# Scan a website for speed problems with Claude Cowork

> Scanning site speed with Claude Cowork means giving the desktop agent a short list of URLs and having it run an xSpeed Scan on each one, then write up the grades and fixes as one brief.

Page: https://xspeedcache.com/agent/claude-cowork/speed-scan/
Last updated: October 2026

Cowork suits the job where you would otherwise open a dozen tabs. Maybe you are comparing your client's site with three competitors before a pitch, or checking five client sites on a Monday. You give it the list and say what the brief should contain. It calls run_speed_scan once per site, reads each report, and writes one summary: a grade for desktop and for mobile, the top failing checks, and the report link for each.

Cowork works with the connectors on your Claude account, so the xSpeed connector has to be added in Claude first. For sites that are not yours, use the no-account Scan MCP, which grades any public URL and is read-only. For your own sites inside xSpeed Hub, the Hub connector scans by site handle and can read the scan history with get_speed_scan, which spends nothing. A good brief for a client site uses both: the history for the trend, one fresh scan for today.

Keep the first request small. Ask for two sites, check that the layout of the brief is what you wanted, then send the full list. If you want the same brief every week, save the wording that worked and reuse it, and tell Cowork which grade to lead with, so the numbers line up from one week to the next.

## Set up Claude Cowork once

### 1. Put 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.

### 2. Add xSpeed Hub to your Claude account

Cowork does not keep its own connector list. In Claude, go to Customize > Connectors, click Add custom connector, name it xspeedhub, paste the URL, choose Sign in now and, if asked, Register automatically. The full steps, including the Team and Enterprise route, are on the Claude page: /agent/claude/.

```
https://app.xspeedcache.com/xspeed/mcp
```

### 3. Connect, then start a new Cowork session

Click Connect on the connector and approve access on the xSpeed Hub page. Cowork loads the connectors enabled for your account when a session starts, so open a new Cowork session after you connect. You can also switch the connector on from the + menu in the chat box.

```
Customize  >  Connectors  >  xspeedhub  >  Connect
```

### 4. Set tool permissions before the first task

Open the connector under Customize > Connectors and set each tool to Always allow, Needs approval or Blocked. A sensible start is Always allow for the read tools and Needs approval for purge_cache, toggle_cache, update_settings and the other writes. Then pick a Cowork mode; Manual is the one that shows you each request.

```
Tool permissions: get_cache_status = Always allow
Tool permissions: purge_cache = Needs approval
```

### 5. Add the xSpeed Scan MCP for sites you do not run

Prompts that scan a public URL use the xSpeed Scan MCP, a separate server from the Hub. Add it to Claude Cowork the same way as the Hub above, as a second server (xspeedscan, for example) with the URL https://xspeedcache.com/scan/mcp, and leave out any sign-in setting, such as an OAuth or auth option or an Authorization header, because the Scan MCP needs no account, token or sign-in. On a plan that allows one custom connector, add whichever server the prompts you use need.

```
https://xspeedcache.com/scan/mcp
```

Full setup: https://xspeedcache.com/agent/claude-cowork/

### 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. Cowork has three modes. Manually approve (Manual) pauses and asks you to Allow or Deny each action. Automatically approve (Auto) keeps working and blocks what Claude judges to be unsafe. Skip all approvals (Skip) asks nothing and checks nothing. Each connector tool also has a permission, set under Customize > Connectors. In Manual mode, Always allow runs, Needs approval asks and Blocked is denied; in Skip mode only Blocked stops a call. xSpeed Hub has no confirmation step of its own, so under Skip, or for any tool set to Always allow, a write runs as soon as your connection allows writes. Auto relies on Claude's own judgement, which is not a lock.

## Prompts

- Use the xSpeed Scan MCP to scan these four URLs and write one brief: desktop grade, mobile grade and the single biggest fix for each, with the report links.
- With the xSpeed Scan MCP, compare [client site URL] with its two main competitors and tell me where we are weakest.
- Use xSpeed Hub to read the scan history for my own sites and tell me which one has the lowest grade.

