---
title: "Getting started with GravityKit MCP"
date: 2026-08-17
author: "Block MCP (service account)"
link: "https://www.gravitykit.com/docs/gravitykit-mcp/getting-started/"
---

**New to MCP?** [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) is an open standard for connecting AI applications to outside systems. An MCP server hands an AI app a set of tools it can call on your behalf. GravityKit MCP is the one that hands it Gravity Forms.

GravityKit MCP is a free, open-source MCP server that connects an AI assistant to Gravity Forms on your WordPress site. Once it is connected, you manage forms, entries, feeds, and notifications by describing what you want in plain language, and the assistant carries it out.

The server runs on your own computer and reaches your site through the Gravity Forms REST API. It signs in as a WordPress user you choose, so it can do only what that user is allowed to do.

## What you'll need

- **Gravity Forms 2.5 or later** on your WordPress site.
- **Node.js 18 or later** on your computer. The server starts through `npx`, so there is nothing to install by hand.
- **An MCP-compatible AI app.** This guide uses [Claude Desktop](https://claude.ai/download); any MCP client works.
- **A WordPress account** with the Gravity Forms capabilities you want the assistant to have.
- HTTPS on your site is recommended. Local development URLs (`localhost`, `*.test`, and `*.local`) also work.

## Prefer to watch the video?

This walkthrough covers the same three steps written out below: enabling the Gravity Forms REST API, creating an application password, and adding the server to an AI assistant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DpclZ5AEsc 

## Step 1: Enable the Gravity Forms REST API

Gravity Forms does not register its REST routes until you turn the API on. This is required whichever credential type you use in Step 2.

- In WordPress, go to **Forms**, then **Settings**, then **REST API**.
- Check **Enable access to the API**, then save.

## Step 2: Create credentials

Choose one of the two options below.

### Application password (recommended)

An application password is a dedicated, revocable password that lets an outside app sign in as a WordPress user without that user's login password.

- Go to **Users**, then **Profile**, and scroll to **Application Passwords**.
- In **New Application Password Name**, enter a name such as `GravityKit MCP`, then click **Add Application Password**.
- Copy the generated password and keep it somewhere safe. WordPress will not show it again.

Your WordPress username plus this password are the credentials, and access follows that user's WordPress capabilities. On a site running GravityKit Foundation, the same credential also powers the GravityKit product tools.

### Gravity Forms API key

Use a key pair when you want scoped access — a read-only key, for example. On the same **Forms → Settings → REST API** screen, click **Add Key**, choose the user and permission level, and save the Consumer Key (`ck_…`) and Consumer Secret (`cs_…`).

## Step 3: Add the server to your AI app

In Claude Desktop, open **Settings**, then **Developer**, and click **Edit config**. That opens the folder holding `claude_desktop_config.json` (by default, `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/`). Open the file in a text editor and add the server:

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gravitykit-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@gravitykit/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "GRAVITY_FORMS_BASE_URL": "https://yoursite.com",
        "GRAVITY_FORMS_CONSUMER_KEY": "wordpress_username",
        "GRAVITY_FORMS_CONSUMER_SECRET": "wordpress_application_password"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Fill in the three values:

- `GRAVITY_FORMS_BASE_URL` is your site's URL, with no trailing slash.
- `GRAVITY_FORMS_CONSUMER_KEY` is your WordPress username, or a Consumer Key (`ck_…`) if you created an API key.
- `GRAVITY_FORMS_CONSUMER_SECRET` is the application password from Step 2, or the matching Consumer Secret (`cs_…`).

Save the file and restart Claude Desktop. `npx` fetches and runs `@gravitykit/mcp` on demand, so there is nothing to install separately. To stay on a fixed version rather than tracking the latest release, write `@gravitykit/mcp@x.y.z`.

### Other MCP clients

Claude Code, Cursor, and any other MCP client use the same server definition: the command `npx`, the arguments `-y @gravitykit/mcp`, and the same three environment variables. Add it wherever your client keeps its list of MCP servers.

## Step 4: Check the connection

Restart your AI app and ask it to list your forms — *“What Gravity Forms forms are on my site?”* The assistant calls the `gf_list_forms` tool and reports what it finds. If nothing happens, see [Troubleshooting](/docs/gravitykit-mcp/troubleshooting/).

## What you can ask for

- “Create a contact form with name, email, and a message field.”
- “Show me the last 20 entries from the job application form, newest first.”
- “Which entries on the registration form have a Gmail address?”
- “Add a required phone field to form 3, right after the email field.”
- “Resend the admin notification for entry 412.”

On a site running GravityKit Foundation and GravityView 3.0, the assistant can also build Views in the same conversation — see [Creating Views with AI using the GravityKit MCP](/docs/gravityview/advanced/build-views-with-ai/).

The assistant acts as the WordPress user whose credentials you supplied, on the site you pointed it at. Point it at a staging site while you are experimenting. Deleting forms, entries, and feeds is switched off until you turn it on — see [Configuration](/docs/gravitykit-mcp/configuration/).

## Where to go next

- [What GravityKit MCP can do](/docs/gravitykit-mcp/available-tools/) — every tool the server exposes.
- [Configuration](/docs/gravitykit-mcp/configuration/) — every setting, including delete protection and local development.
- [Troubleshooting](/docs/gravitykit-mcp/troubleshooting/) — what to check when the tools do not appear.
- The server is free and open source. Source, releases, and issue tracker: [github.com/GravityKit/MCP](https://github.com/GravityKit/MCP).