Claude alternative inside your WP dashboard
A free plugin adds a chat to your WP dashboard. It writes posts, edits your header and updates plugins, and changes nothing until you press. Undo puts it back.
Works on block themes: you'll see Appearance › Editor in your dashboard.
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1 and PHP 8.0 or newer. What it installs
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
Plugins are installed from a computer. Get the plugin here instead
- Nothing changes without your OK
- Undo in one click, or a warning first
- No account, no password to share
Claude is a trademark of its owner. CMSHands is not affiliated with it.
Audit my site: outdated plugins and who's an admin.
Audit, all read just now.
Outdated plugins — 7 of 14
| Plugin | Installed | Available |
|---|---|---|
| Contact Form 7 | 6.1.7 | 6.2.1 |
| Disable Comments | 2.8.0 | 2.9.0 |
| Easy Table of Contents | 2.0.87.1 | 2.0.88 |
| Loco Translate | 2.8.8 | 2.8.9 |
| Redirection | 5.10.0 | 5.10.1 |
| Regenerate Thumbnails | 3.1.5 | 3.1.6 |
| Safe SVG | 2.5.0 | 2.5.1 |
Safe SVG's release notes say it is a security release and recommend updating immediately. All seven have a newer version on WordPress.org, so each can be updated or rolled back from here.
Current already: Akismet, Duplicate Page, Flamingo, Hello Dolly, WooCommerce, WP Mail SMTP, CMSHands Connector, and all three themes.
Administrators — 2
- egis (user 1)
- Nora Bennett (user 2)
…
A real run on our test site, Oct 10, 2026. From asking to done, it took 6 seconds. Go through it step by step
How they compare
| CMSHands | Claude | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Jobs on the one WP site it's installed on | A general assistant: it searches the web, makes files and runs code1 |
| Where you ask | A chat in your WP dashboard, the screens you log in to at yoursite.com/wp-admin | Claude's own apps, on the web, desktop and phone1 |
| Reaching your site | It's installed in your site, so nothing else needs linking | Through a custom connector: you add a remote MCP server URL. Free accounts get 1 custom connector2 |
| Writing a post | Writes it from your notes and adds it to your site when you press the card. Undo takes it off | Writes it in the chat. It reaches your site only through a connector2 |
| Before a change | A card shows the old and new words, or a before-and-after view on desktop and phone. Nothing changes until you press | Asks before it uses a connector's tool. You can pick “Allow always”2 |
| Undo | On the card: a new post comes off, a header goes back as it was | Not listed on Claude's connector help page, read Oct 14, 20262 |
| Plugin updates | One at a time, from the WP plugin directory. It checks your home page, login page and dashboard after, and puts the old version back if they got worse | Depends on the connector you add2 |
| Price | Free to start: 3 changes, then 10 a month with your email. A paid plan is coming | Free plan. Pro $17 a month billed yearly, or $20 monthly. Max from $100 a month1 |
Built for
- CMSHands
- Jobs on the one WP site it's installed on
- Claude
- A general assistant: it searches the web, makes files and runs code1
Where you ask
- CMSHands
- A chat in your WP dashboard, the screens you log in to at yoursite.com/wp-admin
- Claude
- Claude's own apps, on the web, desktop and phone1
Reaching your site
- CMSHands
- It's installed in your site, so nothing else needs linking
- Claude
- Through a custom connector: you add a remote MCP server URL. Free accounts get 1 custom connector2
Writing a post
- CMSHands
- Writes it from your notes and adds it to your site when you press the card. Undo takes it off
- Claude
- Writes it in the chat. It reaches your site only through a connector2
Before a change
- CMSHands
- A card shows the old and new words, or a before-and-after view on desktop and phone. Nothing changes until you press
- Claude
- Asks before it uses a connector's tool. You can pick “Allow always”2
Undo
- CMSHands
- On the card: a new post comes off, a header goes back as it was
- Claude
- Not listed on Claude's connector help page, read Oct 14, 20262
Plugin updates
- CMSHands
- One at a time, from the WP plugin directory. It checks your home page, login page and dashboard after, and puts the old version back if they got worse
- Claude
- Depends on the connector you add2
Price
- CMSHands
- Free to start: 3 changes, then 10 a month with your email. A paid plan is coming
- Claude
- Free plan. Pro $17 a month billed yearly, or $20 monthly. Max from $100 a month1
CMSHands and Claude, for one WP site. Claude facts read Oct 14, 2026.
- 1. claude.com/pricing, Oct 14, 2026
- 2. support.claude.com/en/articles/11175166-getting-started-with-custom-connectors-using-remote-mcp, Oct 14, 2026
Watch it do this on a real site
You ask
You type the question in the chat. It reads your plugins and themes, one setting and your users. Reading changes nothing.
You ask
You type the question in the chat. It reads your plugins and themes, one setting and your users. Reading changes nothing.
Audit my site: outdated plugins and who's an admin.
It answers
The 7 plugins with a newer version, each with what you have and what's out. Then the 2 administrators. One login name is ours, so we covered it.
Audit my site: outdated plugins and who's an admin.
Audit, all read just now.
