Claude + xCloud

Speed up a slow site with Claude on xCloud

Speeding up a slow site with Claude means describing the slowness in a chat and letting Claude read your xCloud site and server numbers through the custom connector, then explain the cause in plain language and say which switch to flip.

Skill: xcloud:performance
Toolsets: pagespeed, sites, servers, broken-links
Free with every xCloud account

Set up Claude All Claude guides

YouMy shop at shop.example.com has felt slow since Monday. What is going on?

sites_monitoring_historyread-only

sites_cacheSettingsread-only

AgentThe site's CPU stepped up on Monday and has stayed there. Page cache is on, but the object cache is off and the server's Redis service is stopped. That fits a slow admin and slow uncached pages. Redis is a dashboard switch: Site, WordPress, Caching. I have the dashboard link if you want it.

YouGive me the link, and show me the latest PageSpeed result too.

Last updated: October 2026. Keep a human in the loop: xCloud stops and asks before anything that creates, deploys, updates, reboots, deletes or buys.

Setup

How Do You Set Up Claude to Speed up a slow site on xCloud?

Connect Claude once; every job on this account uses the same connection. Then ask in plain words.

1
Add xCloud as a custom connector
In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors, and choose Add custom connector. Name it xcloud, paste this URL as the remote MCP server URL and finish the setup. Claude shows the xCloud sign-in page; choose the teams and Read-only or Full access.
URL
```
https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```
2
Check the connection
Start a new chat, check that the xcloud connector is enabled for it, and ask this. Claude calls xCloud and names your account and the teams you approved.
Prompt
```
Who am I on xCloud?
```
3
On Team or Enterprise, add it as an owner
Members cannot add custom connectors on a Team plan. An Owner or Primary Owner adds it under Organization settings, then Connectors, with the same URL. On Enterprise, a custom role with Manage access to Libraries can add it too.
URL
```
https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```

Check it worked

Then ask Claude for the job itself, for example:

Prompt

My shop at shop.example.com has felt slow since Monday. Can you check the server load, the cache layers and the latest PageSpeed result, and tell me the most likely cause?

In practice

How Does Performance Work from Claude?

In Claude, on the web or in Claude Desktop, you are not inside any project, so the site is identified by what you type: the domain, and the team if you have several. A message like this works well: my shop at shop.example.com has felt slow since Monday, can you check the server, the cache and the last PageSpeed result and tell me what changed. Claude calls the site and server reads on xCloud, then sites_monitoring_history for the 24-hour or 7-day curve, which is how it tells you whether Monday is a real step in the data or just a feeling.

Because the answer is meant to be read, not run, Claude tends to come back with a small table: CPU, RAM and disk for the site and for its server, which cache layers sites_cacheSettings reports as on, the mobile and desktop results from sites_pagespeed_latest, and one sentence naming the likeliest cause. It then handles the follow-ups a chat is good at, such as what a slow server response means, why a stopped Redis matters next to an object cache that reads as on, or what a PHP version two releases old costs you. When the fix is a switch, it gives the dashboard path, Site, WordPress, Caching, and the link xCloud returned, rather than offering to do it.

Claude connects from Anthropic's cloud and does not see your repository, your editor or your laptop. That limits it to what xCloud can measure, which for a slow site is most of what matters, but it will not open a theme file or run a profiler. If the numbers point at your own code, take that part of the question to Claude Code, which can read the files. The connector is added once to your Claude account or organization, and the same numbers are available in every chat where it is enabled.

Claude specific: A PageSpeed scan and a cache purge are changes, even though xCloud runs them without its own confirmation stop. Claude announces the scan and asks before it purges a live site, but it can only do either if the connector was approved with Full access. A connector approved as Read-only can read the latest PageSpeed result and everything else in the diagnosis, and nothing more. On the Free Claude plan, which allows one custom connector in total, check that xcloud is the connector enabled in the chat you are using.

What xCloud does for performance

xCloud reads the site's and the server's CPU, RAM and disk samples, which cache layers are on, the latest PageSpeed result, traffic in the access log, service health and the site's PHP version. The agent names the cause from that data, then hands you the switches that only the dashboard can flip.

Resolve the site and its server. The agent looks up the site and the server it runs on, because the answer often comes from both. A slow site is frequently slow because a neighbour on the same server is.
Check status and monitoring history. A site that is mid-deploy or failed explains slowness without any measurement. Otherwise the agent reads the site's and the server's samples, and a 24-hour or 7-day series to tell whether the slowdown is new. Disk comes early: a nearly full disk slows everything, the database first.
Read the cache layers. The agent reads the cache settings before saying anything about caching: whether page cache, Redis or Object Cache Pro object cache and Cloudflare edge cache are on, and which server stack the site runs. It never reports that no cache configuration is readable without calling it.
Read PageSpeed and traffic. The latest completed PageSpeed run is free to read. A new scan is worth starting only when there is no result or the site changed since, and the agent tells you it is spending a scan. The access log shows spikes, a crawl or one client hammering a path.
Check services and PHP. The agent checks that PHP, the web server, Redis and the database are running, and reads the site's PHP version and pending updates. A stopped Redis next to an object cache that reads as on is a found answer.
Name the cause and hand off. You get the most likely cause with its numbers. The fix is either something the agent can do, such as a purge after you agree, or a dashboard switch it names with the path and the site's dashboard link. If every number looks normal, it says so instead of inventing a cause.