## Example session

```
You: Use the xSpeed Scan MCP to compare client-site.com with rival-one.com and rival-two.com. One short brief, please.
  → run_speed_scan(url: client-site.com, strategy: both) [read-only]: Desktop grade C, mobile grade D. Top failing check: slow server response, no page cache. Report link included.
  → run_speed_scan(url: rival-one.com, strategy: both) [read-only]: Desktop grade B, mobile grade C. Report link included.
  → run_speed_scan(url: rival-two.com, strategy: both) [read-only]: Desktop grade C, mobile grade C. Report link included.
Agent: Your client trails both rivals on mobile. Its top failing check is server response: no cache answers the page. The brief with three report links is ready.
```

## How it works

1. **Check what the site already scored**: get_speed_scan without a scan id returns the site's scan history, newest first, plus a summary of the latest report. It starts nothing and spends nothing, so the Hub tells the agent to read it first when you ask what a site scored.
2. **Start a scan**: run_speed_scan runs the full scan on a site you connected to the Hub. strategy is both (the default), desktop or mobile; one device alone costs half the engine's quota. The scan takes 20 to 60 seconds. The Hub waits about 50 seconds and, if the scan is still running, hands back a scan id.
3. **Poll if it is still running**: Call get_speed_scan with scan_id. While the scan runs it returns the running status and a note to ask again in about 20 seconds. The report page is live from the start and refreshes itself.
4. **Read the result**: The summary carries the grade, the four dimension scores, what was measured and the top fixes ranked by points recoverable, each with the xSpeed feature that fixes it. The headline grade is the desktop run. The mobile run is graded alongside it, so the agent should mention both when they differ.
5. **Scan a site you do not run**: For any other public URL, the agent uses the Scan MCP at https://xspeedcache.com/scan/mcp. There is no account and no sign-in. It takes a url, returns the same graded report and a link at xspeedcache.com/scan/r/<id>, and is limited to 4 scans per caller per 10 minutes.
6. **Fix, wait, re-scan**: After a change, wait several minutes and scan again with fresh: true. Without it, the scan service reuses any report from the last 10 minutes and the agent will show you the old number.

## Reference

| | |
| --- | --- |
| Hub route | run_speed_scan, then get_speed_scan with scan_id; only for sites connected to your Hub |
| Scan MCP route | https://xspeedcache.com/scan/mcp, no account, 5 tools, read-only, any public URL |
| Scan MCP limit | 4 scans per caller per 10 minutes |
| Why run_speed_scan is a write | It spends a shared scan allowance and stores a report; it changes nothing on the site |
| Read-only Hub connection | run_speed_scan is refused; get_speed_scan still works. Applies to the connection token with Read-only everywhere on and to a Viewer sign-in; an OAuth sign-in gets the scopes the client asks for |
| Duration | 20 to 60 seconds; the Hub waits about 50 seconds, then returns a scan id |
| Poll argument | scan_id on the Hub tool, scanId on the Scan MCP tool |
| strategy | both (default), desktop or mobile; one device costs half the quota and becomes the headline |
| fresh | true forces a new measurement; otherwise a report from the last 10 minutes is reused |
| Report link | xspeedcache.com/scan/r/<id>; add .md for a Markdown twin an agent can read |
| Report visibility | Hub scans are filed unlisted; Scan MCP scans are public in the scan directory by default |

## Rules

- Read before you spend. Ask for the scan history first; start a new scan only when you want a fresh measurement or something changed.
- A report link is not private. An unlisted report is kept out of the scan directory and search, but anyone with the URL can open it. A scan started through the Scan MCP is public by default.
- run_speed_scan changes nothing on your site, but the Hub classes it a write, so a read-only connection (the connection token with Read-only everywhere on, or a Viewer sign-in) refuses it and your client may prompt for it. Use get_speed_scan, or the Scan MCP for a public URL, when you want a strictly read-only route.
- Compare like with like. A scan that lost its Lighthouse run is marked partial and is not comparable with a full one, and the lab grade is not the same as real-visitor Core Web Vitals, which the report shows separately.
- A scan cannot reach private, local or password-protected sites, and a site behind a bot challenge returns a report that says its server checks were not measured.

## Good to know with Claude Cowork

The no-account Scan MCP allows four scans per caller per ten minutes, so a list of eight sites will stop partway. Cowork can report which sites it finished and wait before the rest, but it cannot raise the limit. Split a long list into batches of three or four. Remember too that scan reports are public by default, so scanning a competitor creates a report anyone with the link can open. For a long Hub job, set run_speed_scan to Needs approval under Customize > Connectors and get_speed_scan to Always allow, then run in Manual mode. Skip all approvals asks nothing, so there the Hub spends the shared allowance on every scan the agent decides to start, and Auto relies on Claude's own judgement, which is not a lock.

## More prompts for this job

Prompts about your own sites work in any client connected to xSpeed Hub. A prompt that scans a site you do not run, or names the scan server, needs the xSpeed Scan MCP from the setup above.

- Using xSpeed Hub, what did the shop site score on its last speed scan? Do not start a new one.
- Use xSpeed Hub to run a speed scan on blog and give me the three fixes that recover the most points, plus the report link.
- With xSpeed Hub, scan only the mobile view of shop and tell me the grade.
- I changed the theme this morning. Use xSpeed Hub to run a fresh scan on docs and compare it with the previous report.
- Use the xSpeed Scan MCP to grade [competitor URL] and tell me what its biggest weaknesses are.
- The speed scan on shop is still running. Ask xSpeed Hub to check it again and tell me when it finishes.

