How Claude Code handles this
You are in the terminal, halfway through a theme or template change, and the live page still shows the old markup. Your own server may already be fresh while Cloudflare keeps handing out its stored copy from the edge. Instead of opening the Cloudflare dashboard, you tell Claude Code which site looks wrong. It calls list_sites to match the name, runs cloudflare_verify to confirm the credentials stored in xSpeed still work, and then decides whether you need an edge purge or development mode.
The three tools divide the work. cloudflare_verify is a read: it asks Cloudflare whether the stored token and zone still resolve, and it purges nothing. purge_cloudflare empties only the edge, which fits when you already purged the server and want nothing else touched. set_cloudflare_dev_mode with enabled true bypasses the edge for about three hours so your origin output shows straight away. All three need Cloudflare connected in xSpeed on that site, and none of them takes site: "all", so a fix across several sites is several calls, one site each.
Claude Code asks before it runs an MCP tool unless a permission rule allows it or you run auto mode or bypassPermissions mode, and the prompt carries the full name, such as mcp__xspeedhub__set_cloudflare_dev_mode. Because the session stays open while you edit, you can ask for dev mode, reload the page, change the template, reload again, and then ask Claude Code to switch dev mode off, all in one conversation.
Set up Claude Code once
Already connected? Skip to the prompts. Alternatives and troubleshooting are on the Claude Code 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.
2Add xSpeed Hub to Claude Code
Run this once. --scope user makes the server available in every project; leave it off and it applies to the current project only, which is Claude Code's default.
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user xspeedhub https://app.xspeedcache.com/xspeed/mcp
3Sign in with /mcp
Start Claude Code, run /mcp, pick xspeedhub and finish the sign-in in your browser. You approve access on an xSpeed Hub page; there is no token to paste, and Claude Code keeps the credentials it receives and refreshes them.
/mcp
Full Claude Code 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. Claude Code asks before it runs an MCP tool unless a permission rule already allows it, or you work in auto mode, where a classifier reviews actions instead of you, or in bypassPermissions mode, which skips prompts. A rule such as mcp__xspeedhub__get_cache_status allows one tool, and mcp__xspeedhub__get_* allows every read whose name starts with get_. Keep purge_cache, update_settings, toggle_cache and the other write tools on the prompt, because the Hub itself runs a write as soon as your connection allows it.
What do I ask?
Three prompts written for Claude Code. More for this job are below.
Use xSpeed Hub to check that the Cloudflare connection on shop still works, and tell me if the check fails.
I changed the single-product template on shop. With xSpeed Hub, purge its Cloudflare edge cache and nothing else.
Use xSpeed Hub to turn on Cloudflare development mode for blog while I debug the header, and remind me to turn 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 Claude Code
A permission rule that allows every tool from the xspeedhub server also allows set_cloudflare_dev_mode and purge_cloudflare, and then Claude Code runs them without showing you a prompt. Auto mode, where a classifier reviews actions instead of you, and bypassPermissions mode, which shows no prompts, skip the prompt for them as well. Allow mcp__xspeedhub__cloudflare_verify by name and keep the two write tools on the prompt. Development mode also outlives your session: closing the terminal does not end it, Cloudflare does after about three hours, and the site is slower for real visitors until then, so ask Claude Code to turn it off before you leave. No Hub tool reports whether dev mode is currently on, so note when you switched it 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 Claude Code
Documentation
- How to connect Cloudflare
- How to serve assets from a CDN
- How to enable Page Cache
- How to write prompts for xSpeed Hub
- Claude Code + xSpeed
- Every AI agent that works with xSpeed
From the blog