PublishPress Cart 1.2: AI and Elementor Integration

This post is about a release of PublishPress Cart. This plugin lets you create checkout pages and accept payments for courses, downloads, memberships, and services.

PublishPress Cart 1.2.0 is a feature-rich update focused on making stores easier to build, promote, and manage. You now have more ways to place Cart layouts on your site, a dedicated place for global coupons, optional Meta Pixel tracking, and new purchase automation for sites that use PublishPress Permissions.


Use your AI tools with Cart

This version of PublishPress Cart adds native MCP integration for compatible AI tools. You can use your favorite AI tool to create and manage the links on your site. HJere

AbilityWhat it does
list-featuresLists Cart’s feature areas, the read/write actions in each, and the capabilities they need
get-settingsReads store currency, company, account page and email settings, with the current revision
update-settingsChanges store settings and transactional emails; settings you leave out stay as they are. dry_run previews
get-service-setupGives the WordPress settings screens where you enter gateway credentials and connect integrations. Never handles credentials itself
get-checkout-experienceReads which Stripe checkout is in use: classic, element or hosted
set-checkout-experienceSwitches the Stripe checkout type. Hosted checkout doesn’t support order bumps or upsells
list-recordsFinds products, orders and subscriptions by kind and title
get-recordReads one product, order or subscription. Orders include payment status, totals and customer name/email
create-recordCreates a product draft or other catalog item
update-recordChanges a catalog item’s title, content, excerpt, slug, featured image or status
get-catalog-lifecycleReads the revision needed before duplicating, trashing, restoring or deleting a catalog item
update-catalog-lifecycleDuplicates, trashes, restores or permanently deletes a catalog item (not orders or subscriptions)
get-product-settingsReads a product’s settings, field types, choices and revision
update-product-settingsChanges a product’s appearance, availability, stock, sale and confirmation settings
get-payment-plansReads a product’s payment plans
set-payment-plansReplaces a product’s payment plans (one-time, recurring, pay-what-you-want, free) and syncs them to Stripe
get-product-filesReads a product’s secure download files
set-product-filesReplaces a product’s download files
upload-product-fileUploads a secure file of up to 2 MiB, sent as base64 with a checksum
get-product-notificationsReads a product’s purchase notification emails
set-product-notificationsReplaces a product’s purchase notifications. Never sends mail immediately
get-product-integrationsReads a product’s integration rules, available services and field mappings
set-product-integrationsReplaces a product’s integration rules. Needs manage_options
list-product-termsLists product categories or tags
create-product-termCreates a product category or tag
update-product-termUpdates a product category or tag
get-product-termsReads a product’s category or tag assignments
set-product-termsReplaces a product’s category or tag assignments
get-product-term-deletionShows which products and child terms a deletion would affect
delete-product-termDeletes a product category or tag
get-order-detailsReads an order’s contact, address, account and status fields
update-order-detailsChanges an order’s contact, address, account and status fields (Stripe status can’t be changed)
create-manual-orderRecords an offline or cash-on-delivery order. Doesn’t charge any payment
resend-order-confirmationResends a paid order’s confirmation email
refund-orderRefunds all or part of an order through the payment gateway
cancel-subscriptionCancels a subscription immediately or at the end of the period. Doesn’t refund
pause-subscriptionPauses an active, trialing or past-due subscription
resume-subscriptionResumes a paused subscription
get-payment-operationShows payments or refunds whose outcome is unknown
resolve-payment-operationSettles an unknown payment or refund once its real outcome is confirmed. Can’t retry a charge
get-stripe-sync-scopeShows what a Stripe sync would change locally
sync-stripe-recordRefreshes a stored order or subscription from Stripe
get-order-downloadsReads an order’s download access (no customer keys or links)
update-order-downloadChanges how many downloads are left or when access expires
revoke-order-downloadRemoves download access from an order
get-monthly-overviewReads this month’s dashboard numbers: orders, subscriptions and plans
export-records-csvExports orders, subscriptions or contacts as CSV, up to 100 rows per page
send-test-emailSends a test of a transactional email template, using made-up customer data

And there are abilities that can be used only with Cart Pro:

