# Tune WordPress cache settings with Gemini CLI

> Tuning cache settings with Gemini CLI means asking it, in the terminal, to change one xSpeed setting on every WordPress site in your workspace and read back a per-site result through xSpeed Hub.

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

You are in Gemini CLI and you have a sensible rule for how long pages should stay cached, but your sites have drifted: one has 6 hours, another 48, and a third has the default. You ask Gemini CLI to set the cache expiry to 24 hours everywhere. It calls list_sites to count them, then get_settings on a couple of sites to see what the values look like, and tells you what update_settings would write before it sends anything.

What comes back is a plan and a single question. The Hub tells the agent to confirm once before a write that touches every site, in words like this will touch all 6 sites, and Gemini CLI asks you. After your yes it sends one update_settings call with site: "all". The Hub runs the sites one after another with a one-second pause and returns a result for each, so one site that is unreachable shows as a failed row while the others are stored. Each site validates against its own schema, credential fields are refused over the Hub, and a Pro-only setting is refused where there is no licence.

What differs in Gemini CLI is the trust setting. By default it shows a confirmation for an MCP tool call, with the choices to proceed once, always allow that tool, always allow the whole server, or cancel. That is the check you want for a write across a fleet. If the server entry sets trust to true, you chose always allow, or you started Gemini CLI with --approval-mode=yolo (or --yolo), which approves every tool call, it stops asking, and a fleet-wide update_settings then runs the moment the model decides to send it. The Hub has no confirmation of its own, so do not trust xspeedhub if you plan to use this job.

## Set up Gemini CLI 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 Gemini CLI

Run this once. --scope user writes the server to ~/.gemini/settings.json so it works in every project; without it Gemini CLI saves to the project's .gemini/settings.json, which is the default.

```bash
gemini mcp add --scope user --transport http xspeedhub https://app.xspeedcache.com/xspeed/mcp
```

### 3. Authenticate with /mcp auth

Start gemini and run /mcp auth xspeedhub. A browser page opens where you sign in to xSpeed Hub and approve access, and Gemini CLI receives the redirect on a local port. There is no token to paste, and the client keeps the credentials it receives. Run /mcp afterwards to check that xspeedhub shows as connected and lists its tools.

```
/mcp auth xspeedhub
```

Full setup: https://xspeedcache.com/agent/gemini-cli/

### 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. Gemini CLI shows a confirmation for an MCP tool call unless the server entry sets trust to true or you start Gemini CLI with --approval-mode=yolo (or --yolo), which approves every tool call. You can proceed once, always allow that tool, always allow the whole xspeedhub server, or cancel; the last two choices stop later prompts for those tools. Policy rules in ~/.gemini/policies can allow, deny or ask for a named tool by server and tool name. The Hub has no confirmation step of its own, so a trusted server, YOLO mode or an allow rule lets a write run as soon as your connection allows writes.

## Prompts

- Use xSpeed Hub to set the page cache expiry to 24 hours on every site, but read the current value on each first and show me which ones differ.
- Using xSpeed Hub, which of my sites do not have the cache module on? Read only, change nothing.
- With xSpeed Hub, apply the same lazy loading settings I use on shop to blog and docs, and show me the per-site result.

## Example session

```
You: Use xSpeed Hub to set the page cache expiry to 24 hours on every site.
  → list_sites [read-only]: 6 sites in the Startise workspace
Agent: This will touch all 6 sites and write cache expiry 24 hours on each. Sites already at 24 stay the same. Go ahead?
You: Yes, all six.
  → update_settings(site: all, module: cache, values: { cache_expiry: 24 }) [changes site]: 5 stored, 1 failed: docs was unreachable
Agent: Five sites are at 24 hours. docs failed because the site did not answer, so nothing was written there. Want me to retry docs once it is back?
```

## 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 Gemini CLI

Gemini CLI asks before a tool call unless the server is set as trusted, you chose always allow for the tool or the server, or you started it with --approval-mode=yolo (or --yolo), which approves every tool call. After that, a settings write across every site runs with no prompt from the client, and the Hub's request to confirm becomes the only check. Leave trust off and do not add --trust to this server. A policy rule in your Gemini CLI policies can ask or deny update_settings by name, and a read-only connection (the connection token with Read-only everywhere on, or a Viewer sign-in) makes the write tools refuse.

## 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

### What does Gemini CLI show when one site fails during a fleet update?

The Hub returns a result per site, so the answer lists which sites stored the new value and which failed, with the reason for each. Treat it as a partial success, and ask Gemini CLI to retry only the failed site when it is reachable again.

### Does Gemini CLI ask before it writes to every site?

It asks before a tool call unless the server is trusted or you started it with --approval-mode=yolo (or --yolo), and the Hub also tells the agent to confirm once before a write on every site. The client prompt is the check to depend on. If you marked the server trusted or use yolo, only the model's own habit remains.

### 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](https://xspeedcache.com/agent/claude/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/) · [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 Gemini CLI

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