Pinch To Post

🦞 Pinch to Post v3.1.0

Your WordPress site just got claws.

The only WordPress skill you'll ever need. 50+ features. Zero admin panels. Just tell me what you want.

Keywords: WordPress, WooCommerce, REST API, WP-CLI, blog automation, content management, ecommerce, posts, pages, media, comments, SEO, Yoast, RankMath, inventory, orders, coupons, bulk operations, multi-site, Gutenberg, publishing

⚡ Watch This

You: "Create a post about sustainable coffee farming"
Bot: Done. Draft #1247 created. Want me to add a featured image?

You: "Publish all my drafts from this week"  
Bot: Published 8 posts. Here are the links...

You: "Approve the good comments, spam the bots"
Bot: Approved 12, marked 47 as spam. Your comment section is clean.

No clicking. No admin panels. No friction.

🏆 Why Pinch to Post?

Time saved per week: 2-4 hours. Sanity saved: Immeasurable.

🆕 What's New in v3.0

• Markdown to Gutenberg — Write markdown, publish as blocks
• Content Health Scores — Know if your post is ready before you publish
• Social Cross-Posting — Twitter, LinkedIn, Mastodon in one command
• Content Calendar — See your whole publishing schedule
• Bulk Operations — Mass publish, delete, approve
• Multi-Site Management — Control all your sites from one place

💬 What People Are Saying

"I used to spend my Sunday mornings moderating comments. Now I just say 'clean up the comments' and go make pancakes."

"We manage 12 WordPress sites. This turned a full-time job into a 10-minute daily check-in."

"I didn't know I needed this until I had it. Now I can't go back."

📊 Performance

Tested and optimized for:

• Sites with 50,000+ posts
• WooCommerce stores with 10,000+ products
• Media libraries with 100,000+ files

Rate limiting built-in. Won't hammer your server.

Quick Setup (60 Seconds)

Step 1: Get Your Password

WordPress Admin → Users → Profile → Application Passwords → Add New → Copy it

Step 2: Configure Me

{
  "skills": {
    "entries": {
      "pinch-to-post": {
        "enabled": true,
        "env": {
          "WP_SITE_URL": "https://your-site.com",
          "WP_USERNAME": "admin",
          "WP_APP_PASSWORD": "xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 3: There Is No Step 3

You're done. Go publish something.

Running Multiple Sites? You Overachiever.

{
  "env": {
    "WP_DEFAULT_SITE": "blog",
    "WP_SITE_BLOG_URL": "https://blog.example.com",
    "WP_SITE_BLOG_USER": "admin",
    "WP_SITE_BLOG_PASS": "xxxx xxxx xxxx",
    "WP_SITE_SHOP_URL": "https://shop.example.com",
    "WP_SITE_SHOP_USER": "admin", 
    "WP_SITE_SHOP_PASS": "yyyy yyyy yyyy",
    "WP_SITE_DOCS_URL": "https://docs.example.com",
    "WP_SITE_DOCS_USER": "editor",
    "WP_SITE_DOCS_PASS": "zzzz zzzz zzzz"
  }
}

Now say "list posts on the shop site" and feel like a wizard.

Got WooCommerce? Even Better.

{
  "env": {
    "WC_CONSUMER_KEY": "ck_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
    "WC_CONSUMER_SECRET": "cs_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
  }
}

Products, orders, inventory, coupons, sales reports. All yours.

Want Social Cross-Posting? (Fancy!)

{
  "env": {
    "TWITTER_API_KEY": "...",
    "TWITTER_API_SECRET": "...",
    "TWITTER_ACCESS_TOKEN": "...",
    "TWITTER_ACCESS_SECRET": "...",
    "LINKEDIN_ACCESS_TOKEN": "...",
    "MASTODON_INSTANCE": "https://mastodon.social",
    "MASTODON_ACCESS_TOKEN": "..."
  }
}

One post. Three platforms. Zero extra work.

The Feature Feast 🍽️

Everything below is what I can do. It's a lot. Grab a snack.

Posts & Pages

The bread and butter. The peanut butter and jelly. The... you get it.

