Settings Reference

Every setting, where it appears in the admin, its key, and its default. Defaults and allowed values come from src/Core/Settings.php; labels come from src/Admin/AdminModule.php. This page lists what each setting is. The linked feature pages explain how to use it.

How settings are stored

• One option. Everything lives in gt_performance_settings, which is not autoloaded. Keys the plugin does not declare are dropped on save.
• Compiled on save. Each save writes two runtime files under wp-content/cache/gt-performance/: config.json, which the page-cache drop-in reads, and redis-config.json, which the Redis drop-in reads. Both are authenticated encrypted JSON keyed from AUTH_KEY, never PHP. If they cannot be written, the save is refused, the previous settings are kept, and the old runtime files are removed where possible so the drop-ins fall back to plain WordPress instead of running on a stale configuration.
• Secrets are encrypted. The Cloudflare token and Global API Key, the Redis password and the xCloud token are stored encrypted. Leaving one of those fields blank keeps the saved value.
• Cache-relevant saves change every cache key. A save that changes a setting reaching cached pages increments generation, which is part of each cache key, so previously stored pages stop matching. Such a save made in wp-admin also purges the origin cache, which purges Cloudflare (this site’s hostnames) and xCloud when they are connected and queues a warm run when warming is on. Saves that change only output-neutral settings (credentials, connection status, warming, background work and admin-only settings) purge nothing; the list is on Page Cache.
• Changes are recorded. A save that changes any non-secret setting records the values it replaced. The last 20 revisions, up to 90 days old, can be compared and restored from Tools or wp gt-performance config.
• Constants win. Some values can be set in wp-config.php instead. See Constants Reference.

Settings save from one form per tab. A tab submits only its own fields; everything else keeps its saved value.

Admin tabs

The screen is the top-level GT Performance menu, at wp-admin/admin.php?page=gt-performance&tab=<slug>. It requires the manage_options capability.

Tab	Slug	Stores settings
Dashboard	dashboard	No. Status cards, current configuration (including the cache mode), recommended next step, quick operations
Setup	setup	Partly. Six setup steps; Save cache mode saves cache.enabled and cache.mode, and the Cloudflare step saves cloudflare.api_token and cloudflare.domain. See Setup
Page Cache	cache	Yes
Optimization	optimization	Yes
CSS Status	css-status	No. Unused CSS build results, regeneration, and Fetch important CSS classes. See CSS Optimization
Exceptions	exceptions	Yes
Cloudflare	cloudflare	Yes
CDN	cdn	Yes
Object Cache	object-cache	Yes
Database	database	Yes
Integrations	integrations	Yes
AI & MCP	ai	Yes
Tools	tools	No. Runtime status, Explain this page, health report, warming, purge receipts, settings history and export/import, background queue. See Tools

List fields (paths, cookies, parameters, patterns) take one entry per line. Commas also separate entries, except in Selector safelist, where each line is one pattern.

Page Cache

Label	Key	Default	Values and notes
Enable origin page cache	cache.enabled	true	In store mode, stores nothing until the drop-in is installed and WP_CACHE is on
Cache mode	cache.mode	store	store (Store pages: GT Performance serves them) or optimize (Optimize only: my host already caches pages). See Page Cache
Separate cache for mobile HTML	cache.separate_mobile	false	Adds a mobile variant to the cache key and sends Vary: Accept-Encoding, User-Agent
Fresh cache lifetime	cache.fresh_ttl	3600	Seconds. Sent as s-maxage
Stale cache retention	cache.stale_ttl	86400	Seconds past fresh. Sent as stale-while-revalidate
Stale-on-error window	cache.stale_if_error	86400	Seconds. Sent as stale-if-error; 0 omits it
Browser cache lifetime	cache.browser_ttl	300	Seconds. Sent as max-age
Cache clearing after publishing	cache.post_publish_purge	related	related, post, all, none
Warm cache after a full purge	cache.preload	true	Also gates stale-page rebuilds and the preloads of every warm run
URLs per warming batch	cache.preload_max_urls	200	0 to 2000. 0 stops preloading without turning caching off
Sitemap sources	cache.preload_sitemaps	empty	Up to 10 sitemap URLs on this site. Empty uses /wp-sitemap.xml plus sitemaps listed in robots.txt

The One-click presets fill the four lifetime fields; you still save. Maximum impact is 1 h fresh, 24 h stale, 24 h stale-on-error, 5 min browser. Balanced is 30 min, 12 h, 24 h, 5 min. Frequently updated is 5 min, 1 h, 6 h, 5 min.

