped working, such as installing a security plugin or changing a firewall setting.

The Active status confirms that the connector is enabled in WordPress. It does not confirm that your AI client has started its local MCP process or successfully authenticated with the site.

“Sorry, you are not allowed to do that” or a 401 error

If your log contains a response like this:

API error response: {"code":"rest_forbidden","message":"Sorry, you are not allowed to do that.","data":{"status":401}}

WordPress received the request but rejected its authentication.

If your connection uses a WordPress Application Password, check whether a security plugin or your hosting provider has disabled Application Passwords or restricted REST API access.

Wordfence

Wordfence includes the following hardening option:

Wordfence → All Options → Brute Force Protection → Disable WordPress application passwords

If this option is enabled, it blocks the Application Password used by the connector.

Disable the option, save your settings, completely restart your AI client, and test the connection again.

The Oxygen tools do not appear

If the tools are missing entirely, your AI client may not have started or initialized the local MCP connector.

Completely quit and reopen the client first. If the tools are still missing, check its MCP log and verify that its Oxygen connection configuration is present.

If your configuration uses npx, confirm that Node.js and npm are available:

node --version
npm --version

On Windows, you can follow the Claude Desktop MCP log in PowerShell with:

Get-Content "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Claude\Logs\mcp.log" -Wait -Tail 100

For Claude Desktop on Windows, an npx-based connector may need to be launched through Command Prompt:

{
  "command": "cmd",
  "args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "@automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote"]
}

Running the connector manually and seeing it remain open without an error only confirms that the process can start. A standard-input/output MCP server normally waits quietly for requests; this does not confirm that WordPress authentication is working.

Another connector still works

Different connectors may use different WordPress endpoints or authentication methods. Another MCP connector working on the same site does not necessarily rule out an authentication or security restriction affecting Oxygen’s connection.

Use the exact error in the Oxygen connector’s log to identify where its request is failing.

Run a plugin conflict test

If the logs do not identify the cause, create a backed-up staging or development copy of the site and confirm that the issue also occurs there.

Temporarily disable non-essential plugins and test again. If the connection starts working, re-enable plugins in groups until the problem returns.

Check these plugin categories first:

• Security and login hardening.
• Firewall and REST API restriction.
• Caching and optimization.
• Two-factor authentication and user-management tools.

Once you identify the responsible plugin, test its individual settings before leaving it disabled.

What to send Oxygen Support

If you still need help, send:

• Your Oxygen, WordPress, and PHP versions.
• Your AI client, version, and operating system.
• The connector configuration with the username, Application Password, tokens, and other secrets removed.
• The MCP log recorded immediately after restarting the client and reproducing the problem.
• The exact error message.
• Whether the tools appear in the client.
• Whether the connection worked previously and what changed before it stopped.
• A list of active security, firewall, caching, and REST API restriction plugins.

Never send your WordPress Application Password. If you accidentally expose it, revoke it in WordPress and generate a new one.