Create a Post

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/posts" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "Post Title",
    "content": "<!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Your brilliant words here</p><!-- /wp:paragraph -->",
    "excerpt": "Brief summary for SEO nerds",
    "status": "draft",
    "categories": [1, 5],
    "tags": [10, 15],
    "featured_media": 123
  }'

Update a Post

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/{id}" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "Even Better Title", "status": "publish"}'

Delete a Post (Goodbye, Old Friend)

# Soft delete (trash)
curl -X DELETE "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/{id}" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}"

# Hard delete (gone forever)
curl -X DELETE "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/{id}?force=true" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}"

Find Your Posts

# Recent stuff
curl -s "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/posts?per_page=20&status=any" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}"

# Search (where did I put that post about llamas?)
curl -s "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/posts?search=llamas" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}"

# By category
curl -s "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/posts?categories=5" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}"

# By date (time travelers welcome)
curl -s "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/posts?after=2026-01-01T00:00:00&before=2026-01-31T23:59:59" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}"

Schedule a Post (Future You Will Thank You)

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/posts" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "This Post Is From The Future",
    "content": "Scheduled content, so fancy",
    "status": "future",
    "date": "2026-02-15T10:00:00"
  }'

Pages Too!

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/pages" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "About Us (We're Pretty Great)",
    "content": "Page content here",
    "status": "publish",
    "template": "templates/full-width.php"
  }'

Media Management

Pictures! Videos! PDFs! All the things!

Upload an Image

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/media" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=masterpiece.jpg" \
  -H "Content-Type: image/jpeg" \
  --data-binary @/path/to/masterpiece.jpg

Add Alt Text (Because Accessibility Matters)

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/media/${MEDIA_ID}" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "Hero Image",
    "alt_text": "A majestic llama wearing sunglasses",
    "caption": "Living its best life"
  }'

Set Featured Image

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/{post_id}" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"featured_media": 456}'

Categories & Tags

Organize your chaos.

List Categories

curl -s "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/categories?per_page=100&hide_empty=false" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}"

Create a Category

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/categories" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "Hot Takes", "slug": "hot-takes", "description": "Opinions nobody asked for"}'

Tags Work the Same Way

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/tags" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "must-read", "slug": "must-read"}'

Comments

The good, the bad, and the spammy.

See Pending Comments

curl -s "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/comments?status=hold" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}"

Approve a Comment

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/comments/{id}" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"status": "approved"}'

Mark as Spam (Begone, Bot!)

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/comments/{id}" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"status": "spam"}'

Reply to a Comment (Be Nice)

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/comments" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "post": {post_id},
    "parent": {comment_id},
    "content": "Thanks for reading! You rock."
  }'

Bulk Approve Everything (YOLO Mode)

for id in $(curl -s "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/comments?status=hold&per_page=100" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" | jq -r '.[].id'); do
  curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/comments/${id}" \
    -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{"status": "approved"}'
done

WooCommerce 🛒

Ka-ching! Let's make some money.

Products

# List 'em
curl -s "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wc/v3/products?per_page=20" \
  -u "${WC_CONSUMER_KEY}:${WC_CONSUMER_SECRET}"

# Create one
curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wc/v3/products" \
  -u "${WC_CONSUMER_KEY}:${WC_CONSUMER_SECRET}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Fancy Widget",
    "type": "simple",
    "regular_price": "49.99",
    "sale_price": "39.99",
    "description": "It does widget things. Really well.",
    "sku": "WIDGET-001",
    "manage_stock": true,
    "stock_quantity": 100
  }'

# Update stock (sold a bunch!)
curl -X PUT "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wc/v3/products/{id}" \
  -u "${WC_CONSUMER_KEY}:${WC_CONSUMER_SECRET}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"stock_quantity": 50}'

Orders

# Recent orders
curl -s "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wc/v3/orders?per_page=20" \
  -u "${WC_CONSUMER_KEY}:${WC_CONSUMER_SECRET}"

# Mark as shipped
curl -X PUT "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wc/v3/orders/{id}" \
  -u "${WC_CONSUMER_KEY}:${WC_CONSUMER_SECRET}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"status": "completed"}'

# Add tracking note
curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wc/v3/orders/{id}/notes" \
  -u "${WC_CONSUMER_KEY}:${WC_CONSUMER_SECRET}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"note": "Shipped via FedEx #123456", "customer_note": true}'

Coupons (Everyone Loves a Deal)

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wc/v3/coupons" \
  -u "${WC_CONSUMER_KEY}:${WC_CONSUMER_SECRET}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "code": "SAVE20",
    "discount_type": "percent",
    "amount": "20",
    "individual_use": true,
    "usage_limit": 100,
    "date_expires": "2026-12-31T23:59:59"
  }'

