Set up the Redis object cache with Zed

Setting up a Redis object cache with Zed means asking its agent panel to check a site's object cache, test the Redis connection and enable it through xSpeed Hub.

get_object_cache_statustest_object_cacheget_settingsupdate_settingstoggle_object_cacheflush_object_cache

Last updated: October 2026

Example session · Zed

You: Ask xSpeed Hub to set up Redis for shop and test before enabling.

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

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

Zed: Redis answers. I am ready to enable the object cache on shop. Go ahead?

You: Go ahead.

toggle_object_cache(site: shop, enabled: true) changes site
→ Drop-in installed. Object cache is on.

Zed: Enabled. Redis is now the object cache for shop.

How Zed handles this

You are in Zed with the agent panel open, and the site you are working on makes too many database queries per request. Type: set up Redis for shop, and test before enabling. The agent calls get_object_cache_status through xSpeed Hub, which reports the object-cache.php drop-in state, the configured backend and its stats. It does not prove that Redis answers, so the agent has to test next.

Zed's default tool permission is to confirm, which means every call stops for a prompt, reads included. Expect one for the status call, another for test_object_cache and a third for toggle_object_cache. The test connects the site's plugin to Redis, writes a probe value and reads it back, and a failure returns the server's own error. When it passes, you approve toggle_object_cache with enabled set to true, which installs the drop-in. If it fails, decline and fix the host side.

That makes Zed the easiest agent here to keep in step with, because nothing the agent calls runs unseen. A prompt for a read is only noise, but it also means the toggle never slips through on a loose setting. The editor runs on your machine and Redis lives on the site's server, so the check of Redis itself comes from the site through the test tool, not from anything Zed can run locally. After the toggle, ask the agent to read the status once more and run the test again, which gives you two more prompts and a clear confirmation that the drop-in loaded.

Set up Zed once

Already connected? Skip to the prompts. Alternatives and troubleshooting are on the Zed 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 as a remote server

Open Settings, then AI, then MCP Servers, click Add Server and choose Add Remote Server. Or run zed: open settings file and add the entry yourself. Zed calls MCP servers context servers, so the key is context_servers.

settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "xspeedhub": {
      "url": "https://app.xspeedcache.com/xspeed/mcp"
    }
  }
}

3Sign in

Because the entry has no Authorization header, Zed prompts you to authenticate against the server with the standard MCP OAuth flow. Approve access on the xSpeed Hub page that opens. There is no token to paste. Back in Settings, AI, MCP Servers, a green dot beside xspeedhub with the tooltip Server is active means it is connected.

Text

Settings → AI → MCP Servers

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Full Zed 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. The Zed agent confirms before it runs any tool action. The default setting, agent.tool_permissions.default, is confirm, and that covers MCP tool calls, reads included. A per-tool entry such as mcp:xspeedhub:get_cache_status with a default of allow lets that one tool run without a prompt, and the Always for tool button in the prompt writes the same entry. Setting the global default to allow auto-approves every tool, writes included, and then a write reaches the Hub as soon as your connection allows writes. xSpeed Hub has no confirmation step of its own.

What do I ask?

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

Prompt for Zed

Using xSpeed Hub, check the object cache on shop and tell me what the status says about the drop-in and backend.

Prompt for Zed

Use xSpeed Hub to run test_object_cache on shop and explain the result in two sentences.

Prompt for Zed

With xSpeed Hub, enable the object cache on shop after the Redis test passes, then check the status again.

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 Zed

Zed prompts for every call by default, including get_object_cache_status and test_object_cache, so a full setup is at least three confirmations. If you relax that, do it narrowly: add a per-tool entry such as mcp:xspeedhub:get_object_cache_status with a default of allow for each of the two reads, or press Always for tool in the prompt, and leave the two writes on confirm. Zed documents no wildcard for MCP tools. Setting the global default to allow auto-approves every tool, and the Hub adds no confirmation of its own, so Zed's tool permission setting is what stands between the agent and toggle_object_cache or flush_object_cache.

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

Because its default tool permission is to confirm every call, reads included. The get_object_cache_status and test_object_cache tools change nothing, but Zed prompts for them anyway until you change that setting.

It removes the only prompt between the agent and a write. The Hub runs toggle_object_cache and flush_object_cache as soon as your connection allows writes, so if you allow everything, use the connection token with Read-only everywhere on, or a Viewer sign-in, while you diagnose.

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 Zed.

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

Open xSpeed Hub Zed setup

Set up the Redis object cache with Zed

How Zed handles this

Set up Zed 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 Zed.