Reference

Performance Settings and Limits on xCloud

The facts Claude works within when it speeds up a slow site. Where a row names the dashboard, that step stays yours to take there.

Setting or limit	What applies
Monitoring history	Site and server CPU, RAM and disk samples as a 24-hour or 7-day series. History is not available on the free plan, and the agent says that is a plan limit rather than reporting no data
Cache state	Read through sites.cacheSettings: page cache, object cache (Redis, Object Cache Pro) and Cloudflare edge cache. It returns settings only, never cache contents
Enabling a cache layer	Dashboard-only: Site, WordPress, Caching. The API reads the layers and purges them, and cannot switch one on for an existing site
Page cache details	Cache duration, URL and cookie exclusions and ignored query parameters are dashboard-only and are not returned by the cache settings read
PageSpeed	The latest mobile and desktop results and the history are read for free. One scan runs both strategies
Scan conflicts	A 409 while a scan is running means it is still pending or scanning. The agent polls it instead of starting another, and it is not a cooldown
Cache purge	Purging runs without a confirmation stop but throws away a warm cache, so the agent asks first on a live site and reports each layer as queued or skipped
Traffic	The access log shows spikes and bots. It is read over SSH, so the agent asks for a bounded window
PHP version	Read from the site's status. Changing one site's PHP version is a dashboard step: Site, Site Settings
Server PHP default	Changing the server default PHP changes only the command-line php and the version new sites get. It does not move any existing site
Broken links	A broken-link scan on a WordPress site returns findings grouped by source page, and a truncated scan is reported as partial

Rules Claude has to follow

The agent diagnoses from measurements, not guesses, and it calls the cache settings read before it says anything about caching.
It never offers to turn on Redis or any other cache layer itself. Enabling a layer is a dashboard step, and the agent gives you the path and the dashboard link.
It never presents a change of server PHP default as a substitute for changing one site's PHP version.
A cache purge on a live site, a new PageSpeed scan and any server-level PHP change are announced first. Server-level changes also need your explicit yes.
A site that errors rather than loads slowly goes to troubleshooting, and a failed deploy goes to deploy.

Example prompts

What Can You Ask Claude to Do for Performance?

Type these as written and swap in your own repository, site and server names. Reads and routine actions such as backups, cache purges, PageSpeed scans and vulnerability scans run straight away; creating, deploying, updating, rebooting, deleting, buying or starting a broken-link scan stops and asks first.

Prompt

My shop at shop.example.com has felt slow since Monday. Can you check the server load, the cache layers and the latest PageSpeed result, and tell me the most likely cause?

Prompt

Is Redis object cache switched on for shop.example.com? If it is off, tell me exactly where in the xCloud dashboard I turn it on.

Prompt

Compare CPU, RAM and disk for shop.example.com and its server over the last seven days. Did something change, or has it always been like this?

Prompt

Why is shop.example.com slow? Check the cache, the server load and the latest PageSpeed result.

Prompt

Is Redis object cache on for the shop site? If it is off, tell me where to switch it on.

Prompt

Show CPU, RAM and disk for the shop site over the last 24 hours and tell me whether the slowdown is new.

Prompt

Run a PageSpeed scan on the shop site and compare the score with the previous scans.

Prompt

Look at the access log of the shop site for a traffic spike or a bot hammering one path.

Prompt

Which PHP version is the blog site running, and are there pending updates I should apply?

Prompt

Purge all caches on the shop site.

Prompt

Scan the shop site for broken links and list the pages with the most.

Claude and Performance: Frequently Asked Questions

What people ask before they let Claude speed up a slow site through xCloud.

Can Claude in a chat window tell me why my site is slow?

Yes, for the hosting side. With the xcloud connector enabled, Claude reads site and server monitoring, cache layers, the latest PageSpeed result, the access log, service health and the PHP version, and names the likeliest cause. It cannot read your theme or plugin code from a chat.

Do I need Full access on the connector to diagnose a slow site?

No. Read-only covers the whole diagnosis. Full access only matters if you want Claude to start a new PageSpeed scan or purge caches, and it tells you before it does either.

Can the agent turn on caching for my slow site?

No. It can read which cache layers are on and purge them, but switching page cache, Redis object cache or Cloudflare edge cache on for an existing site is a dashboard step under Site, WordPress, Caching. The agent tells you the path and gives you the site's dashboard link.

What does a 409 mean when the agent starts a PageSpeed scan?

It means a scan for that site is still pending or running. The agent polls the existing scan instead of starting another, and it is not a cooldown period. A new scan is only worth starting when there is no recent result or the site has changed.

Will changing the server's PHP default speed up my site?

No. The server default changes only the command-line php and the version new sites get, and it does not move any existing site. The PHP version of one site is changed in the dashboard under Site, Site Settings.

Why does the agent say monitoring history is unavailable?

Monitoring history is a paid-plan feature, so on the free plan the request is refused as a plan limit. The agent reports it that way rather than saying there is no data, and it falls back to the samples and measurements the plan does include.

Does purging the cache ask for my confirmation?

xCloud itself runs a purge without a confirmation stop, because it is a routine action. The agent still asks you first on a live site, since a purge throws away a warm cache and the next visitors wait while it rebuilds.

Other agents