Set up the Redis object cache with Paperclip

Setting up a Redis object cache with Paperclip means assigning the job to an agent that Paperclip runs, letting it test Redis through xSpeed Hub and post findings on the ticket, and approving each change it proposes.

get_object_cache_statustest_object_cacheget_settingsupdate_settingstoggle_object_cacheflush_object_cache

Last updated: October 2026

Example session · Paperclip

You: Ticket: use xSpeed Hub to test Redis on docs and propose whether to enable the object cache. Do not change anything without my reply.

get_object_cache_status(site: docs) read-only
→ Drop-in not installed. Backend: Redis configured.

test_object_cache(site: docs) read-only
→ Failed. Redis returned permission denied on the probe write.

Paperclip: docs reaches Redis but cannot write. On a namespaced host that usually means the key prefix does not match the one assigned. Proposal: set the prefix your host gave you in the object-cache module, then test again. Reply with the prefix to approve.

You: Approved. The host prefix is docs_7f2_.

update_settings(site: docs, module: object-cache, values: { key_prefix: "docs_7f2_" }) changes site
→ stored, key_prefix docs_7f2_

test_object_cache(site: docs) read-only
→ Connected. Probe value written and read back.

Paperclip: The test passes with the new prefix. Enabling the object cache is the next step; reply on the ticket if you want it on.

How Paperclip handles this

Your host enabled Redis on the plan behind docs and gave you a key prefix to use. You open a Paperclip ticket and assign it to the Claude Code agent that looks after your sites: check Redis on docs and propose whether to enable the object cache. The agent wakes, calls get_object_cache_status through xSpeed Hub for the drop-in state and configured backend, then test_object_cache, which makes the site connect to Redis and write and read a probe value with the settings saved on the site.

What comes back on the ticket is a failed probe and a reading of it: Redis answers but returns permission denied on the write, and on a host that namespaces Redis that usually means the key prefix saved on the site does not match the one assigned. You reply with the prefix from the host. The prefix is an ordinary setting, not a secret, so the agent can write it to the object-cache module with update_settings after asking, then run the test again. Only a pass leads to toggle_object_cache, and the site tests once more when you enable, stopping with Could not enable if the probe fails.

What differs in Paperclip is that the agent runs headless. Its Claude Code adapter has dangerouslySkipPermissions on by default, so connected MCP tools run without a prompt, and a server added with claude mcp add on the host bypasses Paperclip's action permissions and review queue. The governed route is the Connectors page, where each Hub tool is set to Allowed, Ask first or Off. Paperclip classifies them by name because the Hub publishes no annotations, so set update_settings, toggle_object_cache and flush_object_cache to Ask first or Off yourself.

Set up Paperclip once

Already connected? Skip to the prompts. Alternatives and troubleshooting are on the Paperclip 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 the agent Paperclip runs

For a Claude Code agent, run this on the machine that hosts it, as the same OS user the Paperclip heartbeat runs as. Paperclip's docs say MCP wiring lives at the adapter and runtime layer, and user scope makes the Hub available to every Claude Code agent that user runs.

Terminal

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

3Sign in once, or use a token

Start claude interactively as that same user, run /mcp, choose xspeedhub and approve access on the xSpeed Hub page. Claude Code keeps the credentials, so later headless runs need no browser; claude mcp get xspeedhub shows the status. On a host with no browser, add the server with the connection token from Connect AI in the Hub instead, ideally with Read-only everywhere on.

Terminal

# Interactive sign-in
claude
/mcp

# Or a token, no browser
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user xspeedhub https://app.xspeedcache.com/xspeed/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer <your connection token>"

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Full Paperclip 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. Paperclip's Claude Code adapter runs headless with dangerouslySkipPermissions on by default, which lets the agent call MCP tools without asking. Set it to false and a tool that needs approval does not run. A server added on the adapter does not pass through Paperclip's action permissions or review queue. A Paperclip connector does: each Hub tool is set to Allowed, Ask first or Off, and because the Hub publishes no annotations Paperclip classifies them by name, which can under-classify, so start every write Off. xSpeed Hub has no confirmation step of its own, so a write that gets past those settings runs as soon as your connection allows writes. For unattended routines, send a connection token with Read-only everywhere on, which makes the Hub refuse every write tool.

