Cloudflare
PressBot works from inside WordPress. Cloudflare guards the outside.
Connect once with one scoped Cloudflare token. PressBot then clears the cache when you publish, checks logins and the chatbot with Turnstile, and shows you what Cloudflare saw. Pro adds blocking at the edge.
Cloudflare’s free plan covers these features. PressBot does not change your DNS.
What it does
Free unless marked.
| Feature | Free or Pro | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Cache clearing | Free | When you publish or update, PressBot clears Cloudflare’s cache so visitors see the change. |
| Turnstile on login and chatbot | Free | An opt-in check in front of the login form and the visitor chatbot. PressBot can create the Turnstile keys for you. |
| Content-Signal in robots.txt | Free | A line that states what AI crawlers may do with your pages. |
| Your own AI Gateway | Free | Send PressBot’s AI requests through your own Cloudflare AI Gateway. |
| Redirects for missing pages | Free | PressBot adds redirects for pages that no longer exist. |
| Edge Shield | Pro | Shield lockouts are blocked at Cloudflare, before WordPress runs. |
| Markdown for AI agents | Pro | An agent that asks for Markdown gets your page as Markdown. |
| Cloudflare panels on Analytics | Pro | What Cloudflare saw, AI readers, attacks stopped at the edge, broken and slow pages, and real visitor speed. |
| AI overview of all analytics | Pro | An AI-written overview of all your analytics. |
| Edge activity on Shield | Pro | What happened at Cloudflare, shown on the Shield page next to its own lockouts. |
| MCP tools | Free and Pro | Free: get_cloudflare_status. Pro: manage_cloudflare. |
AI readers and Markdown for agents are explained on the AI bots page.
Setup, in order
- Create one scoped token in Cloudflare. The documentation lists the exact permissions.
- Paste it into PressBot, in Connections.
- Use the checklist. One click turns on the recommended features.
- Read the status list. Each feature shows whether it is on and the proof: what PressBot checked at Cloudflare to know it works.
Your token, your rules
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Scoped
You create the token and you choose its permissions. Each PressBot feature names the permission it needs, so you can leave out the ones you do not want.
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Stored encrypted
The token is stored encrypted, like your AI keys. How PressBot protects keys.
Edge Shield Pro
Blocks at Cloudflare, before WordPress runs.
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Lockouts become Cloudflare rules
When Shield locks out an address, Edge Shield asks Cloudflare to block it too. Blocked traffic never reaches PHP.
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Rules expire with the lockout
When the lockout ends, the Cloudflare rule ends. Your admin addresses are never pushed to Cloudflare.
One week at pressbot.io, October 2026
Seven days ending 27 October 2026, from Cloudflare, shown by PressBot.
- 803requests blocked at Cloudflare before they reached WordPress
- 343failed WordPress logins in the same week
- 2of the 803 blocked by the browser integrity check. The other 801 were Cloudflare managed rules
The most blocked paths were /wp-config.php.old and /wp-config.php.bak: scanners looking for old copies of a settings file. Those 803 blocks came from Cloudflare’s own rules, not from Edge Shield. The failed logins are what Shield and Turnstile are for. One site, one week.
Turnstile needs only a free account
Turnstile is Cloudflare’s check for telling people from bots. It needs a free Cloudflare account to issue its keys, and PressBot can create them for you. Your site does not have to be served through Cloudflare for Turnstile to work. It is opt-in, on the login form and on the visitor chatbot.
Questions
Do I need a paid Cloudflare plan?
No. Cloudflare's free plan covers these features.
Does PressBot change my DNS?
No. No DNS change is needed for these features.
What can the Cloudflare token do?
Only what you allow when you create it. You create one scoped token, and each feature names the permission it needs. PressBot stores the token encrypted.
What is free and what is Pro?
Free: clearing Cloudflare's cache when you publish or update, Turnstile on login and the chatbot, the Content-Signal line in robots.txt, your own Cloudflare AI Gateway, and redirects for missing pages. Pro: Edge Shield, Markdown for AI agents, the Cloudflare panels on Analytics, the AI overview of all analytics, Edge activity on Shield, and the manage_cloudflare MCP tool.
Does PressBot replace Cloudflare's own tools?
No. Blocking AI crawlers is done in Cloudflare's AI Crawl Control, and PressBot links to it. PressBot adds the WordPress side: it knows when you publish, who is locked out and which pages are missing.
Get PressBot
Download the free plugin, then connect Cloudflare in Connections.
Keep reading
Cloudflare is a trademark of Cloudflare, Inc. PressBot is not affiliated with Cloudflare.