Unzip the etch-agent release and add one MCP server entry to your harness config. The connector ships embedded – no global CLI install.
Agentic Etch on the live builder.
Not another AI product. A local MCP server that connects your existing harness to the Etch builder through Etch's native AI Connector and Public API – no browser extension, no relay, just the builder tab dialing out to your agent.
Setup
Four steps. All local.
Unzip the release, point your harness at the server, open an authenticated Etch builder, and click AI Connector. No browser extension, no relay, no URL flags.
Log into WordPress and open the Etch builder on the page or template you want to edit.
Click AI Connector in the builder. The tab dials out to the local connector on 127.0.0.1:7331 – it carries your session, no credentials exchanged.
Ask the agent to call etch_list_targets. If your builder tab appears, you are connected.
Bring your own harness
If it speaks MCP, it works.
Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Windsurf, and whatever comes next all launch the same local stdio MCP server. Your harness provides the model. OhMyIDEtch MCP only connects it to Etch.
CodexClaude CodeCursorCopilotOpenCodeWhatever comes next
Tool coverage
75+ Etch MCP tools.
Validated pass-through to the Etch Public API: inspect and mutate blocks, styles, global stylesheets, components, loops, custom fields, and custom media; navigate the builder; author repo-local skills; and save only when you ask. Payloads are schema-checked against the official etch-public-api types before they reach the builder – malformed input returns a structured error in the same tool response, no round trip.
Targets & status
- etch_list_targets
- etch_get_active_target
- etch_set_active_target
- etch_get_status
- etch_get_last_apply_result
Blocks
- etch_get_selected_block
- etch_get_document_tree
- etch_get_block_json
- etch_find_blocks
- etch_insert_blocks
- etch_replace_block
- etch_update_block
- etch_mutate_block_attributes
- etch_duplicate_block
- etch_move_block
- etch_copy_block
- etch_paste_block
- etch_delete_block
Styles
For selector-scoped CSS. For root-level CSS (@keyframes, @property, @font-face, utility classes) see Stylesheets below.
- etch_list_styles
- etch_apply_style_patch
- etch_delete_style
- etch_get_style_variable
- etch_remove_style_variable
Stylesheets
For root-level CSS: @keyframes, @property, @font-face, utility classes, miniframework, root variables. Persists immediately.
- etch_list_stylesheets
- etch_get_stylesheet
- etch_create_stylesheet
- etch_update_stylesheet
- etch_append_stylesheet
- etch_delete_stylesheet
Components
- etch_list_components
- etch_get_component_json
- etch_upsert_agent_component
- etch_delete_agent_component
Component edit mode
- etch_enter_component_edit_mode
- etch_save_component_edit_mode
- etch_exit_component_edit_mode
- etch_is_in_component_edit_mode
Navigation
- etch_list_posts
- etch_list_templates
- etch_open_post
- etch_open_template
- etch_get_navigation_context
- etch_go_to
Loops
- etch_list_loops
- etch_upsert_loop
- etch_delete_loop
- etch_bind_loop_to_block
Custom media
- etch_list_custom_media
- etch_add_custom_media
Custom fields
- etch_list_field_groups
- etch_get_field_group
- etch_create_field_group
- etch_update_field_group
- etch_delete_field_group
- etch_add_field
- etch_update_field
- etch_remove_field
- etch_get_field_values
- etch_get_field_value
- etch_set_field_value
- etch_set_field_values
- etch_delete_field_value
History & UI
- etch_undo
- etch_redo
- etch_get_color_scheme
- etch_set_color_scheme
Local skills
- etch_list_skills
- etch_get_skill
- etch_get_skill_reference
- etch_list_local_skills
- etch_create_local_skill
- etch_update_local_skill
- etch_validate_local_skills
- etch_create_skill_reference
Detection
- etch_detect_acss
Save
- etch_save_document
Mutations apply to the Etch canvas immediately but do not persist until you explicitly call etch_save_document. Use etch_undo to roll back. Component upserts/deletes and stylesheet mutations persist immediately through their respective APIs – there is no separate save step for those.
Local & intentional
No cloud. No model keys. No credentials exchanged.
- Stdio MCP server and the embedded Etch Connector stay on 127.0.0.1 – nothing leaves your machine.
- OhMyIDEtch MCP never asks for WordPress credentials. The builder tab carries your session; the agent only reaches it through the connector.
- The builder tab connects only when you click AI Connector – there is no always-on injection.
- Multiple MCP clients can share one connector – one active canvas at a time.
Part of Oh My IDEtch
Devkit builds the repo. MCP keeps the agent on deploy.
Use the LocalWP devkit for local project code, then switch to OhMyIDEtch MCP when you need the same harness on a live builder tab – staging, production, or a client site.
src/Site/** in GitPHP builders + skillsMCP + AI ConnectorLive Etch tab
Included in IDEtch
Get Full + IDEtchDevkit and MCP ship together.
Oh My IDEtch bundles both halves of the agentic Etch workflow: the LocalWP devkit for local builds and OhMyIDEtch MCP for the live builder. Add OME Full for components, patterns, facets, Woo, and the complete build stack.