Grok + xCloud

Speed up a slow site with Grok on xCloud

Speeding up a slow site with Grok Build means typing a short question into xAI's terminal agent and letting xCloud supply the measurements: server and site load, cache layers, the latest PageSpeed run, traffic and the PHP version.

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

Set up Grok All Grok guides

YouDiagnose why shop.example.com is slow. Reads only.

sites_monitoring_historyread-only

sites_pagespeed_latestread-only

AgentSite CPU is flat. Server disk is at 94 percent. Mobile PageSpeed flags a slow server response and page cache is off. Free the disk first, then enable page cache under Site, WordPress, Caching. Dashboard link below.

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 Grok to Speed up a slow site on xCloud?

Connect Grok 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 grok. The first time it calls xCloud, a browser opens on the xCloud approval screen, where you tick the teams and choose Read-only or Full access. Add --scope project to save the entry in .grok/config.toml for one repository instead.
Terminal
```
grok mcp add --transport http xcloud https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```
2
Or edit ~/.grok/config.toml
Add this table to ~/.grok/config.toml, then run grok mcp doctor xcloud to check the connection. The url key is the one for HTTP servers.
TOML
```
[mcp_servers.xcloud]
url = "https://app.xcloud.host/mcp"
```
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. Put it in an environment variable the machine starts Grok with, such as XCLOUD_TOKEN in a systemd EnvironmentFile or your shell profile, and pass a reference to it with --header. Keep the single quotes so the shell leaves ${XCLOUD_TOKEN} alone: Grok expands ${VAR} in headers when it loads the config, so the token itself never lands in your shell history or in config.toml. Run grok mcp doctor xcloud to confirm it works.
Terminal
```
grok mcp add --transport http --header 'Authorization: Bearer ${XCLOUD_TOKEN}' xcloud https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```
✓
Check it worked
Then ask Grok for the job itself, for example:
Prompt
```
Diagnose why shop.example.com is slow. Reads only.
```

In practice

How Does Performance Work from Grok?

Grok Build works in the shell, so this job is a handful of terse lines. You start grok, optionally inside the project, and write diagnose why shop.example.com is slow, reads only. The first time it calls xCloud, a browser opens for the approval screen if you have not signed in yet. After that Grok Build resolves the site and its server, reads the status, the 24-hour and seven-day series for site and server, the cache settings, the latest PageSpeed result and the services on the box, and prints what it found. You can open /mcps in the session to see that the xcloud server is connected, and grok mcp doctor xcloud if a tool is missing.

The answer is a verdict with numbers, in the same terse style you used. If the disk is near full it says which server and how full. If caching is the problem it says which layers read as off, and then it hands over the part it cannot do, because enabling page cache, Redis object cache or edge cache is dashboard-only: Site, WordPress, Caching, with the site's dashboard link. It also separates a slow site from a broken one. A site that returns 502 is a troubleshooting question, and a failed deploy is a deploy question, so ask for those separately.

Grok Build's scoping options suit a recurring chore. Add the xCloud server with --scope project and the entry lands in the repository's .grok/config.toml, so a team that keeps a performance runbook next to the code gets the same connection when they clone it. When you compare PageSpeed runs, ask for the existing history first. A new scan is only worth starting when there is no recent result or the site has changed, and Grok Build should tell you that it is spending one.

Grok specific: This page covers Grok Build, the terminal agent. A slow-site question typed into Grok at grok.com does not use the config.toml entry, and its connector setup is separate and unverified here, so check Grok's connector settings and use the same server URL. In the terminal, remote servers need --transport http on grok mcp add, or the command treats the URL as a local program and no xCloud tools appear.

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 Grok 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 Grok 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 Grok 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

Diagnose why shop.example.com is slow. Reads only.

Prompt

Compare the last two PageSpeed runs for shop.example.com and say what moved.

Prompt

Is the page cache stale on shop.example.com? If a purge is the fix, ask me before you purge.

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.

Grok and Performance: Frequently Asked Questions

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

Can Grok Build tell me why my site is slow without changing anything?

Yes. Every step of the diagnosis is a read: site and server samples, cache settings, the latest PageSpeed result, the access log and the services. Say reads only in the prompt, and Grok Build will name the cause and stop short of purging or scanning.

Does a Grok Build slow-site check cost anything on xCloud?

The xCloud side is free: the MCP server and the Public API come with every account, including the free plan. A new PageSpeed scan spends one scan, so Grok Build reads the existing result first and tells you before it starts another.

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