Sales Reports (Show Me The Money)

# Monthly summary
curl -s "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wc/v3/reports/sales?period=month" \
  -u "${WC_CONSUMER_KEY}:${WC_CONSUMER_SECRET}"

# Top sellers
curl -s "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wc/v3/reports/top_sellers?period=month" \
  -u "${WC_CONSUMER_KEY}:${WC_CONSUMER_SECRET}"

Low Stock Alert

curl -s "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wc/v3/products?stock_status=lowstock" \
  -u "${WC_CONSUMER_KEY}:${WC_CONSUMER_SECRET}"

SEO Integration

Because what good is content nobody can find?

Yoast SEO

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/{id}" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "meta": {
      "_yoast_wpseo_title": "SEO Title | Your Site",
      "_yoast_wpseo_metadesc": "A compelling description that makes people click (150-160 chars)",
      "_yoast_wpseo_focuskw": "your main keyword"
    }
  }'

RankMath

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/{id}" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "meta": {
      "rank_math_title": "SEO Title",
      "rank_math_description": "Meta description",
      "rank_math_focus_keyword": "main keyword"
    }
  }'

Markdown to Gutenberg ✨

Write like a developer. Publish like a designer.

Just write your content in markdown and I'll convert it to proper Gutenberg blocks:

# Create post from markdown file
./wp-rest.sh create-post-markdown "My Amazing Post" content.md draft

Content Health Score 💪

Is your post actually good? Let's find out.

./wp-rest.sh health-check 123

What I Check:

• Word count (300+ recommended)
• Title length (50-60 chars is the sweet spot)
• Excerpt/meta description present
• Featured image set
• H2 headings for structure
• Images in content
• Alt text on images
• Internal links

Sample Output:

=== Content Health Score ===
Post: How to Train Your Dragon

✅ Word count: 1,247
✅ Title length: 24 chars
⚠️  Missing excerpt
✅ Featured image: Set
✅ Headings: 4 H2 tags
⚠️  No internal links

=== SCORE: 75/100 ===
🟡 Good, but could be improved.

Social Media Cross-Posting 📱

One click. All platforms.

Twitter/X

# Single post
post_to_twitter "Check out our latest blog post!" "https://your-site.com/post"

# Generate a thread from long content
create_twitter_thread 123

LinkedIn

post_to_linkedin "New article: AI Trends for 2026" "https://your-site.com/ai-trends" "urn:li:person:YOUR_ID"

Mastodon

post_to_mastodon "Fresh content just dropped!" "https://your-site.com/post"

Content Calendar 📅

See your whole publishing schedule at a glance.

./wp-rest.sh calendar 2026-02

Output:

=== Content Calendar: 2026-02 ===

📗 Published:
  2026-02-01 - Welcome to February
  2026-02-05 - Product Launch Announcement

📅 Scheduled:
  2026-02-10 - Valentine's Day Guide
  2026-02-20 - Industry Trends Report

📝 Drafts:
  456 - Untitled masterpiece
  789 - Ideas for later

Advanced Custom Fields

For the power users with custom post types and complex data.

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/{id}" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "acf": {
      "event_date": "2026-03-15",
      "event_location": "San Francisco",
      "event_price": 99.99,
      "speakers": [
        {"name": "Jane Doe", "bio": "Expert in things"},
        {"name": "John Smith", "bio": "Knows stuff"}
      ]
    }
  }'

Multilingual Support

Parlez-vous WordPress?

WPML

curl -X POST "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/wp/v2/posts" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "Título en Español",
    "content": "Contenido traducido",
    "lang": "es",
    "translation_of": 123
  }'

Polylang

curl -s "${WP_SITE_URL}/wp-json/pll/v1/languages" \
  -u "${WP_USERNAME}:${WP_APP_PASSWORD}"

Site Operations 🔧

Keep your site running smooth.

Health Check

./wp-rest.sh site-health

=== Site Health ===
REST API: ✅ OK
Auth: ✅ OK
Response: 0.342s

Content Stats

./wp-rest.sh stats

=== Content Statistics ===
Posts (publish): 142
Posts (draft): 23
Posts (pending): 5
Posts (future): 8
Pages: 15
Media: 892
Comments: 1,247

Backup Everything

./wp-rest.sh backup ./my-backups

Creates timestamped JSON files for posts, pages, categories, and tags.