What do I ask?

Three prompts written for Paperclip. More for this job are below.

Prompt for Paperclip

Ticket: use xSpeed Hub to test Redis on docs and propose whether to enable the object cache. Wait for my reply.

Prompt for Paperclip

With xSpeed Hub, set the object cache key prefix on docs to the value on this ticket, then test Redis again.

Prompt for Paperclip

Weekly routine: use xSpeed Hub to test Redis on every site that uses it and post failures on this task. Read only.

What happens, step by step

A persistent object cache keeps database query results in Redis or Memcached instead of rebuilding them on every request. Through xSpeed Hub an agent can read the state of the cache, probe the cache server, switch the cache on or off, and flush it. The Hub tells the agent to run the probe first, because the status call alone does not prove the server is reachable.

Read the current state

get_object_cache_status reports whether the object-cache.php drop-in is installed, which backend is configured, Redis or Memcached, and its stats. It does not prove the server answers, so a clean status is not a green light.

Test the connection first

test_object_cache opens a live connection to the configured server and does a read and write probe with the settings saved on the site. A failure comes back with the server's own reason, such as a wrong password, a refused connection or a permission error. The Hub tells the agent to run this before toggle_object_cache.

Fix the connection if the test fails

get_settings reads the object-cache module, with secrets masked. update_settings changes it, for example the host or port. On a managed host that defines these values in wp-config.php, the fields are read-only and a write that tries to change one is refused with the name of the constant. For a host that wants the constants pasted, get_object_cache_status with detail set to snippet returns the wp-config.php block.

Turn it on

toggle_object_cache with enabled true makes the site test the connection again, write the connection constants into wp-config.php and install the object-cache.php drop-in. If the test fails, it stops with "Could not enable" and writes nothing. If wp-config.php is not writable, the drop-in goes in and the reply tells you to add the snippet by hand. The Hub tells the agent to briefly confirm intent first.

Check it took

The drop-in loads on the next request, so the agent reads get_object_cache_status again after a page load and runs test_object_cache once more. The status also warns when the cache connects but refuses writes, so a connected cache that stores nothing does not pass as healthy.

Flush when stale data survives

flush_object_cache empties the persistent object cache. Use it when old options, transients or query results outlive a page cache purge. It does not touch the page cache; purge_cache does that.

Reference

Read tools	get_object_cache_status and test_object_cache, both work on a read-only connection
Write tools	toggle_object_cache (enabled true or false) and flush_object_cache
Backends	Redis or Memcached
Status detail	status (default) or snippet, the wp-config.php constants block
What status proves	Drop-in installed, backend configured, stats. Not that the server is reachable
What the test proves	A live connect and a read and write probe on the saved settings, with the server's own error on failure
Enable does	Tests the connection, writes connection constants to wp-config.php, installs the object-cache.php drop-in
Disable does	Removes xSpeed's drop-in and its wp-config.php block; a drop-in owned by another plugin is left alone
Connection timeout	1 second by default, set in the object-cache module
Settings module	object-cache, for get_settings and update_settings
Every site at once	None of these tools accept site: "all"; one site per call
Confirmation	None on the Hub; your client's prompt is the gate

