# Tune WordPress cache settings with Claude

> Tuning cache settings with Claude means describing in chat how you want your WordPress site to cache, and letting Claude read the xSpeed settings, propose the change and apply it through xSpeed Hub.

Page: https://xspeedcache.com/agent/claude/cache-settings/
Last updated: October 2026

You are in the Claude chat window, not in a terminal or wp-admin, and you have a worry: logged-in members see stale pages, or a pricing page is cached when it should not be. You type that worry the way you would say it to a colleague. Claude lists your sites, reads the module list to find where the setting lives, and calls get_settings for the cache module so it can quote the exclusions your site has today, instead of guessing at them.

What comes back is a short explanation and a proposed edit. For a page that must never be cached, that is one extra entry on the list of excluded URLs; Claude shows the list as it stands, the list as it would be, and asks if you want it applied. The Hub also tells the agent to briefly confirm intent before update_settings. After your yes, Claude calls update_settings and shows the stored result. If any key or value is wrong, the whole call is refused and nothing is stored, a Pro-only module is refused on a site without a licence, and credential fields are refused over the Hub, so those are set in the dashboard.

What differs in Claude is the chat surface. Claude can ask for your approval before it uses a connector tool, with a choice between Allow once and Always allow. Under Customize, then Connectors, you can also set each tool to Always allow, Needs approval or Blocked. Reads are low risk and fine to allow. The writes are the ones to look at: update_settings and toggle_cache change a live site as soon as your connection allows writes, so keep them on Needs approval and the prompt is the check you have.

## Set up Claude 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 as a custom connector

Go to Customize > Connectors and click Add custom connector. Name it xspeedhub and paste the URL. Under Authentication choose Sign in now, and if Claude asks how it identifies itself, choose Register automatically, which uses dynamic client registration. Click Add. On a Team or Enterprise plan an Owner does this under Organization settings > Connectors, with Add, then Custom, then Web.

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

### 3. Connect and turn it on in a chat

Click Connect on the xspeedhub connector and approve access on the xSpeed Hub page that opens. Then, in a conversation, click + in the message box, choose Connectors and switch xspeedhub on. Claude can use the connector only in conversations where that toggle is on.

```
+  >  Connectors  >  xspeedhub (on)
```

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

### 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 can ask for your approval before it uses a connector tool. Allow once runs that call, and Always allow skips the prompt for that tool from then on. Under Customize > Connectors you can set each tool, or a group of tools, to Always allow, Needs approval or Blocked. xSpeed Hub has no confirmation step of its own, so a write tool you set to Always allow runs as soon as your connection allows writes. Keep purge_cache, update_settings, toggle_cache and the other write tools on Needs approval, block the ones you never want. For read-only access, sign in as a Viewer member of the workspace, or use the connection token with Read-only everywhere on, which needs the Request headers beta. The switch does not apply to a normal OAuth sign-in.

## Prompts

- Using xSpeed Hub, why would logged-in members see old pages on blog? Check the cache settings and tell me what you would change.
- Use xSpeed Hub to add /pricing/ to the cache exclusions on shop, but show me the full list before and after.
- Ask xSpeed Hub which modules are on for shop right now, and which settings in them are worth a second look.

## Example session

```
You: Our pricing page shows last month's numbers. Use xSpeed Hub to keep it out of the cache for good.
  → list_modules(site: shop) [read-only]: cache, minify, lazy and more; cache is on
  → get_settings(site: shop, module: cache) [read-only]: excluded URLs: /cart/, /checkout/, /my-account/
Agent: Pricing is not on the exclusion list. I would add /pricing/ and keep the other three. Apply that to shop?
You: Yes, add it.
  → update_settings(site: shop, module: cache, values: { excluded_urls: [/cart/, /checkout/, /my-account/, /pricing/] }) [changes site]: stored, 4 excluded URLs
Agent: Added. The copy of /pricing/ already in the cache stays until it expires. The Hub purges a whole site's page cache, not one URL, so if you want it fresh now I can purge shop's page cache, and the other pages rebuild on their next visit.
```

## How it works

1. **List the modules**: list_modules returns every Free and Pro module available on one site, with its settings schema and status. It tells the agent which module slugs exist, such as minify or gzip, and what each setting accepts.
2. **Read the current settings**: get_settings takes a module slug and returns its settings. Credential fields come back masked, so an agent cannot read a stored API token or password back in plain text.
3. **Change them**: update_settings takes the module and a values object of setting keys. The site checks the whole object first. If any key is unknown, any value is outside the schema, or a field is pinned by a constant in wp-config.php, it refuses the write, writes nothing and says which keys and why, sometimes with a "did you mean" hint.
4. **Turn page caching on or off**: Page caching has its own tool, toggle_cache, because it installs or removes the cache drop-in and the WP_CACHE constant. Asking update_settings to set cache_enabled does not work and is refused. If another caching plugin owns the drop-in, the site declines to enable xSpeed and returns blocked: true with the reason.
5. **Check the effect**: The result of a settings write is the stored settings. A module can add a warning when a setting is saved but has no effect on this server, for example Brotli on a server without the module for it, and the agent should pass that on. run_benchmark then times cached against uncached to see whether the change helped.
6. **Apply to many sites only after reading one**: update_settings and toggle_cache accept site: "all" or a list of handles. Each site validates against its own schema and answers in its own row, so a module missing on one site fails that row and the others still apply. Read one site first, then apply.

