FastCGI caching can make anonymous WordPress pages much faster by storing the PHP response in Nginx instead of running WordPress for every request. Configure the cache zone in Nginx’s http block, enable it only for safe public responses in the PHP location, bypass personalized or state-changing requests, and connect publishing events to a protected purge mechanism. The result should be an anonymous request that changes from MISS to HIT without ever serving one visitor’s private page to another.
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What FastCGI caching does in a WordPress stack
A normal uncached request travels through Nginx to PHP-FPM, where WordPress loads plugins, queries the database, renders the page and sends HTML back. FastCGI caching stores that generated response in an Nginx cache zone. Later public requests can be answered from the cache without starting PHP for each visitor. As the WordPress Advanced Administration Handbook puts it, “Nginx can perform caching on its own end to reduce load on your server.” See the WordPress Nginx administration guidance.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThis is page output caching, not browser caching and not an object cache such as Redis. It belongs in Nginx configuration, while WordPress remains responsible for generating the response. Because cached HTML is shared, the key and bypass rules determine whether the right response is served to the right request.
What should normally be cached
- Public front-page, post, page and archive responses requested with GET or HEAD.
- Responses that do not depend on a logged-in user, cart, session, preview, comment form or authorization header.
- Successful responses whose freshness period is acceptable for your publishing workflow.
What should normally bypass the cache
- POST and other state-changing methods.
- Requests carrying login, password-protection, commenter or explicit no-cache cookies.
- Administration, login, cron, XML-RPC, comment-submission, preview, search, feed, REST and other plugin-specific endpoints when their output is dynamic.
- WooCommerce cart, checkout and account pages, membership dashboards, multilingual session routes and any URL that can contain private data.
Prerequisites and decisions before editing Nginx
- Confirm that the site is served by Nginx and that PHP requests are handled by PHP-FPM or another FastCGI backend. Apache-only directives will not configure this cache.
- Locate the active virtual-server file and identify the
locationblock that passes.phprequests to PHP-FPM. Distribution packages commonly include files from/etc/nginx/conf.d/or/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/, but the active path varies. - Back up the working configuration and note the PHP-FPM socket or TCP address. The sample below uses a PHP 8.3 Unix socket; substitute the socket exposed by your installation.
- Choose a cache directory on a filesystem with sufficient space. The Nginx worker must be able to create and write cache files there.
- List every feature that personalizes HTML. The WordPress core exclusions are only a starting point; plugins can add cookies, query parameters and routes that require their own bypass rules.
Decide how quickly edits must appear. A longer time-to-live reduces PHP and database work but makes a missing purge more visible. A shorter time-to-live limits staleness but increases origin traffic. Start conservatively, verify behavior, then tune using logs and server load rather than an assumed speed percentage.
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Define the cache zone in the http block
fastcgi_cache_path creates the on-disk cache and shared metadata zone. It must be inside Nginx’s top-level http {} context, not inside a server or location block. This example keeps one hour of inactivity, permits up to 2 GB of cache files and allocates 100 MB for the key zone:
http {
fastcgi_cache_path /var/cache/nginx/wordpress levels=1:2
keys_zone=WORDPRESS:100m inactive=60m max_size=2g;
# Bypass non-cacheable methods.
map $request_method $skip_method {
default 1;
GET 0;
HEAD 0;
}
# This policy bypasses every URL with a query string.
map $query_string $skip_query {
default 1;
"" 0;
}
# WordPress cookies that indicate a private or user-specific response.
map $http_cookie $skip_cookie {
default 0;
~*wordpress_logged_in 1;
~*wordpress_no_cache 1;
~*wp-postpass 1;
~*comment_author_ 1;
}
# Core paths and endpoints that should not use shared page output.
map $request_uri $skip_path {
default 0;
~^/wp-admin/ 1;
~^/wp-login.php 1;
~^/wp-cron.php 1;
~^/xmlrpc.php 1;
~^/wp-comments-post.php 1;
~^/wp-json/ 1;
~*preview=true 1;
}
}The names and sizes are examples, not universal requirements. Change the directory, zone size, inactivity period and maximum size to match your disk and traffic. Ensure the directory exists and is writable by the Nginx worker; otherwise requests will continue to miss or Nginx will report cache-file errors.
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Choose a cache key deliberately
The key must distinguish every response variant that can differ. A practical starting expression is:
fastcgi_cache_key "$scheme$request_method$host$request_uri";This preserves scheme, HTTP method, host and the complete requested URI, including its query string. The method dimension keeps GET and HEAD entries separate. If your site deliberately normalizes HEAD to GET or varies output by another dimension, design that behavior explicitly and use the identical expression in purge rules. Never collapse multiple hostnames, HTTP and HTTPS, language variants or meaningful query parameters into one key unless the application guarantees that their HTML is identical.