AbilityWhat it does
get-webhook-subscriptionsReads site-wide and Zapier webhook subscriptions (endpoint URLs stay hidden)
save-webhook-subscriptionCreates or updates a webhook. Needs an explicit list of fields to send and a public HTTPS endpoint
delete-webhook-subscriptionDeletes a webhook subscription
list-affiliatesLists affiliate profiles
get-affiliateReads one affiliate’s profile, product assignments and exclusions
create-affiliateCreates an affiliate. With user_id=0 it isn’t linked to a WordPress account, and it never creates one
update-affiliateUpdates an affiliate’s profile and product lists
delete-affiliateDeletes an affiliate but keeps their purchase and payout records
get-affiliate-commissionsReads a product’s affiliate commission rules
set-affiliate-commissionsReplaces a product’s affiliate commission rules
list-affiliate-paymentsLists an affiliate’s commissions and payouts
get-affiliate-paymentReads one commission or payout
update-affiliate-paymentMarks a commission or payout (paid, pending, refunded, etc.). Record-keeping only; no money moves
get-affiliate-statisticsReads an affiliate’s earnings, visits and conversions, optionally over a number of days
list-affiliate-visitsLists an affiliate’s visits, without IPs, URLs or referrers
get-affiliate-product-statisticsReads sales, visits and earnings per product for an affiliate
get-extensionsReads whether the Affiliate, Mollie, Razorpay and Square extensions are on
set-extensionTurns one of those extensions on or off. Turning off a gateway doesn’t cancel existing subscriptions
list-tax-ratesLists custom tax rates
save-tax-rateCreates or updates a tax rate (0–100, with a priority)
delete-tax-rateDeletes a tax rate
export-pro-csvExports tax rates or coupons as CSV
import-pro-csvImports tax rates or coupons from CSV. Checks every row first and keeps existing rows
get-checkout-fieldsReads a product’s default and address checkout fields
set-checkout-fieldsUpdates only the checkout fields and properties you send
get-couponsReads a product’s coupons
set-couponsReplaces a product’s coupons and syncs them to the gateway
get-custom-fieldsReads a product’s custom checkout fields
set-custom-fieldsReplaces a product’s custom checkout fields
get-order-bumpsReads a product’s extra order bumps
set-order-bumpsReplaces a product’s extra order bumps
get-confirmationsReads a product’s conditional confirmations
set-confirmationsReplaces a product’s conditional confirmations
get-collection-settingsReads a product collection’s settings
update-collection-settingsUpdates a collection. Its items must use one-time plans
get-upsell-path-settingsReads an upsell/downsell path (offer steps 1–6)
update-upsell-path-settingsUpdates an upsell/downsell path
get-upgrade-path-settingsReads an upgrade path
update-upgrade-path-settingsUpdates an upgrade path. It must use recurring plans

Build Cart pages with Elementor

If you use Elementor, this release adds Cart layout widgets so you can place key Cart areas visually instead of relying on shortcodes.

PublishPress Cart in Elementor

Better coupon, tracking, and customer workflows

Store management is more flexible in 1.2.0. Several features that previously required extra setup or careful workarounds now have clearer screens and simpler options.

  • Meta Pixel support: Go to Settings > Integrations > Ads and you can integratate with Facebook Ads. Install Meta Pixel and track when shoppers start checkout.
  • Global coupons: In Cart Pro, you can manage store-wide coupons from their own screen while still keeping product-specific coupons available. You can find the new “Global Coupons” screen.
  • Customer group actions: In Cart Pro, You can now add customers to PublishPress Permissions groups after purchase, which is useful for paid content, memberships, and private customer areas. Do this from the “Integrations” tab when setting up a product.
PublishPress Permissions groups after purchase

A smoother first run and clearer admin screens

New users will see a welcome screen after activation, and the Free version now does a better job of showing where Pro features fit into the Cart menu. The update also improves several labels and settings so the admin screens are easier to understand.

  • Checkout offers: Labels are clearer for offers during checkout, offers after checkout, and subscription upgrades.
  • Checkout design: The split checkout layout is now optional, and the design settings have clearer guidance.
  • Block editor labels: Cart block names now begin with “Cart” so they are easier to identify in the block inserter.
  • File uploads: Uploads now show progress and result messages, making it easier to know what happened.

Layout and reliability fixes

This release also includes fixes that make checkout pages and admin tools more reliable. Checkout content behaves better in narrow page areas, checkout shortcodes stay inside the page content width, and the dashboard widget has a cleaner layout.

  • Product publishing: Products with missing required fields are now identified more clearly and cannot be published until they are complete.
  • Stripe checkout: Repeated checkout and card setup requests are now limited to help prevent excessive or duplicate attempts.
  • Related products: The related-product box is hidden when there are no products to show and works better with post revisions.
  • White Label mode: Cart branding is hidden more consistently throughout the admin area when White Label is enabled.
  • Affiliates and offers: New affiliates can be added again, and order bump choices are populated correctly for new products.

There are also smaller cleanups for tax rates, sale scheduling instructions, date controls, plugin naming on the Plugins screen, and duplicate navigation on the Affiliates screen.

This post provides an overview of the new features in this release of the PublishPress Cart plugin. The complete changelogs for both Free and Pro versions are available in our Docs area.

PublishPress Cart
  • Steve Burge

    Steve is the founder of PublishPress. He's been working with open source software for over 20 years. Originally from the UK, he now lives in Sarasota in the USA. This profile is generated by the PublishPress Authors plugin.