How Manus handles this
You run four WordPress sites and suspect they were set up at different times by different people. A performance report flagged that returning visitors re-download stylesheets and images on some of them. Instead of checking each dashboard, you give Manus the task in one message and name xSpeed Hub so it uses that server. Manus calls list_sites, then get_settings for the browser cache module on each site, one call per site, and builds a table of which sites send cache headers and how long files are kept.
What comes back is a finished piece of work rather than a stream of tool output: two sites send headers with a one week file lifetime, two send none, and Manus proposes switching the headers on for those two with the same lifetime. The Hub tells the agent to confirm once before a write that touches several sites, so Manus asks a single question. After your yes it sends one update_settings call with a list of the two handles, and the Hub returns a result per site, so a site that fails shows as its own row while the other is stored. Each site validates the values against its own schema, and credential fields are refused over the Hub.
What differs in Manus is that it is built to finish tasks with little supervision, and its custom MCP documentation describes no per-tool approval setting for a server you add. The question it asks before the write comes from your request and the Hub's instructions to the agent. So write the stop into the task, as in ask me once before you change anything, and read the plan before you answer. xSpeed Hub has no confirmation step of its own, so a write runs as soon as Manus calls it and the token allows writes.
Set up Manus once
Already connected? Skip to the prompts. Alternatives and troubleshooting are on the Manus 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.
2Copy the connection token from xSpeed Hub
Sign in at app.xspeedcache.com as the workspace owner, open Connect AI and copy the connection token. If Manus will only report, turn on Read-only everywhere so the Hub refuses every write tool on that token.
xSpeed Hub > Connect AI > connection token
3Add xSpeed Hub as a custom MCP server
In Manus, open Settings, then Integrations, then Custom MCP Servers, and click Add Server. Name it xSpeed Hub, enter this as the server URL, and enter the connection token as the Bearer token in the authentication field.
https://app.xspeedcache.com/xspeed/mcp
4Let Manus test it, then name it in a task
Manus checks that it can reach the server and read its list of tools. Then start a task that names xSpeed Hub, so Manus uses this server.
Use xSpeed Hub to list my sites and tell me which ones have page caching turned off.
Full Manus 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. Manus's custom MCP documentation describes no per-tool approval setting for a custom server, and its scheduled tasks offer a skip confirmations option that lets Manus act without asking each time. xSpeed Hub has no confirmation step of its own, so a write runs as soon as Manus calls it and your connection allows writes. The Hub tells the agent to confirm the target site and to ask once before a write that touches every site, but that is an instruction. The firm stop is the token: with Read-only everywhere on, the Hub refuses every write tool. Keep it on for scheduled work, and leave skip confirmations off for any task that may write.
What do I ask?
Three prompts written for Manus. More for this job are below.
Use xSpeed Hub to check browser cache headers on every site and switch them on where they are off. Ask me once first.
With xSpeed Hub, build a table of the cache expiry and excluded URLs on all my sites. Change nothing.
Ask xSpeed Hub for the minify settings on landing and tell me which options are still at their defaults.
What happens, step by step
Every xSpeed feature is a module with its own settings. Through xSpeed Hub an agent can list the modules a site has, read one module's settings, change them with a checked update, and turn page caching on or off. The site validates every write against the module's own schema, so a wrong key or value is refused with a reason instead of being quietly ignored.
01
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.
02
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.
03
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.
04
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.
05
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.
06
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 worth keeping
- 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 Manus
Manus connects to a custom MCP server with a Bearer token, so it sends the Hub's connection token, and that token reaches every site in the workspace. For an audit that should only report, turn on Read-only everywhere on the Connect AI page, and the Hub refuses update_settings and toggle_cache whatever Manus decides. Scheduled tasks run unattended and can skip confirmations, so keep a recurring settings review to reads with that option off. Rotating the token cuts off Manus and every other client that sends it.
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
Keep going
Tune cache settings with other agents
More with Manus
Documentation
- How to enable Page Cache
- How to minify CSS and JavaScript
- How to add cache rules and bypasses
- Site MCP tool reference
- How to write prompts for xSpeed Hub
- Manus + xSpeed
- Every AI agent that works with xSpeed
From the blog