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Entry Screen

After activating the plugin, open Settings -> Watchman Tower in WordPress admin. The entry screen offers two connection paths:

I Already Have an Account

Connect this site with a register token from your existing Watchman Tower account.

Create New Account

Create a Watchman Tower account from inside WordPress, then continue with the generated token.

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Option A: Connect with an Existing Account

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Step 1: Generate a Register Token

Use your Watchman Tower dashboard to create a register token for the exact site you are connecting.
The plugin validates the token against the current WordPress site URL. Use a token created for the same domain shown in WordPress.

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Step 2: Connect in WordPress

1

Open the existing account flow

Click I Already Have an Account.
2

Paste the register token

Enter the token into the token field.
3

Save the token

Submit the form to store the token locally.
4

Complete the first connection heartbeat

The plugin immediately sends a connection heartbeat to Watchman Tower. If it succeeds, the site becomes connected and receives its paired site data.

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What Happens on First Connection

On a successful connection, the plugin stores:
  • the generated instance ID
  • the paired site ID
  • the negotiated heartbeat interval
  • the current pause state
  • the shared HMAC secret used for later authenticated heartbeat traffic

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Option B: Create a New Account

The plugin can create a Watchman Tower account directly from WordPress.

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Form Fields

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email
string
required
Email address used for the new Watchman Tower account.
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siteName
string
required
Display name for the site.
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siteUrl
string
required
Current site URL. This is prefilled from WordPress and shown as read-only.
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password
string
Optional password. If omitted, account creation can still continue depending on the API response.

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Actual Signup Flow

1

Create the account

Click Create Account.
2

Receive the result

If the API returns a register token, the plugin shows it inside the admin screen.
3

Continue to the connected flow

Click Continue to Dashboard to save that token and complete the first connection heartbeat.
4

Fallback case

If no token is returned, the plugin shows a success message and asks you to check your email for next steps.
Account creation does not skip the connection step. The plugin still needs to save a register token and complete the first heartbeat before the site is fully connected.

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Connection Success Indicators

After a successful connection, the plugin shows:
  • a green Connected badge
  • the local instance ID
  • the paired site ID
  • the last successful heartbeat timestamp
  • the latest error message if the most recent heartbeat failed

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Verification

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In WordPress Admin

Go to Settings -> Watchman Tower and confirm:
  • the connected badge is visible
  • instance ID and site ID are populated
  • a last successful heartbeat timestamp is present

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With WP-CLI

The plugin stores most connection state in the wthb_options option and the instance ID in wthb_instance_id. 
# View the generated instance ID
wp option get wthb_instance_id

# View the full plugin option payload
wp option get wthb_options --format=json
Inside wthb_options, look for values such as:
  • connected
  • site_id
  • interval_sec
  • pause
  • last_success

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Next Steps