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Connect WordPress

Push a released blog to your WordPress site as a post — new posts are created, and re-publishing the same blog updates the existing post instead of duplicating it. Authentication uses a WordPress Application Password, so you never share your account password and can revoke access at any time.

Works with self-hosted WordPress and WordPress.com Business/Commerce plans (lower WordPress.com tiers don’t expose the REST API needed here).

Requirements

  • WordPress 5.6 or newer (Application Passwords ship in core from 5.6).
  • The site must be served over HTTPS — WordPress disables Application Passwords on non-HTTPS sites.
  • A user account with permission to publish posts (Author or above).

1. Create an Application Password

  1. Sign in to WordPress and open Users → Profile (your own profile).
  2. Scroll to Application Passwords.
  3. Enter a name — e.g. Essel — and click Add New Application Password.
  4. Copy the generated value. It is shown once and looks like xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx. The spaces are cosmetic; Essel strips them.

If you don’t see the Application Passwords section, it may be disabled by a security plugin (e.g. Wordfence, iThemes/Solid Security), a host that blocks the feature, or a non-HTTPS URL. Re-enable it or ask your host, then retry.

2. Connect in Essel

  1. Open Settings → Integrations → WordPress.
  2. Enter your Site URL (including https://). Click Detect for an advisory check that the REST API is reachable.
  3. Enter your WordPress username and paste the Application Password.
  4. Choose a default post status and optional toggles (below), then Connect & verify. Essel validates the credentials against your live site before saving — a bad username/password is rejected immediately.

Settings

  • Default post status — Publish (live immediately) or Draft (review in WordPress first).
  • Publish automatically on release — when on, a released blog is pushed to WordPress with no manual step. Enabling this makes WordPress your workspace’s single automatic destination.
  • Set the cover image as the featured image — uploads the blog’s cover image to your Media Library and attaches it as the post’s featured image.

How publishing works

  • Essel writes to the WordPress REST API (/wp-json/wp/v2/posts) using HTTP Basic auth (username + Application Password).
  • The post id is stored, so re-publishing the same blog performs an update, keeping the URL and comments intact.
  • The credential is stored encrypted and is never returned by any read endpoint.

Troubleshooting

  • 401 / “Authentication failed” — the username or Application Password is wrong, or the password was revoked. Generate a new one and reconnect.
  • REST API not reachable — a security plugin or firewall is blocking /wp-json/. Allow the REST API, or the Application Passwords endpoint specifically.
  • Featured image missing — the account lacks upload permission, or the cover image URL wasn’t reachable. The post still publishes without it.