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The sample policy bypasses all query strings, which is safer for search, tracking and plugin parameters. If you later cache selected query-string URLs, keep the arguments in the key and create an allow-list rather than removing them indiscriminately.
Enable FastCGI caching in the WordPress PHP location
Add caching to the existing PHP location after confirming that the normal FastCGI parameters still reach PHP-FPM:
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include fastcgi_params;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
fastcgi_cache WORDPRESS;
fastcgi_cache_methods GET HEAD;
fastcgi_cache_key "$scheme$request_method$host$request_uri";
# Cache successful public pages; keep error responses brief.
fastcgi_cache_valid 200 10m;
fastcgi_cache_valid 404 1m;
# Any non-zero value bypasses serving a cached response.
fastcgi_cache_bypass $skip_method $skip_query $skip_cookie $skip_path $http_authorization;
# The same conditions prevent a response from being stored.
fastcgi_no_cache $skip_method $skip_query $skip_cookie $skip_path $http_authorization;
# Temporary diagnostic header; remove or restrict it after verification.
add_header X-FastCGI-Cache $upstream_cache_status always;
}fastcgi_cache selects the zone defined earlier. fastcgi_cache_methods limits eligible methods, while the two bypass directives provide separate protection: fastcgi_cache_bypass stops Nginx from serving an existing entry, and fastcgi_no_cache stops the current response from being stored. Use both. A request that bypasses an old entry must not populate the shared cache with a personalized response.
The example caches status 200 for ten minutes and 404 for one minute. Those are conservative starting values for this configuration, not a promise that every site should use them. Redirects are intentionally omitted until canonicalization, language negotiation and HTTPS behavior are understood. Add a status-specific rule only after testing that it cannot preserve the wrong host, scheme or locale.
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Keep WordPress’s normal PHP handling intact
Do not replace an existing working try_files, include, fastcgi_param or fastcgi_pass line merely to add caching. A missing SCRIPT_FILENAME can break PHP execution, while a wrong socket can produce 502 errors that have nothing to do with the cache. Insert the cache directives into the site’s established PHP location and preserve its security restrictions.
WordPress bypass rules you should adapt
The WordPress handbook example excludes POST requests, query-string requests, administrative and login paths, special PHP endpoints and cookies including wordpress_logged_in, wordpress_no_cache, wp-postpass and commenter cookies. The maps above implement that general approach, but production sites need an inventory of their own plugins and themes.
Cookies and authorization
A logged-in cookie is an obvious signal, but it is not the only one. Membership, consent, experiment, cart and language plugins may set different names. Inspect response headers and plugin documentation, then add narrowly matched cookie patterns to $skip_cookie. The $http_authorization condition in the location also prevents caching requests that carry an Authorization header.
Query strings and special routes
Skipping every query string avoids accidentally sharing search results, previews or tracking-dependent output. If analytics parameters are the only reason a URL has a query string, normalize them before caching only when you can prove that the resulting HTML is unchanged. Add search, feed, REST, preview, AJAX and custom endpoints to $skip_path when their output is not a public, reusable page.
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Never apply a public-page policy blindly to cart, checkout, account, subscription or member-only routes. These pages often use sessions and Set-Cookie headers. Bypass them by path and cookie, and test both anonymous and authenticated flows after every rule change.
How response headers affect storage
Nginx’s FastCGI module evaluates application and proxy headers while deciding whether and how long to cache. X-Accel-Expires, Expires, Cache-Control, Set-Cookie and Vary can change cache behavior. The module documentation describes these controls and the related directives at Nginx’s FastCGI module reference.
Let authoritative application headers do their job. In particular, do not add fastcgi_ignore_headers Set-Cookie merely to increase hit rates. Ignoring a cookie header can turn a private or session-bound response into shared content. Use an ignore directive only after auditing the application and proving that the response is safe for every visitor.
Likewise, do not override Vary or cache-control directives until you understand which representation they protect. A cache hit is useful only when the bytes are correct for the requesting variant.
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Validate syntax, permissions and the first cache hit
- Check the configuration before reloading:
sudo nginx -tProceed only when Nginx reports that the syntax test is successful.
- Reload without stopping active connections:
sudo systemctl reload nginxUse the service manager appropriate to your operating system.
- Confirm that
/var/cache/nginx/wordpressexists, is writable by the Nginx worker, and has free space. Check the Nginx error log if cache files are not being created. - Request an anonymous public URL twice:
curl -I https://example.com/sample-page curl -I https://example.com/sample-pageWith the diagnostic header enabled, the first request should normally report
X-FastCGI-Cache: MISSand the next should reportHIT, provided no bypass condition applies. - Repeat the test with a logged-in browser, a request carrying a WordPress cookie, a POST, a URL with a query string, an admin path and a preview. These should bypass or avoid storage rather than reuse the anonymous entry.