Export to Markdown

./wp-rest.sh export-markdown ./markdown-archive

Perfect for migrating or archiving your content.

Bulk Operations 🚀

When you need to do ALL THE THINGS.

Publish Every Draft

./wp-rest.sh bulk-publish

Delete Old Posts

./wp-rest.sh bulk-delete-old 2024-01-01

Approve All Comments

./wp-rest.sh bulk-approve-comments

AI-Powered Workflows 🤖

Ask Bot to help with these:

• "Write a blog post about sustainable fashion with 3 sections"
• "Generate 10 headline variations for my post"
• "Create a meta description for this content"
• "Analyze this post for SEO improvements"
• "Suggest categories for these draft posts"
• "Summarize this article in 3 bullet points"
• "Translate this title to Spanish, French, and German"

Content Templates

Pre-built structures for common content types.

Blog Post

{
  "title": "{{title}}",
  "content": "<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>{{intro}}</p>\n<!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2>{{section_1}}</h2>\n<!-- /wp:heading -->\n\n...",
  "status": "draft"
}

Product Announcement

{
  "title": "Introducing {{product}}",
  "content": "Hero image, features list, pricing, CTA button..."
}

Event

{
  "title": "{{event_name}}",
  "content": "Date, time, location, agenda, registration button..."
}

How-To Guide

{
  "title": "How to {{task}}",
  "content": "Requirements, step-by-step instructions, tips..."
}

WP-CLI Reference

For local installs or SSH access.

# Posts
wp post create --post_title="Title" --post_status="draft"
wp post list --post_type=post --format=table
wp post delete {id} --force

# Media
wp media import /path/to/image.jpg --title="Title"

# Database
wp db export backup.sql
wp db optimize
wp search-replace 'old' 'new' --dry-run

# Cache
wp cache flush
wp transient delete --expired

# Users
wp user list
wp user create bob bob@email.com --role=editor

Error Codes (When Things Go Wrong)

Pro Tips 🎯

1. Draft first, publish second — Review before going live
2. Use jq — Parse JSON like a boss: curl ... | jq '.id'
3. Test with dry-run — For WP-CLI operations
4. Back up before bulk ops — Always. ALWAYS.
5. Check permissions — Make sure your user role can do the thing
6. Use excerpts — Better for SEO and archive pages
7. Optimize images before upload — Faster site = happy visitors
8. Set alt text — Accessibility matters (and SEO likes it too)
9. Schedule content — Consistent publishing beats random bursts
10. Watch rate limits — Shared hosting can be... sensitive

❓ FAQ

Does this work with WordPress.com?
Only Business/eCommerce plans (they have REST API access). Self-hosted WordPress works perfectly.

What about custom post types?
Yes! Any post type registered with the REST API works automatically.

Will this break my site?
No. Everything uses the official WordPress REST API—the same system the block editor uses.

Do I need to install a plugin?
Nope. WordPress has REST API built-in since version 4.7.

What permissions does my user need?
Administrator for full access, Editor for content, Author for their own posts.

Can I use this with WP Engine / Kinsta / Flywheel?
Yes. Works with any host that hasn't disabled the REST API (almost none do).

What about multisite (WordPress Network)?
Yes! Set up each subsite as a separate site in your config.

🔧 Troubleshooting

Not working?
    │
    ▼
┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ Check Application Password  │
│ (regenerate if needed)      │
└──────────────┬──────────────┘
               │
               ▼
         Still broken?
               │
               ▼
┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ Check user role has         │
│ required capabilities       │
└──────────────┬──────────────┘
               │
               ▼
         Still broken?
               │
               ▼
┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ Check REST API is enabled   │
│ (visit /wp-json/ in browser)│
└──────────────┬──────────────┘
               │
               ▼
         Still broken?
               │
               ▼
┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ Check server error logs     │
└─────────────────────────────┘

Quick Fixes:

• 401 errors: Password wrong or expired. Regenerate it.
• 403 errors: User lacks permission. Try an admin account.
• 404 errors: Wrong site URL or REST API disabled by a plugin.
• 500 errors: Server issue. Check hosting error logs.

Built with 🦞 and mass quantities of caffeine.
Made for people who'd rather talk to their sites than click through them.