Cursor + xCloud

Speed up a slow site with Cursor on xCloud

Speeding up a slow site with Cursor means asking the editor's agent why the site you are working on is slow, and letting it read xCloud's monitoring, cache, PageSpeed and log data through the compact MCP profile while your code stays open beside it.

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

Set up Cursor All Cursor guides

YouWhy is staging.example.com slow since my last deploy?

sites_statusread-only

sites_monitoring_historyread-only

AgentThe deploy finished cleanly. CPU on the site stepped up right after it, and the server's disk is fine. Page cache is off on staging, which is expected, so the extra load is probably your change. Your last commit touches the product query. Want me to look at that file?

YouYes, and check the access log for a hot path first.

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 Cursor to Speed up a slow site on xCloud?

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

1
Add xCloud to mcp.json with the compact URL
Cursor stops at 40 tools per server, and the full xCloud server advertises one tool per customer-facing operation, so start with the compact profile: five tools that still reach every operation. Put this in ~/.cursor/mcp.json for all projects, or .cursor/mcp.json inside one project.
JSON
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xcloud": {
      "url": "https://app.xcloud.host/mcp?profile=compact"
    }
  }
}
```
2
Or add it from Cursor's MCP settings
Cursor's docs manage MCP servers from the Customize page. Add a new server there and paste the compact URL instead of editing the file. Use the plain https://app.xcloud.host/mcp URL only if your Cursor version loads every tool.
URL
```
https://app.xcloud.host/mcp?profile=compact
```
3
Sign in to xCloud
Cursor supports OAuth for remote servers and shows a login prompt next to xcloud. Click it, approve the teams and choose Read-only or Full access in the browser, then ask this to confirm.
Prompt
```
Who am I on xCloud?
```

Check it worked

Then ask Cursor for the job itself, for example:

Prompt

Why is the staging site for this project slow since my last deploy? Check xCloud load, cache layers and PageSpeed first.

In practice

How Does Performance Work from Cursor?

In Cursor you are inside the project, often the same project that is deployed to the slow site, and the agent panel sits next to the file you last changed. That context is the useful part for performance. You type why is the staging site for this project slow after my last deploy, and Cursor can match the timing: it reads sites_status for the deploy state, sites_monitoring_history over 24 hours to find when CPU or disk changed, and then looks at the recent changes in your own working tree to see whether they plausibly line up. The numbers decide the diagnosis. The open files help you decide what to do about it.

Cursor connects through the compact profile, which exposes five tools: two searches and three executors split by what a call does. For a slow-site question that means the agent first asks xcloud_agent_search for the performance chain, then runs the individual reads through the executors: cache settings, PageSpeed, the access log, services and WordPress status. It can feel like fewer tools than other clients show, but the chain is the same, and the search result carries the platform notes, such as the 409 you get when a PageSpeed scan is already running. The answer arrives in the chat pane as a short list of findings, each with its number, and one named cause.

When the cause is a cache layer that is off, Cursor cannot flip it. It tells you the dashboard path, Site, WordPress, Caching, with the link xCloud returned. When the cause is in the code, such as a plugin you wrote or a slow query, Cursor is better placed than a chat app to propose the edit, and you can redeploy from the same window. Keep those two kinds of fix apart: the first is a switch in xCloud, the second is a commit.

Cursor specific: Do not reach for the toolsets parameter to trim the tool list in Cursor. A performance diagnosis reads both sites and servers, and those toolsets are 60 and 61 tools, each over Cursor's 40-tool cap. The compact profile at https://app.xcloud.host/mcp?profile=compact is the form that loads, and a project .cursor/mcp.json with that URL gives everyone who opens the repository the same performance tools.

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 Cursor 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 Cursor 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 Cursor 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

Why is the staging site for this project slow since my last deploy? Check xCloud load, cache layers and PageSpeed first.

Prompt

Is Redis object cache on for example.com? If not, tell me the dashboard path to turn it on.

Prompt

Read the last 200 nginx access log lines for staging.example.com and tell me if one path or client explains the slowdown.

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.

Cursor and Performance: Frequently Asked Questions

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

Why does Cursor find the xCloud performance tools through search?

Because the compact profile serves five tools, two searches and three executors, to stay under Cursor's 40-tool cap. Cursor asks xcloud_agent_search for the slow-site chain and then runs each read through an executor. It reaches the same operations as the full server.

Can Cursor tell whether my last deploy made the site slow?

It can line up the times. It reads the deploy state, looks at the 24-hour monitoring series to see when CPU or disk changed, and compares that with your recent commits. That is evidence, not proof, and it will say so when the numbers show no change.

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