Use Royal MCP with TablePress
TablePress keeps pricing tables, schedules, comparison charts and spec sheets in one place and shows them wherever you add a shortcode. With Royal MCP, an AI agent such as Claude or ChatGPT can read those tables, build new ones from data you give it, update prices or dates cell by cell, and export a table as CSV, JSON or HTML. This guide explains the six TablePress tools, the limits that keep large tables safe, and how to preview and undo changes.
Before you start
The TablePress tools are part of the free Royal MCP plugin from version 1.5.10. They appear in your AI client as soon as TablePress is active; there is nothing to switch on in Royal MCP.
TablePress’s own permissions decide what the AI client may do, exactly as they do on the TablePress screens. The account the client signed in with needs permission to list tables to use any of these tools, to add tables to create one, to copy tables to copy one, to edit a table to read or change its cells, and to export tables to export one. A table that the account could not open in TablePress is left out of every answer.
The six TablePress tools
You do not need to name these tools; ask in plain words and the AI client chooses. They are listed so you know what is possible.
| Tool | What it does | Changes the site? |
|---|---|---|
tablepress_list_tables | Lists your tables with their ID, name, description, size, author, last change and shortcode. It can search names and descriptions and pages through 50 tables at a time (up to 100). | No |
tablepress_get_table | Reads one table: its cells row by row, its options, which rows and columns are hidden, and its shortcode. It returns up to 500 rows by default and up to 5,000 on request, and says when a table was cut short. | No |
tablepress_create_table | Creates a new table from rows of cells, with an optional description and options. | Yes, with undo |
tablepress_update_cells | Changes existing cells by row and column, up to 1,000 cells per request, with an optional dry run. | Yes, with undo |
tablepress_copy_table | Copies a table, with its cells, options and hidden rows and columns, to a new table named “Copy of” the original. | Yes, with undo |
tablepress_export_table | Exports a table as CSV (comma, semicolon or tab), JSON or HTML text, up to 2 MB. | No |
Create a table from your data
Paste or describe the data and ask, for example: “Create a TablePress table called ‘2027 Plans’ with columns Plan, Price and Sites, using these three rows.”
The AI client sends the rows
Each row is a list of cells. If some rows are shorter than others, they are padded so every row has the same number of columns. A table can have up to 5,000 rows, 100 columns and 100,000 cells in total, and no more than 2 MB of data.
Options are set in the same request
The client can say which rows are the header and footer, and turn on alternating row colours, row hover, the table name and description, extra CSS classes, and the sorting, search and pagination features of TablePress’s JavaScript library.
You place the shortcode
The reply contains the new table’s ID and its shortcode, such as [table id=7 /]. A new table does not appear anywhere on the site until that shortcode is placed on a page or post, by you or by the AI client.
Change cells safely
Updating an existing table is where a dry run pays off, because a table can appear on many pages at once.
Read the table first
Ask the AI client to show you the table. Rows and columns are counted from 1, and row 1 is usually the header.
Ask for a dry run
For example: “Do a dry run: raise every price in column 2 of table 4 by 10%.” The reply shows each cell before and after, and nothing is saved.
Apply the change
When the preview looks right, tell the client to save it. Every page that shows the table changes at once, and the reply carries an undo token.
Cell updates change existing cells only. Every cell named must already be inside the table, and the table keeps its size, so adding or removing rows and columns is done in TablePress itself.
If the account the AI client uses is not allowed to post unfiltered HTML, cell HTML is filtered like post content, just as it is in TablePress’s own editor. A change that would strip HTML from cells you did not ask to change is refused, so existing markup is never removed by accident.
Export a table
Ask for a table as CSV, JSON or HTML to reuse the data elsewhere, compare it with a spreadsheet, or have the AI client analyse it. CSV exports can use a comma, a semicolon or a tab between values. Cells that begin with =, +, - or @ are written as plain text, so the file cannot run a formula when someone opens it in a spreadsheet app. Exports larger than 2 MB are refused; use TablePress’s Export screen for those.
What the TablePress tools do not do
- Delete tables. Deleting is left to the TablePress screens. The only deletion Royal MCP makes is undoing a table it created or copied itself.
- Change a table’s ID. Changing the ID would break every shortcode that shows the table.
- Import from a file path or a URL. Tables are created only from data the AI client sends in the request.
- Edit custom CSS. Styling stays in TablePress’s settings and your theme.
Undo and other safety controls
Creating, copying and changing cells each return an undo token. Ask the AI client to undo the change and it passes the token to mcp_undo_last_operation. Tokens work once and last 72 hours by default.
- Undoing a new table or a copy deletes it, but only while it is unchanged and not yet placed on a post. If it has been edited or added to a page, undo refuses and tells you where it is used.
- Undoing a cell change puts the earlier values back, but refuses if any of those cells was edited again since, or if the table changed size.
Every tracked change is listed under Royal MCP > Recent Changes with the values before and after.
Royal MCP’s site-wide modes apply as well. Read-only mode refuses all three write tools. Drafts only still allows creating and copying tables, because a new table is invisible until its shortcode is placed, but refuses cell changes to existing tables, since those show on live pages straight away. The same rules apply to an AI client whose own access level is set to Read-only or Drafts only on Royal MCP > Connected Clients.
Troubleshooting
“TablePress is not active”
Activate TablePress under Plugins. Accounts without administrator rights see a permission message instead, because TablePress’s permissions do not exist while it is inactive.
“You do not have permission to use TablePress tools.” or “No table 5 that you may change.”
The account the AI client signed in with is missing a TablePress permission, or it may not edit that particular table. Check the account’s role, or sign the client in with an account that can open the table in TablePress.
“Row and column must be whole numbers inside the table”
A cell in the request lies outside the table. Rows and columns start at 1, and cell updates cannot add rows or columns. Add them in TablePress first, then ask again.
“Table 3 is corrupted in the database”
TablePress could not read the table’s data. Open the table in TablePress to repair it before asking the AI client to change cells.
A change was refused because it “would remove HTML your account cannot post”
The table contains markup that the account’s role may not save. Ask a user who may post unfiltered HTML, usually an administrator, to make the change, or sign the AI client in with that account.
Frequently asked questions
Will a table the AI creates appear on my site straight away?
No. A new table shows only where its shortcode is placed. The reply gives you the shortcode, and you or the AI client add it to a page or post when you are ready.
Can the AI client delete a TablePress table?
No. Deleting tables is left to the TablePress screens. The only exception is undo: undoing a table the AI client created or copied deletes it, as long as it is unchanged and not placed on a post.
Can the AI add rows or columns to an existing table?
Not with the cell tool, which changes existing cells only. Add rows or columns in TablePress, or ask the AI client to create a new table with the full data.
How do I preview a change before it goes live?
Ask for a dry run. The AI client shows every cell before and after, and nothing is saved until you ask it to apply the change.
Which version do I need?
Royal MCP 1.5.10 or later, with TablePress active.