Boswell

Tags: ai, comments, persona, mcp, content
Contributors: hametuha, Takahashi_Fumiki
Tested Up to: 7.0
Stable Tag: nightly
Requires at least: 7.0
Requires PHP: 8.1
License: GPLv3 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html

AI-powered commenting and content management for WordPress.

Description

Boswell enriches your WordPress blog with AI-powered personas that can comment on posts, manage shared memory, and create content — all through the WordPress Abilities API and MCP (Model Context Protocol).

Features

• AI Personas — Define multiple AI personas with unique writing styles and personalities. Each persona generates comments that match their character.
• Shared Memory — A Markdown-based memory system that personas share, maintaining context across interactions.
• Automated Commenting — Schedule personas to comment on posts via WordPress cron, or trigger comments manually.
• MCP Integration — Expose all capabilities as MCP tools via the WordPress MCP Adapter. Connect Claude Desktop or any MCP client directly to your site.
• Post Management — Create, update, list, and delete posts through MCP tools.
• WP-CLI Support — Manage personas, memory, and comments from the command line.

How It Works

Boswell registers its capabilities through the WordPress Abilities API (in core since WordPress 6.9). The MCP Adapter plugin exposes these abilities as MCP tools, resources, and prompts.

Claude Desktop ←MCP→ WordPress (MCP Adapter)
                         ├── boswell/comment       (tool)
                         ├── boswell/get-context    (tool)
                         ├── boswell/get-memory     (tool)
                         ├── boswell/add-memory     (tool)
                         ├── boswell/create-post    (tool)
                         ├── boswell/update-post    (tool)
                         ├── boswell/list-posts     (tool)
                         ├── boswell/delete-post    (tool)
                         ├── boswell/context        (resource)
                         └── boswell/write-for-site (prompt)

AI Providers

Boswell uses the WordPress AI Client (wp_ai_client_prompt()), which has been part of core since WordPress 7.0. You need at least one AI provider plugin installed:

• AI Provider for Anthropic
• AI Provider for OpenAI
• AI Provider for Google

Each provider plugin registers itself with the core AI Client registry on activation — no extra configuration in Boswell is required.

Installation

1. Download the latest release zip from GitHub Releases.
2. Upload the zip file via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin in WordPress admin.
3. Activate the plugin.
4. Install at least one AI provider plugin (e.g. AI Provider for Anthropic) and the MCP Adapter plugin.
5. Go to Settings > Boswell to configure personas.
6. Set up your AI provider API key (e.g., ANTHROPIC_API_KEY constant or environment variable).

Upgrading from 1.x

Boswell 1.x bundled the AI Client, AI Provider for Anthropic, and MCP Adapter inside vendor/. From 2.0.0 these are no longer bundled — they must be installed as standalone plugins (the AI Client is now part of WordPress 7.0 core). Before upgrading a site that has 1.x installed, delete the existing wp-content/plugins/boswell/ directory so the old vendor/ packages don't shadow the new core/plugin equivalents and trigger class-redeclaration fatals.

MCP Connection

To connect Claude Desktop to your WordPress site, add the MCP server to your Claude Desktop configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "boswell": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@anthropic-ai/mcp-remote",
        "https://your-site.com/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Frequently Asked Questions

What WordPress version is required?

WordPress 7.0 or later. Boswell relies on the AI Client that shipped with WordPress 7.0 core. (The Abilities API has been part of core since 6.9.)

Can I use multiple AI providers?

Yes. Install the AI provider plugins you want (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google) — each one self-registers with the core AI Client. Configure each persona to point at the provider you want to use.

How do I create a persona?

Go to Settings > Boswell in the WordPress admin. Each persona needs an ID, display name, and a persona description that defines their writing style.

Can personas comment automatically?

Yes. Each persona can have a cron schedule (e.g., daily). Boswell will automatically find eligible posts and generate comments.

How do I customize comment strategies?

See the Wiki for details on adding custom strategies, adjusting query parameters, enriching post context, and blocking comments on specific posts or categories.

Upgrade Notice

2.0.0

Requires WordPress 7.0. Before upgrading from 1.x, delete the existing wp-content/plugins/boswell/ directory so the bundled vendor/ packages don't shadow the standalone AI Provider and MCP Adapter plugins. Install AI Provider for Anthropic and MCP Adapter separately.

Changelog

2.0.2

• Fix automated commenting silently stopping after a plugin reactivation or upgrade. The deactivation hook clears all scheduled cron events, but reactivation never restored them (only saving a persona did), so the 1.x → 2.0 directory-delete migration left commenting dormant. Schedules are now reconciled on activation and self-heal on every admin request.

2.0.1

• Improve shared-memory quality: the commentary log now stores a concise, AI-generated summary of each comment instead of a truncated snippet. Entries stay informative and no longer collapse into repeated greetings, and multi-paragraph comments can no longer break the memory list.

2.0.0

• Breaking: Requires WordPress 7.0 and PHP 8.1.
• Use the core AI Client (wp_ai_client_prompt()) introduced in WordPress 7.0 instead of the bundled wp-ai-client SDK.
• No longer bundles wp-ai-client, ai-provider-for-anthropic, or mcp-adapter — install them as standalone plugins.
• Update MCP ability metadata for MCP Adapter v0.5.0 (uri and annotations moved under the mcp key).
• Release zip no longer ships vendor/, composer.json, or composer.lock.

1.1.0

• Add strategy-based post selection and comment safety valve.

1.0.4

• Fix deploy workflow: upload zip to existing release.

1.0.3

• Fix deploy clean step failing on non-existent files.

1.0.2

• Add version resolver to release-drafter.
• Add README.md for WordPress readme.txt.

1.0.1

• Add deploy workflow with zip release on tag push.

1.0.0

• Initial release. AI persona management, shared memory, automated commenting via WordPress cron, MCP integration via the WordPress Abilities API, post CRUD tools, and WP-CLI commands.
• AI persona management with admin UI.
• Shared memory system with section-based Markdown storage.
• Automated commenting via WordPress cron.
• MCP integration via WordPress Abilities API.
• Post CRUD tools (create, update, list, delete).
• WP-CLI commands for personas, memory, and comments.