## Reference

| | |
| --- | --- |
| Discover | list_modules (read): Free and Pro modules, settings schema, status, per site |
| Read settings | get_settings (read): argument module; credential fields masked |
| Change settings | update_settings (write): arguments module and values; validated by the site |
| Bad input | The whole write is refused and nothing is written; the error names the keys and reasons |
| Page cache on or off | toggle_cache (write): argument enabled; cache_enabled in update_settings is refused |
| Blocked by another plugin | toggle_cache returns blocked: true with blocked_reason when another plugin owns the cache drop-in |
| Every site at once | update_settings and toggle_cache accept site: "all" or a list of handles, one result per site |
| Pro modules | A Pro module on a site without an active licence cannot be read or written; the site refuses |
| Credential fields | Refused by default over MCP; set them in the xSpeed dashboard, not through the agent |
| Read-only connection | The connection token with Read-only everywhere on, or a Viewer member's sign-in: update_settings and toggle_cache are refused; list_modules and get_settings still work. An OAuth sign-in gets the scopes the client asks for, read and write by default, clamped to the member's role |
| Confirmation | None on the Hub; the Hub tells the agent to briefly confirm intent for these two, and your client's prompt is the gate |

## Rules

- Read before you write. Ask for list_modules and get_settings first, so the agent changes real keys with valid values instead of guessing.
- update_settings and toggle_cache change how a live site behaves. They run as soon as your connection allows writes. The Hub tells the agent to briefly confirm intent first, which is guidance to the agent, so your client's approval prompt and a read-only connection (the connection token with Read-only everywhere on, or a Viewer sign-in) are the gates. The switch does not limit an OAuth sign-in.
- For site: "all", the Hub tells the agent to confirm once with "this will touch all N sites", then make one call. The result is per site, and some sites failing is a partial result to report, not a blanket success or failure.
- Do not ask an agent to set credentials such as a Cloudflare token or Redis password. The site refuses those writes by default, and they belong in the xSpeed dashboard.
- If a settings result says a value is saved but inactive on this server, relay that. Do not tell the user the feature is enabled.

## Good to know with Claude

The free plan allows one custom connector, and on Team and Enterprise an Owner adds the connector for the organization and each member then connects with their own account. If you pick Always allow on the update_settings card, later settings changes run without the prompt, so choose Allow once for the writes and keep Always allow for the read tools. Anthropic notes that Research can call connector tools without further approval, so block update_settings and toggle_cache before you use Research with this connector.

## More prompts for this job

They work in any client connected to xSpeed Hub.

- Use xSpeed Hub to list the modules on shop and tell me which ones are off.
- Ask xSpeed Hub for the current minify settings on blog.
- With xSpeed Hub, turn on HTML minification on blog, then benchmark the cache and tell me if it helped.
- Use xSpeed Hub to turn page caching off on staging while I debug, and tell me when it is off.
- Using xSpeed Hub, read the gzip settings on shop first, then enable the same options on every site.
- Use xSpeed Hub to set the page cache lifespan on docs to 30 days, and if the site refuses it, tell me why.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can Claude change xSpeed settings from a chat on my phone?

Yes. Anthropic says a connected connector is available in conversations on the web, the desktop app and mobile, so add and connect it on claude.ai or the desktop app, then switch it on from the plus menu in a mobile conversation. Check the approval card on each write, because that card is where you accept or refuse the change.

### Does Claude know which settings are safe to change?

It reads the module list and the settings for that module first, so it works from the real schema and your current values. It still proposes, and you decide. If any key or value is wrong, the whole call is refused with a reason and nothing is stored.

### How does an agent know which settings exist?

It calls list_modules for the site, which returns every available module with its settings schema and status, then get_settings for the one module it wants to change. The schema says which keys exist and what values each accepts.

### What happens if the agent sends a wrong setting key?

The site refuses the whole update and writes nothing. The error names the keys it rejected and why, such as an unknown key, a value outside the allowed range, or a field fixed by a constant in wp-config.php, and it can suggest the nearest valid key.

### How do I turn page caching on or off with an agent?

Use toggle_cache with enabled set to true or false. It installs or removes the cache drop-in and the WP_CACHE constant. Setting cache_enabled through update_settings does not work. If another caching plugin already owns the drop-in, the site will not enable xSpeed and says why.

### Can one prompt change settings on all of my sites?

Yes. update_settings and toggle_cache accept site: "all", and the Hub runs the sites one after another with a one-second pause and returns a result per site. Each site checks the values against its own schema, so a site that lacks the module fails its own row while the others apply.

### Can the agent change my Cloudflare or Redis credentials?

Not by default. Writing credential fields over MCP is off unless the site owner allows it, and the site refuses the write and names the fields. Set credentials in the xSpeed dashboard. Credential values also come back masked when an agent reads settings.

## Tune cache settings with other agents

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

## More with Claude

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

## Documentation

- How to enable Page Cache: https://xspeedcache.com/docs/page-cache/
- How to minify CSS and JavaScript: https://xspeedcache.com/docs/minify/
- How to add cache rules and bypasses: https://xspeedcache.com/docs/rules-and-bypass/
- Site MCP tool reference: https://xspeedcache.com/docs/mcp-tool-reference/