How ChatGPT handles this
You are in a ChatGPT conversation about a page that looks stale to visitors, and you suspect Cloudflare. With xSpeed Hub added to ChatGPT as a custom MCP app in developer mode, you say which site and what you saw. ChatGPT calls list_sites to find the handle, then runs cloudflare_verify, which asks Cloudflare whether the credentials and zone saved in xSpeed still resolve. It purges nothing, so it is a safe first move.
If the link is healthy, you pick the next step. purge_cloudflare clears only the Cloudflare edge copy, and set_cloudflare_dev_mode bypasses the edge for about three hours so origin changes show immediately. A purge_cache call of type all clears the edge as well, when Cloudflare is connected, along with the server caches. The Cloudflare tools all need Cloudflare connected in xSpeed on that site, and none accepts every site at once.
What differs here is how ChatGPT decides to ask. It confirms write actions by default and treats any tool without a read-only annotation as a write action. The Hub's tools carry no such annotation, so expect a confirmation for cloudflare_verify as well as for the purge and the development mode switch. You can expand a call to read the JSON it will send, so check the site handle before you approve. If you tell ChatGPT to remember an approval for a tool, that tool runs without a prompt for the rest of the conversation. Name the site in your first message and keep using that name, so each confirmation shows the site you meant.
Set up ChatGPT once
Already connected? Skip to the prompts. Alternatives and troubleshooting are on the ChatGPT guide.
1Put your sites in xSpeed Hub
Sign in at app.xspeedcache.com with Google or email; the Hub is free and has no site cap. Then connect each WordPress site from its own dashboard: click Connect Hub in the xSpeed Cache top bar, then Connect via xSpeed Hub. Each site needs the free xSpeed Cache plugin.
2Turn on developer mode
In ChatGPT on the web, open Settings, then Security and login, and turn on Developer mode. On a Business workspace only admins and owners can use it. On Enterprise and Edu an admin grants access first, and you then turn it on under Settings, Apps, Advanced settings.
Settings > Security and login > Developer mode
3Create the app from the Hub URL
Open ChatGPT Plugins, select the plus button and create a developer-mode app. Name it xspeedhub, paste the MCP server URL and choose OAuth. Click Scan Tools, approve access on the xSpeed Hub page that opens, wait for the scan to list the tools, then click Create. Workspace admins can also start from Workspace settings, Apps, Create.
https://app.xspeedcache.com/xspeed/mcp
4Select the app in a chat
The app appears under Drafts in your app settings with a Dev label. In a new chat, open the plus menu in the composer, choose Developer mode and select xspeedhub. In a workspace, only an admin or owner can publish the app for other members.
+ > Developer mode > xspeedhub
Full ChatGPT setup, sign-in options and FAQ
Before you send a prompt that changes something
Reads change nothing on your sites, though contact_support emails xSpeed support. Writes run once your connection allows them, so your client's approval prompt and a read-only connection (the token's Read-only everywhere switch, or a Viewer sign-in) are the gates that matter. ChatGPT asks you to confirm write actions by default. You can expand a tool call to read the JSON it will send, and you can choose to remember an approve or deny choice for a tool for the rest of that conversation. ChatGPT respects a tool's read-only annotation and treats a tool without one as a write action; xSpeed Hub's tool definitions do not declare that annotation today, so expect confirmations on reads as well. OpenAI says confirmation also depends on app permissions and context, and some especially risky actions can be blocked. xSpeed Hub has no confirmation step of its own, so once you tell ChatGPT to remember Approve for a tool, that tool runs without a prompt for the rest of the conversation, as soon as your connection allows writes.
What do I ask?
Three prompts written for ChatGPT. More for this job are below.
Ask xSpeed Hub whether the Cloudflare connection on shop is still valid. Do not change anything.
Use xSpeed Hub to clear the Cloudflare edge cache for blog, then tell me what the tool returned.
With xSpeed Hub, switch Cloudflare development mode on for shop so I can test a template change, and remind me to switch it off.
What happens, step by step
When Cloudflare sits in front of a WordPress site, it keeps its own copy of your files at the edge. Through xSpeed Hub an agent can check that the site's Cloudflare credentials still work, purge the edge cache, and turn development mode on or off. All three need Cloudflare connected in xSpeed on that site, and each works on one site at a time.
01
Verify the connection
cloudflare_verify calls Cloudflare's API with the credentials stored on the site and checks that the token and zone still resolve. It purges nothing and works on a read-only connection. If Cloudflare is not connected on that site, the call comes back as an error and the agent should tell you rather than retry.
02
Purge the edge
purge_cloudflare empties the Cloudflare edge cache for the site's zone. It does not touch the copies on your server. When Cloudflare is in front of a site, a content change usually needs both, so the agent runs purge_cache first and purge_cloudflare after it, or one purge_cache of type all, which reaches the edge when Cloudflare is connected.
