How Gemini CLI handles this
You are in a Gemini CLI session and a page you changed still shows the old content from outside your network. You suspect Cloudflare, so you ask Gemini to look at it for the site by name. It calls list_sites to find the handle and then cloudflare_verify, a read that asks Cloudflare whether the stored token and zone still resolve. You see the answer in the terminal, with nothing changed on the site.
With the link confirmed, Gemini can call purge_cloudflare to clear the edge copy, or set_cloudflare_dev_mode to bypass the edge for about three hours so your origin changes show at once. Both writes need Cloudflare connected in xSpeed on that site. Neither accepts site: "all", so for several sites Gemini calls the tool once per site, and you read each result as it comes back.
Gemini CLI shows a confirmation before an MCP tool runs, with choices to proceed once, always allow that tool, always allow the whole xspeedhub server, or cancel. The tools appear as mcp_xspeedhub_ followed by the tool name, and policy rules can allow, deny or ask for a named tool. The setting to watch is trust: when the server entry sets trust to true, every tool call runs without that question, both Cloudflare writes included, and starting Gemini CLI with --approval-mode=yolo (or --yolo) approves every tool call too. The prompt shows the tool name and its arguments, so read the site handle in it before you answer, particularly when you manage several sites with similar names. Afterward, ask Gemini to list the calls it made.
Set up Gemini CLI once
Already connected? Skip to the prompts. Alternatives and troubleshooting are on the Gemini CLI 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 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.
gemini mcp add --scope user --transport http xspeedhub https://app.xspeedcache.com/xspeed/mcp
3Authenticate 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 Gemini CLI 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. 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.
What do I ask?
Three prompts written for Gemini CLI. More for this job are below.
Use xSpeed Hub to verify the Cloudflare connection on shop and print what Cloudflare said.
With xSpeed Hub, clear the Cloudflare edge cache for blog only, then confirm it worked.
Use xSpeed Hub to switch Cloudflare development mode on for shop for this debugging session, 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 Gemini CLI
Setting trust on the xspeedhub server tells Gemini CLI to run its tools without asking, and the setting covers every tool on that server, not just the reads. Choosing always allow for the whole server has the same effect, and so do the --trust flag and starting Gemini CLI with --approval-mode=yolo (or --yolo), which approves every tool call. That means set_cloudflare_dev_mode and purge_cloudflare would run without a prompt. Choose always allow for cloudflare_verify alone, or write a policy rule that allows that one tool. If you want a hands-off audit, use a read-only connection instead of trust, either the connection token with Read-only everywhere on (passed with --header) or a Viewer member's sign-in: cloudflare_verify works, and both writes are refused by the Hub.
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 Gemini CLI
Documentation
- How to connect Cloudflare
- How to serve assets from a CDN
- How to enable Page Cache
- How to write prompts for xSpeed Hub
- Gemini CLI + xSpeed
- Every AI agent that works with xSpeed
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