
Enable caching of the WordPress REST API and auto-flush caches upon wp-admin editing.
Are you facing speed issues, using the WordPress REST API? This plugin will allow WordPress to cache the responses of the REST API, making it much faster.
This plugin offers:
- Caching of all default WordPress REST API
GET-endpoints.
- Caching of (custom) post type endpoints.
- Caching of (custom) taxonomy endpoints.
- Automated flushing of caches if (some of) its contents are edited.
- Manual flushing of all caches.
- Manual flushing of specific caches.
- A counter how many times a cache has been retrieved.
- Specifying after what time the cache should be timed out.
- Registering custom endpoints for caching.
- Automatic cache regeneration.
WP REST Cache Pro
For more advanced features, check out our WP REST Cache Pro plugin:
- Configure custom endpoints for caching through the wp-admin interface.
- Configure relationships within endpoints.
- No coding required.
Installation from within WordPress
- Visit ‘Plugins > Add New’ (or ‘My Sites > Network Admin > Plugins > Add New’ if you are on a multisite installation).
- Search for ‘WP REST Cache’.
- Activate the WP REST Cache plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
- Go to “after activation” below.
Installation manually
- Upload the
wp-rest-cache folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory.
- Activate the WP REST Cache plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
- Go to “after activation” below.
After activation
- Visit ‘Plugins > Must-Use’ (or ‘My Sites > Network Admin > Plugins > Must-Use’ if you are on a multisite installation).
- Check if the ‘WP REST Cache – Must-Use Plugin’ is there, if not copy the file
wp-rest-cache.php from the /sources folder of the WP REST Cache Plugin to the folder /wp-content/mu-plugins/.
Optionally:
The default timeout for caches generated by the WP REST Cache plugin is set to 1 year. If you want to change this:
- Visit ‘Settings > WP REST Cache’.
- Change the Cache timeout.
Screenshots

Settings for the WP REST Cache plugin.

An overview of cached endpoint calls.

An overview of cached single items.

Cache details page - Cache info.

Cache details page - Cache data.
FAQ
I have edited a page/post, do I need to clear the cache?
No, the plugin will automatically flush all cache related to the page/post you just edited.
I have created a custom post type, will the plugin cache the custom post type endpoint?
Yes, the plugin will automatically cache the endpoint of custom post types. Unless you have created a custom WP_REST_Controller for it, then it will not automatically cache the endpoint.
I have created a custom taxonomy, will the plugin cache the taxonomy endpoint?
Yes, the plugin will automatically cache the endpoint of custom taxonomies. Unless you have created a custom WP_REST_Controller for it, then it will not automatically cache the endpoint.
I have created a custom WP REST endpoint, will the plugin cache this endpoint?
No, the plugin will not cache your custom endpoint unless you tell it to cache it using our WP REST Cache Pro plugin or the hook wp_rest_cache/allowed_endpoints (See ‘Can I register my own endpoint for caching?’). Please keep in mind that once you do so the plugin will not automatically flush the cache of that endpoint if something is edited (it has no way of knowing when to flush the cache). It will however try to determine the relations and for the determined relations it will flush the cache automatically once the relation is edited.
Can I register my own endpoint for caching?
Yes you can! You can use our WP REST Cache Pro plugin to easily register your own endpoints for caching through the wp-admin interface. Or you can do it programmatically by using the hook wp_rest_cache/allowed_endpoints like this:
/**
* Register the /wp-json/acf/v3/posts endpoint so it will be cached.
*/
function wprc_add_acf_posts_endpoint( $allowed_endpoints ) {
if ( ! isset( $allowed_endpoints[ 'acf/v3' ] ) || ! in_array( 'posts', $allowed_endpoints[ 'acf/v3' ] ) ) {
$allowed_endpoints[ 'acf/v3' ][] = 'posts';
}
return $allowed_endpoints;
}
add_filter( 'wp_rest_cache/allowed_endpoints', 'wprc_add_acf_posts_endpoint', 10, 1);
Please note: the WP REST Cache plugin will try to detect relations in the cached data to automatically flush the cache when related items are edited, but this detection is not flawless so your caches might not be flushed automatically.
Can I unregister an endpoint so it is no longer cached?
Yes you can! Use the hook wp_rest_cache/allowed_endpoints like this:
/**
* Unregister the /wp-json/wp/v2/comments endpoint so it will not be cached.
*/
function wprc_unregister_wp_comments_endpoint( $allowed_endpoints ) {
if ( isset( $allowed_endpoints[ 'wp/v2' ] ) && ( $key = array_search( 'comments', $allowed_endpoints[ 'wp/v2' ] ) ) !== false ) {
unset( $allowed_endpoints[ 'wp/v2' ][ $key ] );
}
return $allowed_endpoints;
}
add_filter( 'wp_rest_cache/allowed_endpoints', 'wprc_unregister_wp_comments_endpoint', 100, 1);
Can I force a call to the REST API to not use caching?
Yes you can! Add the GET-parameter skip_cache=1 to your call and no caching will be used.
On the cache overview page I see the object type is ‘unknown’. Can I help the WP REST Cache plugin to detect the object type correctly?
Yes you can! Use the hook wp_rest_cache/determine_object_type like this:
function wprc_determine_object_type( $object_type, $cache_key, $data, $uri ) {
if ( $object_type !== 'unknown' || strpos( $uri, $your_namespace . '/' . $your_rest_base ) === false ) {
return $object_type;
}
// Do your magic here
$object_type = 'website';
// Do your magic here
return $object_type;
}
add_filter( 'wp_rest_cache/determine_object_type', 'wprc_determine_object_type', 10, 4 );
Can expired caches be automatically regenerated?
Yes they can! Go to Settings > WP REST Cache, on the Settings tab you can check Enable cache regeneration, this will activate a cron job which will check if there are any expired (or flushed) caches and regenerate them. Using the Regeneration interval you can determine how often this regeneration process should run. The Max number regenerate caches limits the number of regenerated caches per regeneration process, this is so your server doesn’t get flooded with the regeneration calls.
Can I hide the ‘Clear REST cache’ in the wp-admin bar?
Yes you can! Use the hook wp_rest_cache/display_clear_cache_button like this:
function wprc_display_clear_cache_button( $show ) {
return false;
}
add_filter('wp_rest_cache/display_clear_cache_button', 'wprc_display_clear_cache_button', 10, 1);
ChangeLog
2026.1.3
Release Date: March 3rd, 2026
Fix: Prevent performance issue with hierarchical categories.
2026.1.2
Release Date: February 25th, 2026
Fix: Prevent PHP warnings.
Improvement: Add filter to disallow skip_cache parameter.
Improvement: Added error log if set_transient fails.
Improvement: Add support for flushing term cache when objects terms are modified. (Contribution by: Moshe Gross)
2026.1.1
Release Date: January 20th, 2026
Fix: A XSS vulnerability in the plugin was discovered and fixed. It was reported by Nguyen Ba Khanh.
Fix: Improved transition_post_status_logic. (Contribution by: Moshe Gross)
2026.1.0
Release Date: January 14th, 2026
Improvement: Only flush caches on meta update if filter returns true.
2025.2.0
Release Date: December 15th, 2025
Improvement: Also flush caches when only the (post) meta is updated.
Earlier versions
For the changelog of earlier versions, please refer to the changelog on Github.