WordPress · infra · fg-0131

Clearing the WordPress object cache does not purge page or edge caches

Cache clear reports success, or 0 entries cleared, but visitors still see the old page

Verified 2026-08-07 · Confirmed by 0 builders · Trust 50/100

Cause

Object cache tools, including the mcp-wordpress wp_cache_clear tool, flush stored queries and objects, not rendered pages. The host's page cache keeps serving the old HTML until it expires; in the observed WP Engine setup that was max-age=600, about 10 minutes. A CDN in front of the host can hold its own copy on top.

Fix

Content stays stale until the host's page cache and the CDN are purged too. Purge the host page cache through its own tool or endpoint, purge the CDN if it caches HTML, and verify with a cache-busting query string before checking the plain URL.

Apply

POST /wp-json/wpe/cache-plugin/v1/clear_all_caches (WP Engine, application password auth), then curl -sI "https://example.com/page/?cb=$(date +%s)" and compare with the plain URL

Affects: WordPress on WP Engine EverCache, with or without a CDN, July and August 2026

claude mcp add --transport http footgun https://getfootgun.com/api/mcp