Rules worth keeping

Test before you toggle. The Hub tells the agent to run test_object_cache first, because a cache server that does not answer slows every request while the page cache still looks healthy.
Keep the Redis password out of the chat. get_settings masks it, but the wp-config.php snippet is built from the saved settings and can include a saved password. Set secrets in wp-config.php or in the xSpeed panel.
toggle_object_cache and flush_object_cache are write tools. The Hub tells the agent to briefly confirm intent for the object-cache toggles, but that is guidance, not a lock. Your client's approval prompt and a read-only grant are the gates that matter. A read-only grant means the connection token with Read-only everywhere on, or a Viewer member's sign-in; an OAuth sign-in gets the scopes the client asks for, which are read and write by default.
If another plugin owns the object-cache.php drop-in, turn its object cache off in that plugin. xSpeed leaves a drop-in it did not install in place when you disable.
A flush clears cached data, so the next requests rebuild it from the database and the site is briefly slower. Flush one site, then check it, before you repeat it.

Good to know with Paperclip

If the agent reaches the Hub through the adapter with permission prompts skipped, only the instruction in your ticket keeps it from enabling or flushing on its own, and the Hub adds no confirmation. For the weekly Redis check, create a routine that runs only the status and the test, and give that agent a connection token with Read-only everywhere on so the Hub refuses every write. A sign-in that has to finish in a browser cannot complete headless, so do it once interactively as the OS user the heartbeat runs as.

More prompts for this job

They work in any client connected to xSpeed Hub.

Prompt

Using xSpeed Hub, is a persistent object cache running on shop, and which backend does it use?

Prompt

Use xSpeed Hub to test whether Redis is reachable from shop. Do not change anything.

Prompt

Shop is slow in wp-admin. Use xSpeed Hub to check the object cache before anything else.

Prompt

With xSpeed Hub, test Redis on shop, and if it passes, turn the object cache on.

Prompt

Ask xSpeed Hub for the wp-config.php object cache snippet for docs.

Prompt

Use xSpeed Hub to flush the object cache on blog. Old options survive a page cache purge.

Prompt

With xSpeed Hub, turn the object cache off on shop and confirm the drop-in is gone.

Frequently asked questions

It can change ordinary fields of the object-cache module, such as the host, the port or the key prefix, with update_settings, unless a constant in wp-config.php fixes them. Credential fields such as the Redis password are refused over the Hub by default, so set those in wp-config.php or the xSpeed panel.

No. A routine runs unattended, and the Claude Code adapter does not stop to ask by default. Keep routines to get_object_cache_status and test_object_cache, post failures on the task, and make changes from a ticket you approve.

Because a cache server that does not answer costs time on every request while the page cache still looks fine. The Hub tells the agent to run test_object_cache first, and the site also tests the connection when you enable and refuses to continue if it fails. The probe is still worth running on its own, since it returns the server's exact reason, such as a wrong password or a refused connection.

The site keeps working. The drop-in is built never to take the site down: it falls back to WordPress's own cache for the length of the request and marks itself as degraded. A request can still wait up to the connection timeout, which is 1 second by default, so the site gets slower. xSpeed reports that state as degraded, and test_object_cache names the fault.

No. These tools connect xSpeed to a Redis or Memcached server that already exists and switch the object cache on or off. Getting a server is a hosting task. xSpeed uses the phpredis extension when it is there and its own built-in client when it is not.

flush_object_cache empties the persistent object cache and nothing else. purge_cache with type object does the same job through the purge tool, and purge_cache with type all also clears the page cache and, when connected, the Cloudflare edge. Use the flush when stale options or transients survive a page cache purge.

Treat it like a secret. The snippet is built from the settings saved on the site, so it can contain the Redis password if one is saved. Paste it into wp-config.php yourself and avoid sharing it in a chat or a ticket.

Set up Redis object cache, from Paperclip.

xSpeed Hub is free and has no site cap. Connect your sites once and ask from the agent you already use.

Open xSpeed Hub Paperclip setup

Set up the Redis object cache with Paperclip

How Paperclip handles this

Set up Paperclip once

What do I ask?

What happens, step by step

Reference

Rules worth keeping

More prompts for this job

Frequently asked questions

Keep going

Set up Redis object cache, from Paperclip.