Creating Views with AI using the GravityKit MCP

GravityView 3.0 lets you build and manage your Views by talking to an AI assistant. This feature is opt-in, and no AI connection is enabled by default. Describe the View you want in plain language, such as “create a table View from my contact form, newest first,” and the assistant builds it for you.

AI View creation requires GravityKit MCP, a free, open-source MCP server that connects an AI assistant, such as Claude, to your WordPress site. MCP, short for Model Context Protocol, is an open standard introduced by Anthropic for connecting AI applications to external systems.

Watch a brief demo

Things you can ask for #

Once the connection is in place, you can ask your AI assistant to:

• Create a View from a Gravity Forms form and choose its layout (table, list, and more).
• Add, configure, reorder, and remove fields and columns.
• Set up the Search Bar, including its filters and input types.
• Configure widgets and adjust View settings.
• Switch layouts, change themes, or display entries as a card grid.

The tools that remove a field, widget, or search field, delete a View, or change a View’s status are switched off until you allow them, as Destructive product tools explains. The other editing tools stay on, and an edit that replaces a whole area of a View can still drop fields from it.

The assistant acts as a WordPress user, so it can do only what that account is allowed to do. New Views are created as drafts by default.

Before you start #

Make sure you have the following in place:

• GravityView 3.0 or later, with GravityKit Foundation active. Foundation is what exposes the gv_ View tools.
• WordPress 6.9 or later, which has the Abilities API these tools use.
• The Gravity Forms REST API enabled, so the assistant can also work with forms and entries. Step 1 covers this.
• An AI assistant that can run a local MCP server. This guide uses Claude Desktop.
• A WordPress account that can edit Views.
• Node.js 18 or later on your computer, only if you connect by editing a configuration file in Step 3.
• HTTPS is recommended. Local development URLs (localhost, *.test, and *.local) also work over plain HTTP, and a remote plain-HTTP site needs one more setting.

How it works #

GravityView publishes its View-building capabilities as “abilities” through GravityKit Foundation and the WordPress Abilities API. The GravityKit MCP server, running on your computer, reads them from your site and presents them to your assistant as tools named with a gv_ prefix. They work next to the server’s Gravity Forms tools (gf_), so you can create a form and build a View for it in the same conversation.

When you ask for something, the assistant calls those tools on your behalf, signed in as your WordPress user. The server saves no copy of your data, though an error message it writes to your AI app’s log can include a value from the request. On an HTTPS site, the connection to your site is encrypted.

Step 1: Enable the Gravity Forms REST API #

The server’s Gravity Forms tools reach your site through the Gravity Forms REST API, which is off until you turn it on. The GravityView tools don’t need it, but with it on, the assistant can also create the form a View is built from.

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

Step 2: Create a WordPress application password #

An application password is a dedicated, revocable password that lets an external app sign in as you without using your main login. The GravityKit MCP uses one to connect.

• Go to Users, then Profile, and scroll to Application Passwords.
• Enter a name, such as GravityKit MCP, and click Add Application Password.
• Copy the generated password and keep it somewhere safe. You won’t be able to see it again.

Your WordPress username plus this password are your credentials, and access follows your WordPress capabilities.

Step 3: Connect the GravityKit MCP to your AI assistant #

Claude Desktop extension

On macOS and Windows, download the GravityKit MCP extension and open the file. Claude Desktop installs it and asks for your website address, your WordPress username, and the application password from Step 2. Leave its two delete settings off unless you want the assistant to remove or delete things; Getting started with GravityKit MCP describes each setting.

Edit the configuration file

For other AI apps, or to set up Claude Desktop by hand, add the server to the app’s MCP configuration. In Claude Desktop, open Settings, go to Developer, and click Edit Config to find claude_desktop_config.json. Open it 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"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "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 the username of a new account you created for the AI).
• GRAVITY_FORMS_CONSUMER_SECRET is the application password from Step 2.

Save the file, then quit Claude Desktop completely and open it again. npx downloads and runs @gravitykit/mcp on demand, so there’s nothing to install separately.

Step 4: Build a View by chatting #

With the connection live, describe what you want and let the assistant do the work. A few examples to get you started:

• “Create a View from my Contact Us form as a table, showing name, email, and date, newest first.”
• “Add a search bar that filters by status and date.”
• “Switch this View to the list layout.”
• “Enable the Vantage theme and show entries as a three-column card grid.”

The assistant creates the View, as a draft by default, and reports back. Open it in WordPress to review, fine-tune, and publish when you’re happy with it.

Tips and notes #

• New Views are drafts by default, but changes to an existing View are saved as soon as the assistant makes them. To try changes on a published View, ask the assistant to clone it first and work on the copy.
• Not sure what’s possible? Ask the assistant directly, for example, “What GravityView actions can you take?”

Troubleshooting #

• The GravityView tools are missing. Confirm GravityView 3.0 or later and GravityKit Foundation are active and the site runs WordPress 6.9 or later. Then ask the assistant to reload abilities, or restart the app.
• You see authentication errors. Re-check your WordPress username and application password. If the errors come from the Gravity Forms tools, also confirm the Gravity Forms REST API is enabled (Step 1).
• Your local site uses a self-signed certificate. Set GRAVITY_FORMS_ALLOW_SELF_SIGNED_CERTS to true in the env block.
• A tool is disabled as destructive. The tools that remove, delete, or change a View’s status are switched off by default. See Destructive product tools.

GravityKit MCP has its own docs, covering setup for other AI apps, every setting, every tool, and troubleshooting.