Connect WordPress
Publish AI-generated articles directly to your WordPress site using an application password over the REST API.
Connect WordPress
EarlyForge publishes articles directly to your WordPress site through the WordPress REST API, authenticating with a WordPress application password. This guide walks you through the setup, from generating the credential to publishing a test article.
Prerequisites
- WordPress 5.6 or later (application passwords are built in since 5.6)
- An administrator account on your WordPress site
- HTTPS enabled on your WordPress site (required for application passwords)
- The WordPress REST API reachable at
https://yoursite.com/wp-json/
HTTPS is required. WordPress disables application passwords on non-HTTPS sites for security. If your site still runs on HTTP, enable HTTPS first.
Step-by-step setup
Generate a WordPress application password
- Log in to your WordPress admin panel.
- Go to Users → Profile (or Users → Your Profile).
- Scroll down to the Application Passwords section.
- Enter a name for the application:
EarlyForge. - Click Add New Application Password.
- Copy the generated password immediately — it won't be shown again.
The password looks like abcd EFGH 1234 ijkl MNOP 5678. The spaces are part of it.
Connect in EarlyForge
- In EarlyForge, go to Sites → [Your Site] → Publishing → WordPress.
- Fill in:
- Site URL —
https://yoursite.com(no trailing slash). - Username — Your WordPress username (not your email).
- Application Password — Paste the password from the previous step.
- Site URL —
- Optionally set publishing defaults:
- Default author — The WordPress user new posts are attributed to.
- Default category — The category new posts land in unless an article overrides it.
- Default status — Whether posts arrive as drafts or are published immediately.
- Click Test Connection.
Verify the connection
If the test succeeds, you'll see a green checkmark and your WordPress site name. EarlyForge can now:
- Create draft posts
- Publish posts directly
- Upload featured images
- Set categories and tags
Publish a test article
Go to Articles, open any article, and click Publish, then choose WordPress as the destination. Check your WordPress dashboard to confirm the post appeared as expected.
Your credential is encrypted. EarlyForge stores your application password encrypted in the site's connection settings. It is never shown back to you after you save it and is never exposed to anyone else. To rotate it, revoke the application password in WordPress and generate a new one.
Troubleshooting
Symptom: "Could not connect to WordPress site"
Possible causes:
- The URL is incorrect (check for typos and make sure it uses HTTPS).
- Your WordPress site sits behind a firewall that blocks API requests.
- A security plugin (Wordfence, iThemes Security) is blocking the REST API.
Fix: Confirm the URL is reachable by visiting https://yoursite.com/wp-json/ in your browser. You should see a JSON response. If you don't, review your security plugins.
Application password vs WordPress password: These are not the same. Your regular WordPress password logs you into wp-admin. An application password is a separate token used only for API access. Never enter your regular password in EarlyForge.
Advanced: publish on a schedule
Once WordPress is connected, you can publish automatically (available on Pro and above):
- Create a brief with your topic, tone, and structure.
- In the brief settings, enable Scheduling.
- Set a schedule (for example, weekdays at 9 AM).
- Choose WordPress as the destination.
See Brief scheduling for the full configuration.
What's next?
- Quickstart — Generate your first article.
- Brief automation — Automate content on a schedule.
- Connect Ghost — Publish to Ghost instead of, or alongside, WordPress.
- Webhooks — Custom publishing via signed webhooks.