Gemini CLI + xCloud

Speed up a slow site with Gemini CLI on xCloud

Speeding up a slow site with Gemini CLI means asking Google's terminal agent why a site is slow and letting it read xCloud's samples, cache layers, PageSpeed results and logs through tools named mcp_xcloud_ followed by the operation.

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

Set up Gemini CLI All Gemini CLI guides

YouWhy is shop.example.com slow? Read only.

mcp_xcloud_sites_cacheSettingsread-only

mcp_xcloud_sites_pagespeed_latestread-only

AgentPage cache is off and the object cache is off. The latest mobile PageSpeed run is weak on server response, and no scan has run since you updated the theme. A fresh scan spends one, so I will ask first. Enabling the caches is a dashboard step: Site, WordPress, Caching.

YouSkip the scan. Check the access log for a bot.

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 Gemini CLI to Speed up a slow site on xCloud?

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

1
Add the xCloud MCP server
Run this in your terminal, then start gemini. The --scope user flag writes the server to ~/.gemini/settings.json so it is available in every project; without it, gemini mcp add writes to the current project's .gemini/settings.json and refuses to run from your home directory. The first time it calls xCloud it finds the OAuth endpoints, opens your browser on the xCloud approval screen and asks you to tick the teams and choose Read-only or Full access.
Terminal
```
gemini mcp add --scope user --transport http xcloud https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```
2
Or edit settings.json
Add this to ~/.gemini/settings.json for every project, or to .gemini/settings.json in one project. This is the entry gemini mcp add writes: url plus type set to http. The older httpUrl key still works, but a url without a type is treated as an SSE server and will not connect. If the browser sign-in does not start, type /mcp auth xcloud inside Gemini CLI.
JSON
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xcloud": {
      "url": "https://app.xcloud.host/mcp",
      "type": "http"
    }
  }
}
```
3
No browser? Use an API key
For a headless machine, create a token with the mcp:invoke scope plus the read abilities for the areas it will use (read:servers and read:sites, with read:billing and read:addons for billing and add-on tools) and the matching write: abilities if it should change things in Settings, Developers, API Tokens and send it in the headers field. Keep the token out of version control, and keep the quotes: xCloud tokens contain a pipe character.
JSON
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xcloud": {
      "url": "https://app.xcloud.host/mcp",
      "type": "http",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}
```
✓
Check it worked
Then ask Gemini CLI for the job itself, for example:
Prompt
```
Why is shop.example.com slow? Read only, no purges, no new scans.
```

In practice

How Does Performance Work from Gemini CLI?

In Gemini CLI you are at a prompt, usually with a project directory behind you, and the quickest route to a diagnosis is a terse request: why is shop.example.com slow, read only. Gemini CLI discovers xCloud's tools when it starts and prefixes each with mcp_xcloud_, so what scrolls past while it works is a readable trail: mcp_xcloud_sites_show to find the site and its server, then the status, the monitoring history and the server samples. Each call is one line, and the reply that follows summarises the numbers, including when the sample was taken, instead of calling an old sample current.

Gemini CLI asks for confirmation before it runs a tool that changes something, and xCloud adds its own rule on top for the big actions. For a performance job that is mostly beside the point, because the chain is reads: the cache settings, the latest PageSpeed run, a bounded access-log window, the service list and the site's PHP version. The two calls that do matter are a new PageSpeed scan and a cache purge. Gemini CLI should announce the scan, because it spends one, and ask before purging a live site, because the next visitors wait while the cache warms again.

If you want the diagnosis to be unable to change anything, the settings.json entry gives you a way: add includeTools to the xcloud block with only the read tools, and keep trust off. A request to purge then cannot be made from that session, and the reply tells you which switch to flip in the dashboard instead. On a remote or headless host the browser sign-in cannot complete, so a check run there uses the API-key form of the entry.

Gemini CLI specific: includeTools and excludeTools work on tool names, so a typo or a name Gemini CLI did not register means a step of the chain cannot run, for example the cache read. After you add them, ask a normal slow-site question and check that the reply mentions the cache layers. If it does not, run gemini mcp list and compare the names it registered. Do not set trust to true to save a keypress, since that removes Gemini CLI's own confirmation.

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 Gemini CLI 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 Gemini CLI 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 Gemini CLI 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 shop.example.com slow? Read only, no purges, no new scans.

Prompt

Is page cache on for shop.example.com? Check the cache settings and the latest PageSpeed run.

Prompt

Show the last 200 nginx access log lines for shop.example.com and flag any spike or bot.

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.

Gemini CLI and Performance: Frequently Asked Questions

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

Can I stop Gemini CLI from purging a cache during a diagnosis?

Yes. Add includeTools to the xcloud entry in settings.json with only the read tools, and leave trust off. Gemini CLI then cannot call the purge or scan tools in that session, and it names the dashboard step instead.

What does Gemini CLI show while it diagnoses a slow site?

One line per tool call, each name starting with mcp_xcloud_, such as the site read, the monitoring history and the cache settings. After the reads it prints a summary with the numbers and a named cause. If the cause is a cache switch, it gives the dashboard path.

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