See Page Cache, Purging and Cache Warming.

Optimization

Unused CSS

Label	Key	Default	Values and notes
Remove unused CSS	css.enabled	false	GTPERF_UNUSED_CSS forces it on
CSS delivery	css.mode	file	file (Generated file), inline (Inline all used CSS), hybrid (Critical inline + remaining file)
Hybrid inline CSS limit	css.critical_budget	14336	Bytes, 2048 to 51200
Preserve dynamic states	css.keep_dynamic_states	true
Staged rollout	css.rollout_percent	100	0, 10, 25, 50 or 100. 0 serves original CSS only

See CSS Optimization.

JavaScript

Label	Key	Default	Values and notes
Minify local JavaScript	javascript.minify	false	No JavaScript files are written
Defer safe JavaScript	javascript.defer	false
Delay selected third-party scripts	javascript.delay	false	Delays scripts matching Scripts to delay until the first pointer, key or touch event, or five seconds

See JavaScript Optimization.

Images and embeds

Label	Key	Default	Values and notes
Lazy-load non-critical images	media.lazy_load	true
Add missing image dimensions	media.add_dimensions	true
Images to load immediately	media.critical_images	2	0 to 10, counted from the top of the page
Hero image rules	media.hero_rules	empty	One scope => target [preload] rule per line. Invalid lines are dropped on save; the first 30 are used
Generate optimized variants	media.optimize_uploads	false
Serve optimized image variants	media.rewrite_variants	false
Generated format	media.format	webp	webp, avif
Image quality	media.compression	82	30 to 100
Lightweight YouTube previews	media.youtube_previews	false

Hero rule scopes are *, front_page, post_type:<type> and template:<template>. Targets are attachment:<ID>, .<image class> and url:<background image URL>. See Media, Fonts and Embeds.

Speculative loading

Shown only when WordPress provides core speculative loading.

Label	Key	Default	Values and notes
Speculative loading	speculation.mode	core	core (WordPress default, with safety exclusions), conservative (prefetch only when a link is pressed), off

When the Speculative Loading plugin is active, it controls the mode and GT Performance adds only its exclusions. See Media, Fonts and Embeds.

Fonts

Label	Key	Default	Values and notes
Self-host Google Fonts	fonts.self_host_google	false
Font display	fonts.font_display	swap	swap, fallback, optional, block

WordPress quick toggles

All false by default.

Label	Key
Disable WordPress emoji assets	bloat.disable_emojis
Disable Dashicons for visitors	bloat.disable_dashicons
Disable WordPress embeds	bloat.disable_embeds
Disable XML-RPC	bloat.disable_xmlrpc
Remove RSD link	bloat.remove_rsd_link
Remove jQuery Migrate for visitors	bloat.remove_jquery_migrate
Remove WordPress version	bloat.hide_wp_version
Remove shortlink	bloat.remove_shortlink
Disable every RSS feed	bloat.disable_rss_feeds
Disable secondary feeds only	bloat.disable_secondary_feeds
Remove every RSS feed link	bloat.remove_feed_links
Remove secondary RSS feed links	bloat.remove_secondary_feed_links
Disable self pingbacks	bloat.disable_self_pingbacks
Remove REST API links	bloat.remove_rest_api_links
Disable Google Maps	bloat.disable_google_maps
Disable password strength meter	bloat.disable_password_strength_meter
Remove comment author URLs	bloat.remove_comment_urls
Add a blank fallback favicon	bloat.blank_favicon
Remove global styles	bloat.remove_global_styles
Load separate core block styles	bloat.separate_block_styles

Apply site baseline checks the first eight, the two secondary-feed toggles, and self pingbacks, REST API links, Google Maps, password strength meter and comment author URLs. It unchecks the other five: every RSS feed, every feed link, blank favicon, global styles and separate block styles. Clear quick toggles unchecks all twenty. Neither saves until you do.

Editor, comments, and APIs

Label	Key	Default	Values and notes
Heartbeat behavior	bloat.heartbeat_mode	reduce	default, reduce, disable_dashboard (disable outside the editor), disabled
Heartbeat interval	bloat.heartbeat_seconds	60	15 to 120 seconds. Applies in reduce mode
Autosave interval	bloat.autosave_interval	60	15 to 3600 seconds. Not applied when AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL is already defined, for example in wp-config.php
REST API access	bloat.disable_rest_api	default	default (keep enabled), non_admin (administrators only), disabled
Disable comments	bloat.disable_comments	false

Autosave interval is applied by defining AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL during plugins_loaded, before WordPress core defines its own 60-second default, and only when the value is not 60 and nothing has defined the constant yet. A value in wp-config.php wins.