03
Turn development mode on to see origin changes
set_cloudflare_dev_mode with enabled true bypasses the edge for about three hours, so changes on the origin show immediately. It slows the site for real visitors the whole time. Your client's prompt is the gate here, because the Hub's instructions do not name this tool in their confirm list.
04
Turn it off when you finish
set_cloudflare_dev_mode with enabled false switches development mode off. Cloudflare also ends it on its own after about three hours. No Hub tool reads whether it is currently on, so note when you turned it on.
05
Read a failure
A rejected token, an empty zone ID or a refused call comes back as an error that names the action, the HTTP status and Cloudflare's message when it gave one. It is not reported as a success. The credentials themselves are set in the xSpeed Cache panel in wp-admin, not through the Hub.
Reference
| Read tool | cloudflare_verify; purges nothing and works on a read-only connection |
|---|---|
| Write tools | purge_cloudflare and set_cloudflare_dev_mode (enabled true or false) |
| Needs | Cloudflare connected in xSpeed on that site: integration on, an API token (or the legacy key and email) and a Zone ID |
| Edge purge scope | Everything Cloudflare holds for the site's zone; the server copies stay |
| Development mode | Bypasses the edge for about 3 hours, then Cloudflare switches it off |
| Token permissions | Zone Cache Purge, and Zone Settings Edit for development mode |
| What verify proves | The token and zone resolve; a token without Zone Settings Edit still verifies |
| Through purge_cache | Type all also clears the edge when Cloudflare is connected; page, assets, object and rest do not |
| Every site at once | None of the three accept site: "all"; one site per call |
| Failure shape | An error with the action, the HTTP status and Cloudflare's message |
| Read-only connection | The connection token with Read-only everywhere on, or a Viewer member's sign-in; purge_cloudflare and set_cloudflare_dev_mode are refused and cloudflare_verify works. An OAuth sign-in gets the scopes the client asks for, so the switch does not make it read-only |
| Confirmation | None on the Hub; your client's prompt is the gate |
Rules worth keeping
- Run cloudflare_verify first, but do not read a pass as proof that every call will work. A token that lacks Zone Settings Edit verifies and purges fine, then fails the first time development mode is switched.
- Purge the server and the edge together after a content change. Purging only the site leaves visitors on the old page until the edge copy expires.
- Turn development mode off as soon as you are done. It slows the site for real visitors for up to about three hours, and no tool reports its state.
- Never paste a Cloudflare token or Global API Key into the chat. Connect Cloudflare in the xSpeed Cache panel in wp-admin, and use a scoped API token rather than the Global API Key.
- purge_cloudflare and set_cloudflare_dev_mode are write tools. The Hub runs them as soon as your connection allows writes, so your client's approval prompt and a read-only connection (the connection token with Read-only everywhere on, or a Viewer member's sign-in) are the gates that matter.
Good to know with ChatGPT
Plan limits differ between OpenAI pages. The developer-mode guide lists Pro, Plus, Business, Enterprise and Edu on the web, while the help center describes full MCP with write actions as a beta for Business, Enterprise and Edu and says Pro connects with read and fetch permissions. If purge_cloudflare and set_cloudflare_dev_mode are missing, your plan is the likely reason, and cloudflare_verify still works as a read. Custom MCP apps are web only, and agent mode does not use them. Once you tell ChatGPT to remember Approve for set_cloudflare_dev_mode, it runs without a prompt for the rest of the conversation, and the Hub adds none. ChatGPT signs in with OAuth and gets the scopes it asks for, and the Hub's Read-only everywhere switch applies only to the connection token, which ChatGPT cannot send. For read-only access, sign in as a Viewer member of the workspace, or keep ChatGPT's own confirmations on.
More prompts for this job
They work in any client connected to xSpeed Hub.
Use xSpeed Hub to check that the Cloudflare connection on shop still works.
With xSpeed Hub, purge the Cloudflare edge cache on blog.
I changed the checkout page on shop. Use xSpeed Hub to purge the site cache and the Cloudflare edge.
Use xSpeed Hub to turn Cloudflare development mode on for shop. I am editing the theme.
With xSpeed Hub, turn Cloudflare development mode off on shop.
Ask xSpeed Hub to verify Cloudflare on shop and tell me what is wrong if it fails.
Using xSpeed Hub, which of my sites have a working Cloudflare connection? Check them one at a time.
Frequently asked questions
Keep going
Manage Cloudflare with other agents
More with ChatGPT
Documentation
- How to connect Cloudflare
- How to serve assets from a CDN
- How to enable Page Cache
- How to write prompts for xSpeed Hub
- ChatGPT + xSpeed
- Every AI agent that works with xSpeed
From the blog