Most connection problems come from one of a handful of causes. Find the one that matches what you see, and try the fix. The exact wording differs between Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor, so match on the meaning rather than the words.

Membership MCP isn’t in MemberPress Add-ons

What you see: no Membership MCP card on the Add-ons screen, the message “Please enter your license key to access add-ons”, or no Add-ons item in the MemberPress menu at all.

Why: the Add-ons screen needs an active paid MemberPress license. The free edition of MemberPress doesn’t have one.

Fix: download the plugin zip and install it under Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin. See Connect your site.

Install says “Add-on not found.”

What you see: you click Install on the Membership MCP card in MemberPress → Add-ons, and a red “Add-on not found.” appears.

Why: an older version of another plugin on your site, such as BuddyBoss Platform, can answer the Install click before MemberPress does.

Fix: update BuddyBoss Platform to the latest version, then click Install again. Or install from the zip: download the plugin zip, then go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin. See Connect your site.

The plugin says MemberPress isn’t active

What you see: a notice from Membership MCP, and no connection screen.

Fix: activate MemberPress under Plugins. Membership MCP does nothing without it.

What you see: the Membership MCP screen warns about your permalink setting, or your AI reports that it can’t find your site’s endpoint.

Why: with “Plain” permalinks, WordPress can’t serve the address your AI connects to.

Fix: go to Settings → Permalinks, choose “Post name” (or any option except “Plain”), and click Save Changes.

Your site can’t be reached

What you see: your AI says the site is unreachable, timed out, or refused the connection.

Check these, in order:

  1. Is the site public? The connection runs over the internet, so a site on your own computer, on a private network, or behind a staging password can’t connect.
  2. Is it on https? Your site needs a valid https address.
  3. Is something blocking the WordPress REST API? Some security plugins, firewalls and hosting rules block it. Look for a setting about the “REST API” or “JSON API” and allow it, or ask your host.
  4. Is the site in maintenance mode? Turn it off, or wait until it’s back.

Your AI isn’t signed in

What you see: “not authorized”, “authentication required”, “needs login”, or your AI keeps asking you to sign in.

Fix: sign in again from your AI app. In Claude, open Customize → Connectors, find Membership MCP and click Connect. In ChatGPT, open the Membership MCP plugin from your Plugins page and sign in. In Cursor, open Customize in the sidebar and sign in to your Membership MCP entry. Use the same email each time, so you land in the same account.

The site was disconnected

What you see: your AI signs in fine, but says the site isn’t connected, or asks you to reconnect.

Why: the connection was removed on the site, the plugin was deactivated, or the site moved to a new address.

Fix: in WordPress, open the Membership MCP screen and click Connect again. If your site changed address, connect it again from the new one.

Your AI says it can’t do that

What you see: your AI says it has no tools for your site, or answers in general terms instead of looking at your data.

Check these:

  • Is Membership MCP switched on in this chat? In Claude, click +, choose Connectors, and switch it on. In ChatGPT, type @ and pick Membership MCP. In Cursor, check that your Membership MCP entry is on under Customize.
  • Is the job one Membership MCP can do? Some jobs aren’t covered yet, such as editing an existing plan or changing MemberPress settings. The tools reference lists what’s possible.
  • Does it need an add-on? Course, corporate account, download and gifting tools appear only when that MemberPress add-on is active.
  • Is the connection read-only? A read-only connection can’t make changes, so your AI won’t see the tools that do.
  • Are changes paused? If the pause switch is on in the plugin, every change is refused until you turn it off. Questions still work.

You’ve reached today’s limit

What you see: your AI says today’s actions are used up, with a link to upgrade.

Fix: wait for the daily reset, or upgrade. See Check your usage.

Still stuck

Open Support and tell us your site address, which AI app you use, and the exact message you see. A screenshot helps. Never send us your WordPress password; we’ll never ask for it.