wp-performance

name	wp-performance
description	Diagnose and optimize WordPress performance: WP-CLI profiling, Query Monitor, database indexing, autoloaded options, object cache, cron events, and HTTP requests.
compatibility	Targets WordPress 6.9+ (PHP 7.2.24+). Requires WP-CLI. Redis object cache available.
source	https://github.com/WordPress/agent-skills

WP Performance

When to use

• frontend pages slow to load
• admin UI laggy
• REST endpoints slow
• cron tasks taking too long
• need to identify bottlenecks

Step 1 — Run diagnostics

wp doctor check --all

Identifies: missing object caches, bloated autoloaded options, slow queries, cron failures.

Step 2 — Profile with wp profile

wp profile stage            # Profile all stages
wp profile hook wp_footer   # Profile specific hook
wp profile hook wp_head

Look for: heavy database queries, slow hook callbacks, hooks called many times.

Step 3 — Fix by bottleneck type

Database slowness

wp db query 'SHOW INDEXES FROM wp_posts'
wp profile stage --all

Autoloaded options bloat

wp option list --autoload=yes --format=json \
  | python3 -c "import json,sys; data=json.load(sys.stdin); [print(d['option_name'], len(str(d.get('option_value','')))) for d in sorted(data, key=lambda x: len(str(x.get('option_value',''))), reverse=True)[:20]"

Identify large options that can be lazy-loaded or removed.

Object cache not enabled

wp cache type   # Should show Redis, not "Default"
wp cache flush

For GridPane servers, Redis cache is managed via the GridPane dashboard.

Slow external HTTP calls

• Grep code for wp_remote_get / wp_remote_post
• Cache responses with transients:

$cached = get_transient( 'my_api_data' );
if ( false === $cached ) {
    $response = wp_remote_get( $url );
    $cached = wp_remote_retrieve_body( $response );
    set_transient( 'my_api_data', $cached, HOUR_IN_SECONDS );
}

Slow cron tasks

wp cron event list --format=table
wp cron event run <hook>   # Run manually to time it

Step 4 — Verify improvements

wp profile stage    # Re-run and compare

Failure Modes

• wp profile stage times out: site too slow; use staging or smaller scope
• Redis down: verify Redis container is running; docker ps | grep redis
• Query Monitor REST headers empty: confirm QM plugin is active