Diagnostics

Label	Key	Default	Values and notes
Diagnostic logging	debug	false	Keeps the last 100 redacted log entries in the gt_performance_diagnostic_log option. Also sends X-GT-Cache-Reason on bypassed and uncacheable responses, X-GT-Cache-Key on cache hits, and, when a JavaScript option is on, an HTML comment before </body> listing each script decision
Remove all data when the plugin is deleted	remove_data_on_uninstall	false	Off keeps settings, including saved Redis credentials, after the plugin is deleted

See Diagnostics.

Exceptions

Label	Key	Default
Paths that must stay dynamic	cache.bypass_paths	/wp-admin/, /wp-login.php, /wp-cron.php, /wp-json/, /xmlrpc.php
Cookie prefixes that bypass cache	cache.bypass_cookies	comment_author_, wordpress_logged_in_, wordpress_no_cache, wp-postpass_
Never cache query parameters	cache.bypass_query_params	add-to-cart, customize_changeset_uuid, elementor-preview, fluent-cart, preview, s, wc-ajax, gtperf_verify, gtperf_safe_mode, gtperf_css_preview, gtperf_css_build, gtperf_js
Cache each value separately	cache.vary_query_params	empty
Parameters that do not change content	cache.ignored_query_params	fbclid, gclid, gbraid, msclkid, utm_campaign, utm_content, utm_medium, utm_source, utm_term
Selector safelist	css.safelist	empty
Excluded stylesheets	css.excluded_stylesheets	empty
Never optimize scripts	javascript.exclusions	empty
Scripts to delay	javascript.delay_patterns	clarity.ms, connect.facebook.net, google-analytics.com, googletagmanager.com, hotjar.com
Lazy-render selectors	media.lazy_render_selectors	empty
Google Maps path exceptions	bloat.google_maps_exclusions	empty

Paths match whole URL segments, cookie entries match name prefixes, and parameter names match exactly. Ignored parameters are removed from the cache key, so the page is still cached. Parameters cached separately stay in the key: each value up to 100 characters gets its own copy, up to 100 per page (see Page Cache). Safelist lines are partial matches unless written as a delimited regular expression; an invalid expression is not saved and the save shows which ones were rejected. Active commerce integrations add their own bypass rules on top of these lists. See Cache Exclusions and Commerce Safety.

Cloudflare

Label	Key	Default	Values and notes
Enable Cloudflare integration	cloudflare.enabled	false	Also turned on by a successful sync
Authentication	cloudflare.auth_mode	token	token (scoped API token), global (Global API Key)
Scoped API token	cloudflare.api_token	empty	Encrypted
Global API Key	cloudflare.global_api_key	empty	Encrypted
Cloudflare account email	cloudflare.email	empty	Needed only with the Global API Key
Domain	cloudflare.domain	empty	Used to find the zone when Zone ID is blank. Falls back to the home URL’s host
Zone ID	cloudflare.zone_id	empty	Saved automatically after the zone is found
Cloudflare edge cache lifetime	cloudflare.edge_ttl	0	0 to 31536000 seconds. 0 respects the origin’s Cache-Control; a positive value overrides origin freshness in the managed rule

Changing these saves local settings only. Run Connect/sync Cloudflare to update the managed rule. See Cloudflare.

CDN

Label	Key	Default	Values and notes
Enable CDN URL rewriting	cdn.enabled	false
CDN URL	cdn.url	empty	HTTPS only. A hostname, optionally with a port and a path
Files served by the CDN	cdn.file_types	css, js, mjs, jpg, jpeg, png, gif, webp, avif, svg, ico, woff, woff2, ttf, otf, eot	Also selectable: mp4, webm, mp3, ogg, wav, pdf, zip

See CDN.

Object Cache

Label	Key	Default	Values and notes
Enable Redis object cache	redis.enabled	false
Redis host or socket	redis.host	127.0.0.1	Hostname, IP, or Unix socket path. A redis:// or tls:// prefix is removed
Redis port	redis.port	6379	0 to 65535. 0 with a socket
Redis database number	redis.database	0	0 to 255
Redis username	redis.username	empty	ACL username
Redis password	redis.password	empty	Encrypted
Use TLS	redis.tls	false
Reuse Redis connections	redis.persistent	true
Cache key prefix	redis.prefix	empty	Letters, digits, :, _, -. Empty uses an automatic per-site prefix
Connection timeout	redis.connection_timeout	0.5	0.1 to 10 seconds
Read timeout	redis.read_timeout	0.5	0.1 to 10 seconds

GTPERF_REDIS_* and WP_REDIS_* constants override these at runtime. See Redis Object Cache.

