The right level of automation for an AI agent is 99%. Claude can read and rewrite every post and page on your WordPress site. The last 1%, deciding what actually goes live, stays with you. That is what makes it safe to point Claude at a site with real traffic.
How it works
- Scratch pulls your content into files. Posts, pages, and any custom post types come down to a folder on your laptop, auto-discovered.
- Claude edits the content. Tell it what you want across the archive. Add a meta description under 158 characters to every post that is missing one. Claude works the whole list.
- You review every diff and publish. Scratch shows each change next to the original, word by word. Approve what ships, and Scratch writes only those posts back over the REST API.
What Claude edits in WordPress
- Post and page bodies, with block content preserved
- Titles, slugs, excerpts, and publication status
- Custom post types and taxonomies, auto-discovered
- Advanced Custom Fields and image alt text across the media library
Templates and template parts are excluded, and post meta is hidden by default so plugin-owned SEO fields stay safe. For the full picture, see Scratch for WordPress.
Why not a plugin?
A bulk-edit plugin or an MCP server writes straight to your live database. One bad pass and you are restoring from a backup. Scratch gives Claude the same full read and write access, but against a local copy. Every change waits as a diff until you approve it. The posts you do not approve never leave your laptop.
Questions people ask
Is this an MCP server or a WordPress plugin?
No. A plugin or MCP gives Claude the publish button straight to your database. Scratch does not. Claude gets the same access, but publishing is a separate step you approve, one post at a time.
Will Claude touch my theme or plugin settings?
No. Templates and template parts are excluded, and post meta is hidden by default so plugin-owned fields are not edited by accident.
Can I undo a change after it ships?
Yes. Every published post is reversible from Scratch, per row. The original sits next to the rewrite until you decide which one stays.
Can it handle hundreds of posts at once?
Yes, that is the use case. Pull 50 posts to feel the flow, then pull the whole archive.
Do I need to be technical?
No. Install Scratch, connect WordPress, point Claude at the folder, and approve the diffs.