How GitHub Copilot in VS Code handles this
You are in VS Code with the Copilot agent chat open, working on a plugin or theme. After you push a fix, the site shows the old result for visitors who are not logged in. You ask Copilot to check Cloudflare for that site. It matches the name using list_sites, then runs cloudflare_verify, which asks Cloudflare whether the credentials and zone stored in xSpeed still resolve. The answer lands in the chat, beside the diff you just made.
Copilot then offers the next step. purge_cloudflare clears only the Cloudflare edge copy. set_cloudflare_dev_mode bypasses the edge for about three hours, which helps while you test changes against the live origin. Both writes need Cloudflare connected in xSpeed on that site, and neither accepts site: "all", so each call names one site. If your repository deploys to several sites, ask Copilot to go through them in turn.
VS Code starts in Manual permissions, which shows a confirmation before a tool call that is not auto-approved, and you can allow the call once, for the session, for the workspace or for all future calls. Chat: Manage Tool Approval lists the xSpeed tools grouped by server, so you can trust a read such as cloudflare_verify and keep the writes on a prompt. Allow all, Autopilot and global auto-approval skip those prompts, including for external tool calls. A write that changes what every visitor sees is better left on a fresh confirmation each time, with the site name in front of you.
Set up GitHub Copilot in VS Code once
Already connected? Skip to the prompts. Alternatives and troubleshooting are on the GitHub Copilot in VS 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 your user mcp.json
Open the Command Palette and run MCP: Open User Configuration, then add this entry. Servers in your user profile are available in every workspace. MCP: Add Server walks you through the same thing, and the project-level .mcp.json file works too if you want the entry shared with your team; that file uses a top-level mcpServers object instead of servers.
{
"servers": {
"xspeedhub": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://app.xspeedcache.com/xspeed/mcp"
}
}
} 3Start the server and sign in
Run MCP: List Servers, pick xspeedhub and choose Start. VS Code asks whether you trust the server, then opens a browser page where you sign in to xSpeed Hub and approve access. There is no token to paste, and VS Code keeps the credentials it receives. Open the Chat view and use the Configure Tools button to see the xSpeed tools.
MCP: List Servers
Full GitHub Copilot in VS 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. In VS Code the default permission level is Manual permissions: a tool call that is not auto-approved shows a confirmation, and you can allow it once or for the session, the workspace or all future calls. Chat: Manage Tool Approval lists tools grouped by MCP server, so you can trust get_cache_status and the other reads while purge_cache and update_settings stay on a prompt. Allow all, Autopilot and global auto-approval skip those prompts, including for external tool calls, and then a write runs as soon as your connection allows writes. xSpeed Hub has no confirmation step of its own.
What do I ask?
Three prompts written for GitHub Copilot in VS Code. More for this job are below.
Use xSpeed Hub to verify the Cloudflare connection on shop and tell me exactly what it returned.
The deploy is finished. With xSpeed Hub, purge the Cloudflare edge cache for blog.
Use xSpeed Hub to switch Cloudflare development mode on for shop while I test this branch, then off when I say so.
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 GitHub Copilot in VS Code
When the confirmation dialog offers to allow a tool for the workspace or for all future calls, think before you choose that for set_cloudflare_dev_mode. Every later session then switches development mode on without asking, and the site is slower for real visitors until it is turned off or runs out after about three hours. Allow cloudflare_verify if you like, and keep the write tools to allow once or for the session. Allow all and Autopilot remove the prompt for every tool, the Hub adds none, and the only hard stop is a read-only connection: the connection token in a header with Read-only everywhere on, or a Viewer member's sign-in.
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 GitHub Copilot in VS 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
- GitHub Copilot in VS Code + xSpeed
- Every AI agent that works with xSpeed
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