# See and control Application Password connections in Royal MCP

> Find every Application Password that uses Royal MCP tools through the WordPress Abilities API or another MCP server, learn when to block one and when to delete it, and limit what these connections can do.

- Canonical: <https://royalplugins.com/support/royal-mcp/application-passwords/>
- Last updated: 2026-11-05
- HTML version: <https://royalplugins.com/support/royal-mcp/application-passwords/>

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Not every AI tool signs in to Royal MCP directly. Some reach your site through the WordPress Abilities API or through another MCP server on your site, and they sign in with a WordPress Application Password. From Royal MCP 1.5.15 you can see every one of these connections on the Connected Clients screen, and block or delete any of them in two clicks. This guide explains where they come from, how to read the list, and when to block a connection rather than delete it.

## The four ways an AI tool can reach Royal MCP

Royal MCP accepts four kinds of sign-in, and each one is managed in a different place. Knowing which one a tool uses tells you where to look when you want to check or stop it.

| How the tool signs in | Typical tools | Where you manage it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| OAuth sign-in | Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, Royally | Royal MCP > Connected Clients, in the main table |
| Royal MCP API key | Command-line tools and scripts you set up yourself | Royal MCP > Settings, where you can regenerate the key |
| WordPress Application Password | Tools that use the WordPress Abilities API or another MCP server on your site, such as the WordPress MCP Adapter | Royal MCP > Connected Clients > Application Passwords (this guide) |
| Your own browser login | Browser agents that use a WebMCP bridge | Royal MCP > Settings > Advanced > Tools browser agents can use |

## What an Application Password connection is

An Application Password is a separate password that WordPress lets each user create for apps and scripts, so they never need the user’s real login. You create them under **Users > Profile > Application Passwords**, and an app that has one can act as that user through the WordPress REST API.

Royal MCP registers its tools with the WordPress Abilities API (you can turn this off, see below). That means any tool that can sign in to your site’s REST API with an Application Password can also use Royal MCP’s tools, either directly through the Abilities API or through another MCP server installed on your site. These calls never pass through Royal MCP’s own sign-in screen, which is why Royal MCP now keeps its own record of them.

Each call still runs as that user

A tool signed in with an Application Password has the same WordPress permissions as the user who owns the password, and every Royal MCP tool still checks those permissions. Read-only mode, Drafts only and the access level for other MCP servers also apply to these calls.

## Find the list

#### Open Connected Clients

In your WordPress admin, go to **Royal MCP > Connected Clients**. You need to be a site administrator.

#### Scroll to Application Passwords

The section sits below the table of OAuth connections. If no Application Password has used a Royal MCP tool yet, it says so.

#### Read each row

Each row is one Application Password that has called a Royal MCP tool on this site. The columns are explained below.

| Column | What it tells you |
| --- | --- |
| User | The WordPress user who owns the password. Every call made with it runs with this user’s permissions. |
| Application Password | The name the user gave the password when they created it, such as “Claude agent”. If the password was deleted somewhere else, for example on the user’s profile, it says *Deleted in WordPress*. |
| First used | When this password first called a Royal MCP tool. |
| Last used | The most recent call. It is updated at most once a minute, so a busy tool may show a time up to a minute old. |
| Status | *Allowed* or *Blocked*. |

A password appears in the list the first time it calls a Royal MCP tool, so a password that exists but has never used Royal MCP is not shown. The list keeps the 200 most recently used passwords, and blocked passwords always stay on it.

## Block or delete: which one to use

Each row offers two ways to stop a connection, and they do very different things.

### Block

**Block** stops that Application Password from using Royal MCP tools, and nothing else. WordPress keeps the password, so any other plugin or service that uses it carries on working. Use Block when you want to stop an AI tool from changing your site through Royal MCP but the password is also used for something else, or when you are not sure what else depends on it. You can undo a block at any time with **Allow again**.