Outdated plugins — 7 of 14
| Plugin | Installed | Available |
|---|---|---|
| Contact Form 7 | 6.1.7 | 6.2.1 |
| Disable Comments | 2.8.0 | 2.9.0 |
| Easy Table of Contents | 2.0.87.1 | 2.0.88 |
| Loco Translate | 2.8.8 | 2.8.9 |
| Redirection | 5.10.0 | 5.10.1 |
| Regenerate Thumbnails | 3.1.5 | 3.1.6 |
| Safe SVG | 2.5.0 | 2.5.1 |
Safe SVG's release notes say it is a security release and recommend updating immediately. All seven have a newer version on WordPress.org, so each can be updated or rolled back from here.
Current already: Akismet, Duplicate Page, Flamingo, Hello Dolly, WooCommerce, WP Mail SMTP, CMSHands Connector, and all three themes.
Administrators — 2
- egis (user 1)
- Nora Bennett (user 2)
Those are the two accounts that can do anything on the site. If you do not recognise one of them, say so and I will dig further.
Say which plugins you want updating and I will put up one card each — nothing installs until you press it.
Questions change nothing, so there's no button: this is the answer it gave. Step times count from the moment the request was sent.
- Ask it to audit your site and it lists plugins with a newer version and who can log in as admin. Nothing changes.
- It edits your header and footer on block themes, with a before-and-after view on desktop and phone.
- It writes a new post from your notes and publishes it when you press Add the post. Undo takes it off.
More it does here (4)
- It updates a plugin from the WP plugin directory, checks your site, and puts the old version back if it got worse.
- Each change comes as a card, a box in the chat that shows exactly what would change.
- It changes words on a page or post, with the old and new words side by side.
- It installs a plugin from the WP plugin directory when you ask. Undo switches it off and deletes it.
Which one fits
Who should keep Claude
Keep Claude for everything that isn't your site. It chats on the web, desktop and phone, searches the web, makes files and runs code (claude.com/pricing, read Oct 14, 2026). With a custom connector it can also act in other apps you link to it. CMSHands does one thing: jobs on the one WP site it's installed on.
Can you use both?
Yes. You can draft words in Claude, then paste them into the chat in your dashboard and ask it to add the post. We haven't tested CMSHands next to a Claude connector on our test site, a WP site we run to try every task before we write about it. So let one of them change the site, not both, or you won't know which one changed what.
Why it won't wreck your site
- Nothing changes until you press the button. Every change comes as a card that names it. Nothing happens until you press the button or Not now.
- You see it first. Old words in red, new words in green. For layout, before-and-after pictures on a computer and a phone.
- One click undoes it. When something can't be undone, like deleting a page or a plugin, the card says so before you press.
- It checks your pages after the fix. It loads your home page, login, dashboard and a post again before it calls the repair done.
What it won't do here
- Header and footer on block themes onlyOn an older theme, one with Appearance › Customize instead of Editor, it can't change the header or footer.
- Menus, widgets and page-builder pagesIt changes pages, posts, and the block-theme header and footer. It can't change menus, widgets, theme settings or page-builder pages.
- Plugins from the WP plugin directory onlyUpdates and installs cover the free plugins at wordpress.org. A premium plugin you bought updates through its maker, not the chat.
- Copies of your whole siteIt doesn't keep copies of your whole site to restore from. Your host or a separate plugin does that.
Free to start
- No account
- 3 to try it
- With your email
- 10 every month
- Paid plan
- Coming. Nothing costs money until you choose it.
A change is one card you approve. A job that touches several pages or plugins is several changes.What's free
Questions
Can I connect Claude to WordPress?
Yes, with a custom connector. In Claude's connector settings you add a custom connector and paste a remote MCP server URL. Your site needs something that runs that server. Free Claude accounts get 1 custom connector. Anthropic says to connect only servers you trust, because connectors can change or delete data (support.claude.com, read Oct 14, 2026).
Is there a Claude WordPress plugin?
Claude's connector help page asks for a server address, not a plugin. That's a remote MCP server URL, so your site needs something that runs one (support.claude.com, read Oct 14, 2026). CMSHands is a different kind of tool. It's a free plugin with its own chat inside your dashboard, and it has no MCP server for Claude to connect to.
Is CMSHands made by Anthropic?
No. CMSHands is a separate product from a separate company, and it isn't affiliated with Anthropic, the company that makes Claude. If you're looking for your Claude chats or your Claude account, go to claude.ai. CMSHands works only inside your WP site.
What does Claude cost?
Claude has a free plan. Pro costs $17 a month billed yearly, or $20 billed monthly, and Max starts at $100 a month. We read these prices on claude.com/pricing on Oct 14, 2026, so check there for today's. CMSHands is a free plugin: 3 changes with no account, then 10 a month with your email.
Can Claude update my WP plugins?
Only through a connector, and only if the server behind it offers updates. Before you allow it, check what happens when an update breaks the site. On our test site, CMSHands updated Contact Form 7 from 6.1.7 to 6.2.1. Then it checked the home page, login page and dashboard, and kept 6.2.1 because they loaded as before.
Written by CMSHands team.
Try it on your own site
- Nothing changes without your OK
- Undo in one click, or a warning first
- No account, no password to share