- Check the origin logs and PHP-FPM activity. A hit should not invoke WordPress for the page, while a bypass should still reach PHP and must not create a shared entry.
If exposing cache status publicly is undesirable, log $upstream_cache_status in a dedicated access-log format instead of sending the header to every visitor. Remove the diagnostic header after testing or restrict it to an internal environment.
Purge cached pages when WordPress content changes
A ten-minute TTL does not guarantee that a newly published post appears immediately. WordPress recommends integrating a purge mechanism such as Nginx Helper when edits must invalidate page cache. Its Nginx guidance is in the WordPress handbook, and NGINX’s community performance article calls the cache key and purge location especially relevant while recommending WordPress Nginx Helper integration: NGINX community WordPress performance guidance.
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Nginx’s fastcgi_cache_purge removes entries by cache key, but availability depends on the installed Nginx build. The purge endpoint must also be private. Do not create an unauthenticated URL that anyone can call to flush arbitrary entries.
The purge key must reproduce the cache key exactly. If the cached key is "$scheme$request_method$host$request_uri" and public pages are cached with GET, a protected purge location can use the equivalent GET key for the target path:
location ~ ^/_purge(/.*)$ {
allow 127.0.0.1;
deny all;
fastcgi_cache_purge WORDPRESS "$schemeGET$host$1";
}This pattern is illustrative: adapt the location, access controls and key to your routing. If your key includes a port, locale, normalized query string or another variable, include the same dimension in the purge expression. Test one known URL and verify that the next anonymous request is a MISS and contains the edited content.
Connect publishing events
Configure your WordPress purge integration to invalidate the edited post, its front page, relevant archives and feeds according to your URL structure. A full-cache purge is simpler but can create a sudden PHP-FPM surge on a busy site. Selective purging preserves warm entries while still removing pages affected by the edit. Protect the integration endpoint and log purge failures so a plugin update or permission change cannot silently leave stale pages online.
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Troubleshoot a cache that never hits
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
Every anonymous request is MISS |
A bypass variable is always non-zero, the method is not GET/HEAD, or the response is not cacheable. | Log the map variables, inspect cookies and query strings, verify fastcgi_cache WORDPRESS, and review response headers. |
| Nginx reports cache-file or permission errors | The path is absent, owned by the wrong user, full, or mounted read-only. | Create the directory, grant the Nginx worker write access, free disk space and inspect the error log. |
| Logged-in users see an anonymous page | The login cookie is not matched or the cookie bypass is applied only to storage, not serving. | Use the same conditions in both fastcgi_cache_bypass and fastcgi_no_cache; add the actual cookie name and purge the exposed entry. |
| Posts remain stale after publishing | No purge event ran, the purge key differs from the cache key, or another cache layer is serving the old response. | Inspect the integration log, compare key expressions character by character, purge the affected URL and check browser/CDN caches separately. |
| Some hosts or languages receive the wrong page | The key omits a dimension that changes output. | Include host, scheme, locale or the approved variant in the key, or bypass that variation entirely. |
| PHP works but the cache directive causes a configuration error | The Nginx build lacks the required module or directive, or the directive is in the wrong context. | Run nginx -V, read the installed module documentation and keep fastcgi_cache_path in http; verify build support for fastcgi_cache_purge separately. |
| POST, comments or checkout behave unpredictably | State-changing routes are being treated as public pages. | Keep method, path, cookie and authorization bypass rules enabled and test the complete workflow, not just its landing page. |
A production verification checklist
- Configuration:
nginx -tsucceeds before every reload, and the active server block contains the intended PHP location. - Storage: The cache directory is writable by Nginx, has enough capacity and is monitored for growth.
- Key integrity: Scheme, host, method and URI dimensions match the site’s actual content variations.
- Anonymous behavior: Two requests to a public URL show MISS followed by HIT, or the equivalent values in logs.
- Privacy: Logged-in, password-protected, cookie-bearing and authorization requests never receive a shared anonymous response.
- State changes: POST, comments, previews, search, feeds, XML-RPC, cart, checkout, account, membership and multilingual routes have been exercised.
- Freshness: Publishing or editing a post invokes the purge integration, and the next anonymous request contains the new content.
- Operations: Monitor hit behavior, PHP-FPM load, disk usage and purge failures before changing TTLs or adding stale-serving policies.
When managed hosting is the practical option
Some site owners do not have permission to edit Nginx or PHP-FPM configuration. A managed WordPress host can be appropriate when it explicitly supports Nginx FastCGI caching, provides a documented purge integration and gives you access to cache-status diagnostics. Confirm the provider’s geography, plan limits, purge behavior and support responsibilities before migrating. If you cannot inspect or test bypass rules, do not enable shared page caching blindly on a site with accounts, commerce or membership data.
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