Cache Autopilot – Documentation

Troubleshooting

Updated:

URLs Not Warming After Changes

Possible causes

Cache Invalidator disabled

Check that the main switch is enabled.

Post Type not enabled (or relationiship not set)

See: Cache Invalidator → Post Type Tabs to verify your configuration.

Sitemap membership

The URL may not be present in configured sitemaps. Only URLs included in your sitemap are eligible for targeted warmup.

Membership is maintained automatically in the background. If a URL was recently added or changed, it may take a short moment to be included.

See: Cache Invalidator → Settings Reference to verify your configuration.

Verify

  • the URL appears in your sitemap
  • the URL is canonical (matches sitemap format)

Automatic Cache Warmup disabled

Check the warmup main switch.

No cache adapter detected

Both engines are designed to operate with a supported cache plugin. Without one, invalidation and warmup have no practical effect.

Full warmup preparing

If a full warmup is currently preparing, targeted URLs may be buffered and warmed shortly after preparation completes.

See: Cache Warmup → Settings Reference to verify your configuration.

Cache Adapter Not Detected

Verify a supported cache plugin is installed and active.

WP-Cron Not Running

WP-Cron is the task scheduler that WordPress uses for background processing. Both Cache Invalidator and Cache Warmup depend on it for async deep invalidation, timed invalidation rules, warmup run preparation, and warmup batch execution.

Symptoms: warmup runs staying in preparing, batches not executing, timed invalidation rules not firing, async deep invalidation not processing.

  • Check if DISABLE_WP_CRON is set to true in wp-config.php. If so, configure a server-side cron job.
  • Use the Cache Warmup WP-Cron diagnostics panel to test loopback connectivity.
  • Low-traffic sites may experience delayed cron execution. A server-side cron job resolves this.

Disabling WP-Cron and setting up a server-side cron job is the most reliable and predictable way the two engines work as expected, and is therefore recommended.

Setting up a server-side cron job

If your site has low traffic or WP-Cron is disabled, a server cron job ensures background processing runs reliably. Most hosting providers allow configuring this either via their control panel or with a cron command.

  • Open your hosting control panel and locate Cron Jobs
  • Add a job running every 1–5 minutes
  • Use your WP-Cron URL:
    https://your-site.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron

Cron command (example)

  • Example command running every minute:*/1 * * * * wget -q -O /dev/null https://your-site.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron
  • Replace the URL with your site’s actual URL
  • See your hosting documentation for details

Warmup Runs Stalling

  • Check the stale run minutes setting. Runs with no activity beyond this threshold are automatically recovered.
  • Verify WP-Cron is firing (see above).
  • Check server error logs for timeout or memory issues during warmup requests.
  • Auto-pacing adjusts batch size based on server performance. If manually pacing, reduce pages per batch.
  • Runs stuck in preparing usually indicate WP-Cron is not firing.

See: Cache Warmup → Settings Reference for pacing and stale run configuration.

Sitemap Notices

Cache Warmup uses configured sitemaps to build full warmup plans and verify targeted URLs.

If sitemap data is unavailable, Cache Warmup keeps working where possible by using the last usable index or published-page fallback data. Targeted warmups may skip URLs that cannot be verified.

Saving sitemap settings schedules an index rebuild approximately 30 seconds later. Reload after 30–60 seconds. Sites using server cron may take until the next cron run.

Dismissing a warning hides it for the current page. It returns on the next admin page while the problem remains.

No sitemap configured

No sitemap URL has been added yet. Full warmups may fall back to published pages, but sitemap-based coverage and targeted URL checks are unavailable.

How to fix

  1. Go to Cache Warmup Settings → Warmup.
  2. Add your sitemap URL(s).
  3. Click Save.
  4. Wait 30–60 seconds, then reload.

See: Cache Warmup → Settings Reference → Warmup Tab for more details.

Sitemap index is being prepared

Sitemap URLs are configured, but the index is not available yet. This commonly occurs after initial setup, an update, or a settings change.

Wait 30–60 seconds, then reload. Sites using server cron may take until the next cron run.

How to fix
  1. Check you sitemap URL(s) in Cache Warmup Settings → Warmup.
  2. Make a small content change (for example, update a page)
  3. Wait a moment and reload

If it persists:

  • Open your sitemap URL in the browser (use link below the sitemap field)
  • Make sure it loads publicly

Configured sitemap could not be found

The configured sitemap URL returned 404 Not Found or 410 Gone. Its URL may be incorrect, or the plugin providing the sitemap may be inactive.

