When you publish, update, or trash a post, RunCache can also clear related archive pages from the cache, such as category, tag, post type, and author archives.
This guide explains which archive purge settings are enabled by default, what each setting clears, and when you may want to change them.
Before you start
Make sure you have administrator access to WordPress, then go to RunCache > Purger and locate the Purge Archives section.
Changes apply to future publish, update, and trash events. Changing a setting doesn’t clear archive pages that are already stale.
Saving these settings doesn’t trigger an immediate purge. The settings take effect the next time you publish, update, or trash relevant content.
If an archive page continues to show outdated content after that, check whether purging is enabled for that archive type.
Archive Purge Settings and Defaults
The Purge Archives section contains one main setting and three related archive settings. An additional RSS feed purge setting is stored by RunCache, but does not have a control in the interface.
By default, archive purging, post type archive purging, and taxonomy archive purging are enabled. Author archive purging is disabled.
| Label | Internal Setting key | Default |
|---|---|---|
| When a post/page/CPT is published/modified/trashed | archives_content_onn | On |
| Purge post type archive page | archives_cpt_onn | On |
| Purge category/tag/taxonomy pages | archives_category_onn | On |
| Purge author page | archives_author_onn | Off |
When the main archive purge setting is disabled, the related archive settings are hidden. Their existing values are retained and reactivated if the main setting is re-enabled.
Author archive purging is disabled by default. If your site uses author archive pages, enable this setting so those pages are cleared when related posts change.
Which URLs Each Setting Purges
| Configuration | URLs purged |
|---|---|
| All archive settings off | Post URL and homepage |
| Default settings | Post URL, homepage, post type archive, and related taxonomy archives |
| All archive settings on | Post URL, homepage, post type archive, related taxonomy archives, author archive, and feed |
Even when all archive purge settings are disabled, RunCache can still clear the post itself and the homepage through the separate Purge Post/Page/CPT and Purge Homepage settings.
Disabling archive purging only affects the related archive pages.
The Purge Post/Page/CPT settings control whether the post itself is cleared. These settings are separate from Purge Archives.
The Purge Homepage settings control whether the homepage is cleared when content changes. These settings are also separate from Purge Archives.
How Post Type Archive Purging Works for Posts
For standard WordPress posts, the post type archive is normally the site homepage, which may already be cleared by the Purge Homepage settings.
The Post Type Archive setting becomes more significant when your site uses custom post types with their own archive pages. In that case, RunCache clears the relevant custom post type archive when content changes.
How Taxonomy Archive Purging Works
When Purge category/tag/taxonomy pages is enabled, RunCache checks each taxonomy attached to the post type and clears the archive for every term assigned to the post.
For example, a post assigned to eight tags can trigger eight tag archive purges. Purging an archive path also removes cached pages beneath that path, including its paginated archive pages.
Archive Purging When a Post Is Trashed
RunCache handles trash events differently from publish and update events.
For publish and update events, the related archive settings apply only when the main archive purge setting is enabled. When a post is trashed, RunCache evaluates the individual archive settings even if the main setting is disabled.
When the main archive purge setting is disabled, but the individual archive options remain enabled:
- Publishing or updating a post does not trigger those archive purges.
- Trashing the post can still purge the configured post type, taxonomy, author, and feed archives.
If you disable archive purging to reduce the number of purge operations during publishing, remember that trashing content can still trigger the individual archive purge settings.
Archive Pages Without a Purge Setting
RunCache does not provide separate purge settings for date archives, search results, or paginated archive pages.
Date archives are not purged by these settings. Paginated archive pages are removed when their parent archive path is purged. Search results are not cached because the s query parameter is excluded from caching.
When to Change the Defaults
- If your site uses author archive pages, enable ‘Purge author page’ so those archives are cleared when related posts change.
- If publishing triggers a large number of taxonomy purges, consider disabling taxonomy archive purging. Be aware that affected category, tag, and taxonomy archives can then remain stale until their cached entries expire or are manually purged.
- If an RSS feed shows outdated content, manually purge the feed URL or perform a full cache purge.