Lookit Cloudflare Cache Purge vs Show Environment in Admin Bar

Most Cloudflare integrations for WordPress give you only one option: purge everything. That is the nuclear option, and it is more expensive than it looks. What happens when you purge everything When you purge the entire cache in Cloudflare, every cached page is cleared at once — but Cloudflare does not rebuild those caches for you. A page is only re-cached after the next time someone requests it. That first request following a purge is a cache miss: it travels all the way back to your origin server, which is slow to render, and that visitor waits for the full render. Only the next visitor to the same page gets the fast, cached copy. The catch is traffic. Busy pages re-cache almost immediately. But pages that are visited infrequently can sit uncached for hours or even days, and the first person to land on each one pays the slow-render penalty. There is no way inside Cloudflare to warm the cache ahead of time or speed this up — re-caching happens only on demand, page by page, as real traffic trickles in. Lookit® Cloudflare Cache Purge gives you granular control. Instead of wiping everything and forcing your whole site back to origin speed, you clear only the page you actually changed — and every other page keeps its cache intact. From any page in WordPress — whether you are editing a post in wp-admin or viewing the live site while logged in — a lightweight CF Purge menu (☁) appears in the admin bar with three options: Purge This URL — clears only the page you are currently on or editing Purge Entire Site — full cache purge when you genuinely need it (with a confirmation dialog so it is never accidental) Or enter any URL — type any URL on the site and purge it directly, without navigating to that page first The manual URL field is especially useful for URLs that do not correspond to a standard WordPress post or page — such as custom archive paths, Events Calendar URLs, or other custom post type archives. Why this plugin exists If you manage WordPress sites on Cloudflare with a caching plugin like WP Rocket, you have likely run into this problem: WP Rocket’s Cloudflare integration only supports full-site purge. The official Cloudflare WordPress plugin is heavyweight and touches your zone settings. Neither gives you a simple, context-aware button to clear just one URL. This plugin does exactly that — nothing more, nothing less. It connects to Cloudflare via a scoped API token, adds a clean menu to the admin bar, and stays completely out of your Cloudflare zone configuration. Features Context-aware: automatically detects the URL of the post or page you are editing or viewing Works in both the wp-admin editor and the frontend (when logged in) Manual URL field for purging arbitrary URLs without navigating to them Full-site purge option with confirmation dialog Lightweight — no zone settings, no DNS, no SSL toggles, no bloat Secure — uses a scoped API token with minimum required permissions Compatible with WP Rocket, the official Cloudflare plugin, and any other caching setup Requirements A Cloudflare account with your site’s domain active A Cloudflare API Token with Zone / Cache Purge / Purge and Zone / Zone / Read permissions Your Cloudflare Zone ID (found on the domain’s Overview page in the Cloudflare dashboard) Setup Install and activate the plugin Go to Settings → CF Purge Settings Paste your Cloudflare API Token and Zone ID Click Test Cloudflare Connection to verify The ☁ CF Purge menu will now appear in your admin bar Creating a Scoped API Token In your Cloudflare dashboard: My Profile → API Tokens → Create Token → Create Custom Token Set these permissions: Zone / Cache Purge / Purge Zone / Zone / Read Set Zone Resources to the specific zone for this site. This keeps the token scoped and secure. Do not use your Global API Key. A scoped token is always the correct approach. Documentation and support Full documentation: https://lookitdesign.com/software/cloudflare-cache-purge/ Support: https://lookitdesign.com/cloudflare-purge-support-form/ Lookit® is a registered trademark of ZENOVA CORP. Cloudflare is a registered trademark of Cloudflare, Inc.; this plugin is an independent integration and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Cloudflare. External Services This plugin connects to the Cloudflare API to purge cached files from the Cloudflare CDN. This is required for the core functionality of the plugin — without it, no cache purging can occur. What data is sent and when: When you trigger a cache purge (manually or via the Test Connection button), this plugin sends the following data to Cloudflare’s API: Your Cloudflare Zone ID (to identify which zone to purge) Your Cloudflare API Token (for authentication) The specific URL(s) to purge, or a full-site purge flag No visitor data, personal information, or site content is ever transmitted. API credentials are stored in your WordPress database and are only sent directly to Cloudflare’s API endpoint (https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4). This service is provided by Cloudflare, Inc.: Terms of Service: https://www.cloudflare.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/

If you’re like me, you often have multiple versions of the same WordPress site open in different browser windows, e.g., production in one window and development in another window. And if you’re like me, you have also unwittingly edited content in the production environment thinking you were doing so in the development environment or vice versa. If so, then this plugin is for you! It adds an indication of the current environment to the Admin Bar that is easier to see than examining the URL in your browser’s address bar. Out-of-the-box behavior Out-of-the-box, 2 different environments are recognized: Production The node added to the Admin Bar has a red background (i.e., Stop/be careful with any changes you make). If neither a staging, QA, nor development environment is detected, then Prod is displayed in the Admin Bar. Development The node added to the Admin Bar has a green background (i.e., Go ahead, it is safe to make changes). If WP is running on localhost (either a loopback IP address or LAN IP address), then Local displays in the Admin Bar. If WP_DEBUG is defined & true, then Dev displays in the Admin Bar. Customizing the out-of-the-box behavior Two additional environments are supported, but cannot be automatically detected: Staging The node added to the Admin Bar has a yellow-ish background (i.e., Slow down, changes might make it into the production site). For information on how to enable this environment, see the documentation. QA The node added to the Admin Bar has a blue background (i.e., “It’s cool”, changes you make won’t affect the production site). For information on how to enable this environment, see the documentation.