Publish Draft to WordPress

Publishes a draft article from this project to WordPress as a Draft, with all SEO metadata auto-populated.

Usage

/publish-draft [filename] [--type post|page|custom]

Examples

Create a blog post (default):

/publish-draft drafts/content-marketing-guide-2025-12-10.md

Create a page:

/publish-draft drafts/pricing-comparison.md --type page

Create a custom post type:

/publish-draft drafts/product-comparison.md --type compare

Post Types

• post - Standard blog post (default) - supports categories and tags
• page - WordPress page - no categories/tags
• Custom types (e.g., compare) - must be registered in WordPress with REST API support

What This Command Does

1. Parses the draft file - Extracts all metadata from frontmatter
2. Converts Markdown to HTML - Formats content for WordPress
3. Creates WordPress draft - Posts via REST API with status "draft"
4. Sets Yoast SEO fields:

• SEO Title (from Meta Title)
• Meta Description
• Focus Keyphrase (from Target Keyword)

1. Assigns taxonomy - Categories and Tags if specified
2. Returns edit URL - Direct link to edit the post in WordPress

Metadata Mapping

Required Environment Variables

These must be set in .env:

WORDPRESS_URL=https://yoursite.com
WORDPRESS_USERNAME=your-username
WORDPRESS_APP_PASSWORD=xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx

Getting an Application Password

1. Log into WordPress Admin
2. Go to Users > Your Profile
3. Scroll to "Application Passwords"
4. Enter a name (e.g., "SEO Machine")
5. Click "Add New Application Password"
6. Copy the generated password to your .env file

Process

When you run this command:

Step 1: Validate File

• Confirm the draft file exists
• Parse metadata and content
• Display extracted fields for confirmation

Step 2: Publish to WordPress

Run the WordPress publisher:

cd /path/to/seomachine
python data_sources/modules/wordpress_publisher.py "$FILE_PATH" --type "$POST_TYPE"

Where $POST_TYPE is post, page, or a custom post type.

Step 3: Confirm Success

Display the WordPress edit URL so the user can review and publish.

Optional: Add Categories/Tags

To assign categories or tags, add these fields to your draft frontmatter:

**Category**: [Your Category]
**Tags**: [your topic], beginner, getting started

Multiple categories/tags are comma-separated.

Troubleshooting

"WORDPRESS_URL must be set"

Add credentials to .env file. See Required Environment Variables above.

"401 Unauthorized"

• Verify username is correct
• Regenerate Application Password
• Ensure user has permission to create posts

"Could not find category"

The category will be created automatically if it doesn't exist.

Notes

• Posts are always created as drafts (never published automatically)
• The H1 heading from the article becomes the WordPress post title
• Images/media are not uploaded - only text content is transferred
• You can run this command multiple times on the same file (creates new drafts each time)