Database

Label	Key	Default	Values and notes
Schedule database cleanup	database.enabled	false
Cleanup schedule	database.schedule	weekly	daily, weekly, monthly. The first run is one hour after the schedule is set
Scheduled revisions to retain	database.retain_revisions	5	0 to 100 per post. Applies to scheduled runs and wp gt-performance database run; the admin’s manual run and --all-revisions delete every revision
Scheduled tasks	database.tasks	revisions, auto_drafts, spam_comments, trashed_posts, trashed_comments, expired_transients, optimize_tables	all_transients is also a valid task, but the form offers it only for manual cleanup

The manual cleanup panel on the same tab runs the tasks you tick in the background and saves nothing. See Database Cleanup.

Integrations

Label	Key	Default	Values and notes
Automatic conflict protection	integrations.auto_protection	true
Perfmatters ownership	integrations.perfmatters_owner	automatic	automatic (per feature), gt_performance, perfmatters
Enable xCloud cache integration	xcloud.enabled	false
xCloud site domain	xcloud.domain	empty	Empty uses the home URL’s host
xCloud site UUID	xcloud.site_uuid	empty	Found and saved by Connect/refresh xCloud
xCloud API token	xcloud.api_token	empty	Encrypted. Needs the read:sites and write:sites scopes
Protect Akismet assets	integrations.akismet	true
Jetpack compatibility	integrations.jetpack	true
FluentCart	commerce.fluentcart	true	Applies only while FluentCart is active
Easy Digital Downloads	commerce.edd	true	Applies only while EDD is active
WooCommerce	commerce.woocommerce	true	Applies only while WooCommerce is active

Connect/refresh xCloud appears once the integration is enabled and saved. It also writes read-only status keys: xcloud.server_id, site_id, dashboard_url, stack, page_cache_enabled, page_cache_source, redis_enabled, object_cache_pro, free_edge_cache_enabled, enterprise_available, enterprise_requests, enterprise_edge_requests, enterprise_hit_percent and checked_at.

Switching on Cloudflare, xCloud, the CDN, automatic conflict protection or Redis fills related fields in the form with recommended values (text and number fields only when empty). Nothing is stored until you save.

See Integrations, xCloud and Commerce Safety.

AI & MCP

Label	Key	Default	Values and notes
Agent access	agents.mode	off	off, read (read-only), operate (read and operate). Shown when the Abilities API is available (WordPress 6.9+)
Enable the AI adviser	advisor.enabled	false	Shown when the WordPress AI Client is available (WordPress 7.0+)
Provider	advisor.provider	empty	Empty uses the first AI provider configured in WordPress

See AI and MCP.

Keys without a form field

Key	Default	Notes
generation	1	Incremented by a save that changes a setting reaching cached pages. Part of every cache key
cache.entry_budget	5000	0 to 200000; 0 means no limit. Hourly garbage collection evicts the oldest entries above it, and warm runs stop when they reach it. Change it with a settings export, edit and import
cloudflare.drift_hash	empty	Written by Cloudflare sync to record which cache policy the managed rule was built from

Per-page options

The editor sidebar of every public post type has a GT Performance box. Its values are post meta, not part of gt_performance_settings, and apply to newly cached copies of that page.

Label	Meta key	Values
Don’t cache this page	_gtperf_no_cache	1 when ticked. The page is never stored or optimized; in store mode it is sent no-store and Explain reports page-option. See Page Cache
Use original CSS	_gtperf_original_css	1 when ticked. The page keeps its full stylesheets and no unused-CSS build is queued for it
JavaScript on this page	_gtperf_javascript	Empty (site settings), no_delay (do not delay scripts), off (do not defer or delay scripts)
Hero image	_gtperf_hero	A hero target (attachment:<ID>, .<class> or url:<URL>), optionally followed by preload. Overrides the site’s hero rules

Export, import and restore

Settings export, import and restore carry the non-secret values on this page, with these exceptions, which are never exported, imported or restored:

• generation
• agents and advisor
• redis and xcloud
• cloudflare.enabled, cloudflare.auth_mode, cloudflare.domain, cloudflare.zone_id
• credentials and remove_data_on_uninstall, which never leave the site

Keys whose names look like credentials are left out too, with one reviewed exception: bloat.disable_password_strength_meter is a quick toggle, not a secret, and is exported, imported and restored like any other setting.

See Tools and WP-CLI.