Cloudflare Smart Cache

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Features ​

Cloudflare Smart Cache v2.5.0 offers a comprehensive set of features to enhance WordPress performance and security.

Architecture ​

  • 6 OOP Classes — Monolithic codebase refactored into focused classes: CF_Smart_Cache_API, CF_Smart_Cache_Cache, CF_Smart_Cache_Purge, CF_Smart_Cache_Stats, CF_Smart_Cache_Rate_Limiter, CF_Smart_Cache_Admin
  • 54+ Backward-Compatible Wrappers — All legacy function names preserved as thin wrappers delegating to class methods

AJAX Admin Interface ​

  • Zero page reloads — All operations (save, purge, refresh, auto-config) use inline vanilla JS with onclick handlers
  • No jQuery dependency — Core functionality uses inline XMLHttpRequest; jQuery admin.js is optional and empty
  • Tab switching — Dashboard / Settings / Tools / Logs tabs switch via CSS display control
  • Inline notifications — Success/error messages appear inline without page refresh

Edge HTML Caching ​

  • Serve HTML pages from Cloudflare's edge cache for non-logged-in visitors
  • Dynamic TTL — Content-aware TTL table: front page (3600s), single posts/pages (14400s), archives (7200s), feed (1800s)
  • Stale directives — stale-while-revalidate=86400, stale-if-error=604800
  • Security headers — X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, HSTS, X-XSS-Protection, Referrer-Policy
  • Cache bypass detection — Automatically bypasses for logged-in users, admin pages, AJAX, REST API, preview mode, password-protected content, WooCommerce pages

Automatic Cache Purging ​

  • Purges Cloudflare cache when posts are published, updated, or deleted
  • Purges category and term archives on term changes
  • Purges homepage on menu or profile changes
  • Purges entire site on theme switch
  • Debounced queue — URL purge requests are batched with a 2-second debounce window
  • Hash-based URL caching — Two-layer cache (wp_cache per-request + post_meta cross-request) via purge_urls_hash()

Selective Purge by Post Type ​

  • Choose which post types trigger automatic cache purge
  • Checkbox group in Settings > Cache Purge Settings
  • Default: all public post types enabled
  • Unchecked types are skipped entirely (no URL generation, no API call)

Real-Time Activity Log ​

  • View last 50 log entries from all plugin operations
  • Auto-refreshes every 5 seconds via AJAX polling — no manual page reload needed
  • Color-coded rows: info (normal), warning (yellow), error (red)
  • Logs all user actions: purge, settings save, zone refresh, auto-config (backup/apply/rollback), hit rate alert dismiss, scheduled purge, and API errors

Cache Hit Rate Alert ​

  • Admin warning notice when cache hit rate drops below 30%
  • Requires 3+ consecutive checks with at least 50 total requests
  • Links to Tools page for troubleshooting
  • Dismissible via inline AJAX

Scheduled Full-Site Purge ​

  • WP-Cron driven daily or weekly automatic full cache clearance
  • Option in Settings > Cache Purge Settings: Disabled, Daily, or Weekly
  • Auto-creates and manages WP-Cron scheduled event

Auto-Configuration Wizard ​

  • One-click setup of Page Rule (Cache Everything) and DNS Proxy (orange cloud)
  • Configuration status — Real-time status of Page Rule, Origin Cache Control, DNS Proxy, and backup state
  • Plan-aware — Automatically detects Cloudflare plan limits (Free: 3 page rules, edge_cache_ttl_min=7200)
  • Backup & Rollback — Up to 3 configuration snapshots stored as options; rollback restores previous state
  • Detailed error messaging — Actionable guidance when API permissions are missing

Rate Limiting ​

  • Sliding window governor — Tracks request timestamps in a 5-minute window
  • Token bucket — Adaptive capacity with configurable max requests
  • Exponential backoff with jitter — Retries on 429 and 5xx responses with randomized delays
  • Adaptive limiting — Automatically reduces limit on consecutive 429 responses
  • Configurable — Max requests, retry count, batch size, and adaptive mode in Settings

Cache Statistics ​

  • Track hits, misses, total requests, and hit rate
  • View bypass reasons breakdown (logged-in, admin, AJAX, REST, preview, password, WooCommerce)
  • View recent cached URLs with timestamps
  • Color-coded hit rate: green (>= 70%), yellow (>= 40%), red (< 40%)

PHPUnit Test Framework ​

  • 10 tests, 22 assertions across 3 test classes
  • Covers Cache Manager TTL, Purge Manager (post type filtering, enqueue), Stats Manager (hits, misses, hit rate, bypass reasons)
  • WordPress function stubs in bootstrap for isolated testing

Developer Tools ​

  • 7 documented hooks (5 filters, 2 actions)
  • Complete developer hooks documentation at docs/developer-hooks.md
  • Actions: cf_smart_cache_after_settings_save, cf_smart_cache_after_purge_all
  • Filters: cf_smart_cache_ttl, cf_smart_cache_purge_urls, cf_smart_cache_post_purge_urls, cf_smart_cache_bypass_cookies, cf_smart_cache_supported_post_types
  • JavaScript API: cfAjaxPost() global helper, cfAjaxUrl and cfNonce globals