Correct the URL or activate its sitemap provider, save the settings, then wait 30–60 seconds before reloading.

How to fix
  1. Check you sitemap URL(s) in Cache Warmup Settings → Warmup.
  2. Make a small content change (for example, update a page)
  3. Wait a moment and reload

If it persists:

  • Open your sitemap URL in the browser (use link below the sitemap field)
  • Make sure it loads publicly

Some configured sitemaps could not be found

At least one configured sitemap works, but one or more others returned 404 Not Found or 410 Gone.

Cache Warmup uses the sitemaps it can read. Pages listed only in unavailable sitemaps may be missed.

Correct or remove unavailable URLs, or reactivate their sitemap provider. Save the settings, then wait 30–60 seconds before reloading.

How to fix
  1. Check you sitemap URL(s) in Cache Warmup Settings → Warmup.
  2. Make a small content change (for example, update a page)
  3. Wait a moment and reload

If it persists:

  • Open your sitemap URL in the browser (use link below the sitemap field)
  • Make sure it loads publicly

Sitemap index could not refresh

Cache Warmup encountered a temporary HTTP, connection, or XML parsing error. It continues using the last usable sitemap index when available.

Full warmups still run, but recent sitemap changes may not be included yet.

Click Retry now, wait briefly, then reload. If the notice remains, confirm the sitemap URLs load publicly and WP-Cron or server cron is running.

How to fix
  1. Check you sitemap URL(s) in Cache Warmup Settings → Warmup.
  2. Make a small content change (for example, update a page)
  3. Wait a moment and reload

If it persists:

  • Open your sitemap URL in the browser (use link below the sitemap field)
  • Make sure it loads publicly

Sitemap index is using fallback data

Cache Warmup could not read the sitemap, so it built a temporary index from published pages instead.

Full warmups still run, but pages available only through the sitemap may be missed.

How to fix
  1. Check you sitemap URL(s) in Cache Warmup Settings → Warmup.
  2. Make a small content change (for example, update a page)
  3. Wait a moment and reload

If it persists:

  • Open your sitemap URL in the browser (use link below the sitemap field)
  • Make sure it loads publicly

Sitemap index is invalid

Cache Warmup cannot read the stored sitemap index and will attempt to rebuild it in the background.

Until the rebuild succeeds, targeted warmups may skip URLs that cannot be verified.

How to fix
  1. Check you sitemap URL(s) in Cache Warmup Settings → Warmup.
  2. Make a small content change (for example, update a page)
  3. Wait a moment and reload

If it persists:

  • Open your sitemap URL in the browser (use link below the sitemap field)
  • Make sure it loads publicly

Multilingual URLs Missing

  • Verify that your multilingual plugin (see Multilingual Compatibility) is active and configured.
  • Cache Invalidator detects multilingual plugins in a fixed order. If using multiple plugins, only the first detected is used.
  • Review multilingual fanout policy toggles. Post triggers default to same-language fanout while non-post triggers default to all-languages fanout.

Debug Logging

Support Debug Mode

If anything does not work as expected, the support debug mode can be enabled from Cache Invalidator → Settings → Support & Debugging.

  • Both Cache Invalidator and Cache Warmup write to the same shared log file.
  • Only high-signal entries (INFO, WARNING, ERROR) are recorded. Verbose output is excluded.
  • Download the log file directly from the settings panel and share it with support.
  • The log file appears after the first diagnostic event fires. Use the Refresh button to check.
  • Disable support debug mode when troubleshooting is complete. This deletes the log file automatically.

See: Cache Invalidator → Support Debug Mode for detailed debug mode documentation.

Developer Constants

For developer-level debugging with access to the server error log:

  • Set WP_DEBUG and WP_DEBUG_LOG to true in wp-config.php.
  • Define ECI_DEBUG and/or ECW_DEBUG to enable plugin-specific logging to the PHP error log.
  • Define EKESTO_CA_DEBUG to enable both ECI_DEBUG and ECW_DEBUG behavior simultaneously.

Operational Limitations

Password protected sites

If the sites is password protected via .htaccess or a plugin like Password Protected, the URLs can’t be preloaded.

In order to warm a URL it must be publicly available.

As soon as the site is live, trigger a manual warmup.