WordPress is sitting on a goldmine. Over the past 20 years, its community has created more than 60,000 plugins — a massive, decentralized library of tools, ideas, and functionality. But until now, accessing that collective intelligence has been like trying to tap into an archive with no index.
That’s where the new Feature API comes in. With just 8,336 lines of code, this initiative lays the foundation for WordPress to become AI-native — not by reinventing its internals, but by exposing them in a standardized, machine-readable way.
The Problem: AI Tools Are Leaving WordPress Behind
New AI-native site builders like Loveable.dev and Bolt.new are reshaping how websites are created. They offer users instant access to functionality, context-aware tools, and seamless integrations. They feel modern, fast, and intuitive — everything WordPress can be perceived as lacking, by default.
The risk? These tools bypass the WordPress ecosystem entirely — ignoring the decades of development embedded in plugins, themes, and workflows.
The Solution: The Feature API
The Feature API is a structured registry that makes WordPress features discoverable and consumable by AI. Through standardized functions like wp_register_feature() (PHP) and registerFeature() (JavaScript), plugin and theme developers can expose blocks, REST endpoints, UI actions, plugin methods, and more — all as named, queryable “features.”
This isn’t just theory. The API includes:
packages/client and packages/client-features — enabling JavaScript-based features for frontend tools and UIs.
Support for Model Context Protocol (MCP) — allowing AI tools (like Cursor) to understand and interact with WordPress feature sets.
A built-in mechanism (rest_alias) to expose existing REST API endpoints without writing new callbacks.
A powerful WP_Feature_Query class — enabling filtering by type, category, or schema.
Real Example: An AI Agent That Talks to WordPress
The included demo/wp-feature-api-agent plugin shows this in action. It connects a GPT-based AI agent to WordPress via the Feature API — using OpenAI (via proxy) to understand and invoke features registered in the site.
The agent can literally ask, “What can this WordPress install do?” and receive an actionable, structured list of capabilities — from registered REST endpoints to plugin features. This isn’t a concept — it’s a functioning demo that supports the entire thesis of making WordPress programmable and interactive through AI.
Why This Changes the Game
AI-native, by design: The Feature API wasn’t retrofitted. It’s built from the ground up to support AI agents, LLMs, and intelligent tooling.
Unlocks 20 years of value: While it doesn’t automatically index all 60,000 plugins, it provides a clear path for developers to opt-in — exposing the best of the ecosystem in a standardized format.
Backend and frontend ready: With client-side registration and support for UI actions, features can be exposed and used entirely in-browser — creating a new wave of interactive tooling.
Built on existing standards: REST endpoints, for example, don’t need to be rewritten. The rest_alias parameter maps features to them directly.
Built for orchestration: Features can be queried, filtered, and described using WP_Feature_Query, giving developers — and agents — control over how capabilities are discovered and combined.
Not Just Another API — A Strategic Pivot
This isn’t about adding another developer tool. It’s about reshaping how WordPress is understood and extended. Instead of being a static CMS with 60,000 isolated islands, WordPress becomes a dynamic, queriable toolkit of capabilities — discoverable by code, UI, or AI.
The design even includes a WP_Feature_Schema_Adapter, enabling translation of WordPress features into formats compatible with various AI models — showing strategic foresight in aligning with the evolving AI tooling landscape.
And with clear documentation (/docs), practical demos, and modular packages, it’s built for developers — making it far easier to integrate, register, and expose functionality from existing plugins.
A Smarter Future for WordPress
The Feature API won’t magically transform WordPress overnight — but it could redefine how we interact with it. A tool like Claude or ChatGPT, paired with features registered from a plugin like Contact Form 7, could explain its configuration, build new forms, or even debug user issues. Not by scraping docs — but by reading structured capabilities.
In a world where the tools are getting smarter, WordPress finally has an answer.
Not with hype, but with code — 8,336 lines of it.
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