Clear Caches

Purge all of the WordPress caches

Description

Clear Caches provides individual WordPress and server-side cache controls from the WordPress admin bar.

Cached data can sometimes cause old content, settings, templates, or code to remain visible after site changes. Authorized users can clear PHP OPcache, Nginx cache files, the object cache, or database transients without using command-line tools or restarting services. The controls are available from the admin bar on both frontend and admin screens when the admin bar is displayed.

The object-cache action includes handlers for Memcached, Memcache, Redis, Predis, and Relay, with wp_cache_flush() used as the WordPress fallback. Memcached, Memcache, Redis, and Predis handlers perform a basic write-and-read check after flushing, while other handlers report the result supported by their backend.

Nginx cache deletion is restricted to a predefined list of known cache directories. The configured path must resolve to one of those directories and must exist, be writable, and be a directory before any files are removed.

On Multisite installations, transients stored in the current site’s options table are cleared. Network transients stored in sitemeta are also cleared when the action is run by a super administrator.

Each action uses authenticated WordPress AJAX with capability and nonce checks. Cache modules, the required capability, the Nginx cache path, and Memcached or Redis connection details can be configured with constants instead of a settings screen.

Clear Caches only handles caches managed by WordPress or the local server. It does not clear browser, CDN, load balancer, or external reverse-proxy caches.

Changelog

3.1.0

• added Redis connection timeout to prevent stalled PHP workers on broken sockets
• reset PHP filesystem stat cache with clearstatcache after Nginx cache purge to avoid stale metadata
• simplified capability checks for better long-term maintainability
• Tested up to: bumped to 6.9

3.0.0

• major refactoring and security hardening
• Multisite network sitemeta transients now cleared (for super admins only)
• added total deleted row count to cleared transients success message
• added dynamic nonce helper with static caching for AJAX
• replaced sanitize_text_field() with sanitize_key() for AJAX request
• improved capability fallback logic via get_clear_caches_capability() helper
• restricted Nginx cache deletion to known safe paths (supports SlickStack, EasyEngine, WordOps, and more)
• updated Nginx deletion logic with stricter realpath + validation
• improved JS modal UX (ARIA tags, better namespaces, more WordPress-native CSS styling)
• improved JS modal security (gracefully degrades if clearCachesData is missing, escapes messages with .text() now to prevent HTML injection)
• added wp_die() after all wp_send_json_*() responses
• added Requires PHP plugin header
• added Tested up to plugin header
• added Update URI plugin header
• added Text Domain plugin header

2.0.2

• fixed gu_override_dot_org snippet

2.0.1

• fixed enqueue of jQuery both frontend and backend

2.0.0

• completely refactored to WordPress coding standards
• now supports multiple object cache softwares (Memcached, Memcache, Redis, Predis, Relay Cache, and default WordPress object cache)
• now supports clearing (deleting) database transients
• better messaging in case of success or failure in each cache module
• better verification of actual flushing in certain modules
• new defined constant CLEAR_CACHES_MIN_CAPABILITY
• new defined constant CLEAR_CACHES_TRANSIENTS
• supports PHP 7.0 to PHP 8.3
• supports Multisite

1.2.3

• fixed fatal error (missing bracket)

1.2.2

• fixed undefined variable error (new default $modified = false)

1.2.1

• tweaked spelling of various buttons
• tested with WP 5.1

1.2.0

• PBP v1.2.0
• AUTOMATIC_UPDATE_PLUGINS

1.1.1

• simplied settings page to be single page (no tabs)
• new button Save Nginx Path
• popup modal outputs the Nginx path when caches are cleared

1.1.0

• changed plugin name from Purge Them All to Clear Caches
• PBP v1.1.1
• defined constant CLEAR_CACHES
• defined constant CLEAR_CACHES_NGINX
• defined constant CLEAR_CACHES_NGINX_PATH
• defined constant CLEAR_CACHES_OBJECT
• defined constant CLEAR_CACHES_OPCACHE
• removed all CloudFlare integration
• (focus going forward will be on-server caches only)

1.0.0

• initial release
• uses PHP namespaces
• object-oriented codebase