WordPress Open Graph plugin for OG tags and OG images

When to use each WordPress OG path

Plugin meta tags vs dynamic API OG images

Featured-image behavior is from the WordPress theme handbook. Yoast's order is from its Open Graph functional spec. Rank Math's fallback and 1200×630 note are from Titles and Meta. OG Pilot plugin behavior is from the WordPress.org listing. API cache rules are from the API docs.

Theme meta tags and the featured image

A featured image is an attachment on the post. The theme handbook says you enable it with add_theme_support('post-thumbnails') and print it with the_post_thumbnail() or wp_get_attachment_image_src(). That prints an <img> in the page. Social apps do not treat that image as og:image unless something in wp_head says so.

Use this path when a designer already exported the card and the URL can stay stable. Skip it when every post needs a different layout, or when you do not want the tag logic living in the theme.

<?php
// Example you maintain. WordPress core does not print og:image.
add_action( 'wp_head', function () {
    if ( ! is_singular() || ! has_post_thumbnail() ) {
        return;
    }

    $image = wp_get_attachment_image_src( get_post_thumbnail_id(), 'full' );
    if ( ! $image ) {
        return;
    }

    $url = esc_url( $image[0] );
    echo '<meta property="og:image" content="' . $url . '" />' . "\n";
    echo '<meta property="og:image:width" content="' . (int) $image[1] . '" />' . "\n";
    echo '<meta property="og:image:height" content="' . (int) $image[2] . '" />' . "\n";
    echo '<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />' . "\n";
    echo '<meta name="twitter:image" content="' . $url . '" />' . "\n";
} );

Yoast and Rank Math social fields

Yoast's Open Graph functional spec populates og:image only when it finds a valid image, in this order: a user-defined Facebook image in the Social tab, the featured image (posts only), a prominent image from the content, the social default from Search Appearance, then the site fallback. The current help article labels the editor Social media appearance, where you set an image, title, and description. The spec still calls the stored field a Facebook image.

Rank Math's Open Graph guide calls og:title, og:type, og:url, and og:image essential. The same guide lists the image order as the Social-tab OpenGraph image, then the featured image, then the first image in the post, then the default OpenGraph thumbnail. Titles and Meta says that thumbnail (Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta → Global Meta) is the fallback when a post has neither a featured image nor an OpenGraph image, and it recommends 1200×630.

Both plugins attach tags to a file you already have. They are the right tool when the preview is a photograph or a designed PNG. They are the wrong tool when the headline has to be drawn into the image on every publish. AIOSEO's default Facebook image doc lets you set Default Post Image Source to Default Image, Featured Image, Attached Image, First Image in Content, Image from Custom Field, Post Author Image, or First Available Image. The Default Post Facebook Image is the fallback when that source has no file. The OG Pilot plugin FAQ says Meta Ownership set to External SEO plugin stops OG Pilot tags so Yoast, Rank Math, or AIOSEO can keep theirs. The plugin source returns before printing tags in that mode.

Plugin setup and the dynamic API

On a WordPress site, install the plugin. It connects with OAuth, queues generation, and writes the tags. The PHP sample is for a server outside that plugin: a Laravel app, a custom integration, or a non-WordPress PHP site that should share the templates. Keep OG_PILOT_API_KEY in the environment. The API docs say signing happens in your application, and that a domain must be verified with DNS TXT before the API generates images. How that hosted API compares with @vercel/og and DIY Satori is on the OG image API page. The plugin FAQ says the WordPress OAuth flow does not add that manual DNS step.

1. Install OG Pilot Dynamic Open Graph Images
   https://wordpress.org/plugins/og-pilot-dynamic-open-graph-images/
2. Activate it. Admins are redirected to the setup wizard.
3. Settings → OG Pilot Open Graph Images
4. Connect with OG Pilot (OAuth + PKCE). No API key in the theme.
5. Choose a default template and the content types (post, page, product).
6. Optional: Meta Ownership = External SEO plugin
   when Yoast, Rank Math, or AIOSEO should keep the tags.

The plugin listing says it outputs Open Graph and X/Twitter tags,
including og:image and twitter:image. Release 0.1.0 also added
og:image:url, twitter:image:src, and twitter:domain.

<meta property="og:image" content="https://cdn.ogpilot.com/..." />
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://cdn.ogpilot.com/..." />

Placeholders the listing documents include {{post_title}}, {{excerpt}},
and {{featured_image_url}}. The featured image can be a field on the
generated card. It is not, by itself, the og:image.

<?php
// Server you control. Prefer the official plugin inside WordPress.
// Docs: https://ogpilot.com/docs
use Sunergos\OgPilot\OgPilot;

OgPilot::setConfig([
    "api_key" => getenv("OG_PILOT_API_KEY"),
    "domain" => getenv("OG_PILOT_DOMAIN"),
]);

$imageUrl = OgPilot::createImage([
    "template" => "blog_post",
    "title" => "Post title",
], ["iat" => time()]);

// Then print the URL. Do not commit the API key.
echo '<meta property="og:image" content="' . htmlspecialchars($imageUrl, ENT_QUOTES) . '" />';

POST https://ogpilot.com/api/v1/images
Content-Type: application/json

{"token":"YOUR_JWT_TOKEN"}

Required JWT claims: iss (verified domain), sub (API key prefix).
If iat is present, the image cache is valid for 24 hours from that
timestamp. Omit iat and the cache does not expire on its own.
Prefer an official SDK over hand-rolled JWT signing.

Pass iat when you want the documented 24-hour cache window. Social networks can still keep an older scrape of the same URL. After the artwork changes, re-check the permalink.

MCP, when an agent should make the card

The remote endpoint is https://ogpilot.com/mcp. The block below is the remote config for a client that accepts an mcpServers map. Claude and ChatGPT do not read that file. Connector screens differ, so follow /docs/mcp instead of guessing a second config. MCP fits a workflow where an agent creates the image from a URL. It does not replace the plugin for a normal WordPress publish.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "og-pilot": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://ogpilot.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

# Auth: OAuth 2.1 with PKCE. No API key in this file.
# Claude and ChatGPT do not read this file. Follow /docs/mcp.
# Do not add command, args, or a bearer token.

Queue time and plan prices

• Plugin queue. The WordPress.org FAQ says most images are ready within 5–10 minutes, depending on queue load and site traffic that triggers WP-Cron.
• Plan catalog. Starter is $5/month or $50/year with a 10,000-image quota. Builder is $49/month or $99/year with a 100,000-image quota. Growth is $99/month or $199/year with an unlimited image quota. Those defaults live in the app catalog and on pricing. A Stripe image_quota feature can replace the quota. The catalog has no per-image price.

Decision checklist

1. One unchanging file, and you will maintain the tags? Print the featured image from wp_head.
2. Yoast or Rank Math already owns social tags, and the card is an upload? Set the social image there.
3. The library is posts, pages, or WooCommerce products? Install the OG Pilot plugin and connect OAuth.
4. Both an SEO plugin and OG Pilot would print tags? Set Meta Ownership to External SEO plugin, or let OG Pilot own them. Don't leave both on.
5. The page is outside WordPress, or an agent should create the card? Get an API key or follow the MCP guide.

WordPress Open Graph plugin questions