### Delete

**Delete** removes the Application Password from WordPress entirely, after you confirm. Everything that uses it stops working at once, not only Royal MCP. Use Delete when you do not recognise the password, when it may have leaked, or when the tool that used it is no longer in use. Deleting cannot be undone; the user would need to create a new password. You need permission to edit the owner’s profile, so on a multisite network a site administrator cannot delete a super administrator’s password.

If you suspect a password has leaked, delete it

Blocking only protects Royal MCP’s tools. Anyone holding the password can still use the rest of the WordPress REST API as that user until the password is deleted.

Both actions, and **Allow again**, are recorded in the Royal MCP Activity Log with the admin who took them.

## What the AI tool sees after a block

The next time a blocked password calls a Royal MCP tool, the call is refused with an HTTP 403 error that says the Application Password is blocked from Royal MCP and that a site admin can allow it again under Royal MCP > Connected Clients. Nothing on the site is changed. Calls to other parts of WordPress that do not involve Royal MCP are not affected.

If a user tells you their AI tool suddenly reports this error, check the Application Passwords list for a blocked row with their name, and choose **Allow again** if the block was not intended.

## Limit what these connections can do

You do not have to choose between allowing everything and blocking a password. Royal MCP has settings that apply to every Application Password connection at once.

- **Access level: other MCP servers and browser agents** (Royal MCP > Settings) sets what these connections may do: full access, drafts only, or read-only.
- **Who can use tools through other MCP servers and browser agents** (Royal MCP > Settings) decides which users may use Royal MCP tools this way at all. It is set to administrators by default.
- **Register tools with the WordPress Abilities API** (Royal MCP > Settings > Advanced) can be turned off so that no Royal MCP tool is offered through the Abilities API or other MCP servers. Royal MCP’s own connections keep working.

Calls made this way also count towards Royal MCP’s per-user limit of 300 requests per minute.

## Troubleshooting

### A tool I know uses an Application Password is not in the list

The list only shows passwords that have called a Royal MCP tool. If the tool only uses other parts of WordPress, it will not appear. Check that the tool is calling Royal MCP’s tools, and that the user is allowed to by the “Who can use tools through other MCP servers and browser agents” setting.

### A row says “Deleted in WordPress”

The password was deleted somewhere else, usually on the user’s profile. It can no longer sign in to anything. Choose **Remove from list** to clear the row.

### Delete says it did not complete

The password may already have been deleted, or you may not have permission to edit that user. Reload the page to see the current state, and ask an administrator who can edit that user to try again.

### Application Passwords are missing from WordPress altogether

WordPress only offers Application Passwords on sites served over HTTPS, and some security plugins or hosts turn them off. If they are turned off, no tool can use this way of connecting, and the list stays empty.

## What Royal MCP stores

For each password, Royal MCP stores the user ID, the password’s identifier (never the password itself), and the times of first and last use. It does not store anything the tool sent or received. This record is kept in your WordPress database, and it is removed when you delete Royal MCP with “Delete all data when the plugin is deleted” turned on.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does blocking an Application Password delete it?

No. Block only stops it from using Royal MCP tools, and WordPress keeps it. Use Delete to remove it from WordPress.

### Can I block an AI tool that signs in with OAuth here?

No. OAuth connections such as Claude and ChatGPT are listed in the main Connected Clients table, where you revoke them or set their access level.

### Does this replace managing passwords on the user’s profile?

No. The user’s profile still lists every Application Password they own. This list adds which of them use Royal MCP, and when.

### Which version do I need?

Royal MCP Free 1.5.15 or later; Pro customers get this in the next Pro update.

## Related

[Reference

Royal MCP API Keys

Where to find the API key, how to send it and how to rotate it.](https://royalplugins.com/support/royal-mcp/api-keys/)
[Security

Direct-Connect Threat Model

What an AI client can and cannot do with a Royal MCP connection.](https://royalplugins.com/support/royal-mcp/direct-connect-threat-model/)

[Back to Royal MCP Support](https://royalplugins.com/support/royal-mcp/)
[API Keys](https://royalplugins.com/support/royal-mcp/api-keys/)