## Frequently asked questions

### How many sites can Claude Cowork scan in one go?

Through the no-account Scan MCP, four per ten minutes for each caller, so plan batches of three or four. Through xSpeed Hub the limit is the shared speed-test allowance on your account instead, and each run_speed_scan spends some of it.

### Will the brief show both desktop and mobile?

Yes, if you ask for it. By default a scan grades the desktop run as the headline and the mobile run alongside it, so the data is there. Tell Cowork to put both grades in the brief, since Google ranks on mobile.

### What is the difference between run_speed_scan and run_speed_test?

run_speed_scan runs the full xSpeed Scan: server probes plus Lighthouse, a 0 to 100 grade across four dimensions, the fix for every failing check and a shareable report link. run_speed_test returns a raw PageSpeed Insights score with Core Web Vitals and no graded report.

### Can an agent scan a site that is not in my Hub?

Yes, through the xSpeed Scan MCP at https://xspeedcache.com/scan/mcp. It needs no account and no sign-in, accepts any public URL and is read-only. The Hub route only scans sites you connected to your own workspace.

### How many scans can I run?

The Scan MCP allows 4 scans per caller per 10 minutes. Scanning the same URL again within 10 minutes returns the existing report unless the agent passes fresh: true. A Hub scan spends a shared allowance of the scan service, which is why the Hub treats it as a write tool.

### Is my scan report public?

Reports started from the Hub are filed as unlisted, which keeps them out of the public scan directory and search results, but the link itself still opens for anyone who has it. Reports started through the Scan MCP are public by default.

### Which score does the scan headline show, desktop or mobile?

The headline grade is the desktop run, because it is the one you can reproduce in your own browser. The mobile run is graded on the same rubric and returned alongside it. Google ranks on mobile, so when the two differ the agent should tell you both.

## Scan a site's speed with other agents

[Claude Code](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/claude-code/speed-scan/) · [Claude](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/claude/speed-scan/) · [ChatGPT](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/chatgpt/speed-scan/) · [Codex](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/codex/speed-scan/) · [Cursor](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/cursor/speed-scan/) · [GitHub Copilot in VS Code](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/github-copilot/speed-scan/) · [Windsurf](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/windsurf/speed-scan/) · [Gemini CLI](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/gemini-cli/speed-scan/) · [Antigravity](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/antigravity/speed-scan/) · [Zed](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/zed/speed-scan/) · [Kiro](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/kiro/speed-scan/) · [OpenCode](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/opencode/speed-scan/) · [OpenClaw](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/openclaw/speed-scan/) · [Hermes Agent](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/hermes-agent/speed-scan/) · [Grok Build](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/grok-build/speed-scan/) · [ChatGPT dots](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/chatgpt-dots/speed-scan/) · [Grok](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/grok/speed-scan/) · [Grok Bot](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/grok-bot/speed-scan/) · [Muse](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/muse/speed-scan/) · [Manus](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/manus/speed-scan/) · [Kimi Code](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/kimi/speed-scan/) · [Paperclip](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/paperclip/speed-scan/) · [NanoClaw](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/nanoclaw/speed-scan/)

## More with Claude Cowork

- [Purge the WordPress cache with Claude Cowork](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/claude-cowork/purge-cache/)
- [Find out why WordPress pages are not cached with Claude Cowork](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/claude-cowork/troubleshoot-cache/)
- [Run and track PageSpeed tests with Claude Cowork](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/claude-cowork/pagespeed-tests/)
- [Raise a WordPress site's PageSpeed score with Claude Cowork](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/claude-cowork/optimize-site/)
- [Tune WordPress cache settings with Claude Cowork](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/claude-cowork/cache-settings/)
- [Warm the WordPress cache with Claude Cowork](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/claude-cowork/preload-cache/)
- [Set up the Redis object cache with Claude Cowork](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/claude-cowork/object-cache/)
- [Manage Cloudflare caching with Claude Cowork](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/claude-cowork/cloudflare/)
- [Manage every WordPress site at once with Claude Cowork](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/claude-cowork/fleet/)

## Documentation

- xSpeed Scan: free website speed test: https://xspeedcache.com/docs/speed-scan/
- xSpeed Scan MCP: speed-test any site from your AI assistant: https://xspeedcache.com/docs/scan-mcp/
- How to run a full site scan: https://xspeedcache.com/docs/scan/
- Running speed tests in xSpeed Hub: https://xspeedcache.com/docs/hub-speed-tests-and-notifications/