Rythzen Cache

Name: Rythzen Cache
Author: Rythzen

Performance

Static-file page caching, and nothing you did not ask for.

Free, lightweight WordPress page caching and delivery optimization with preload, HTML minification, resource hints, and safe Apache browser-cache helpers.

Latest release

1.1.2

20 Aug 2026 · 27 KB

Download 1.1.2

Requires WordPress: 6.0
Requires PHP: 7.4
Tested up to: 7.1
Licence: GPL-2.0-or-later
Downloads: 44

Automatic updates are built in. Install once, enable auto-updates on the WordPress Plugins screen, and new releases arrive on their own.

Rythzen Cache writes your public pages to disk and serves them before WordPress finishes booting.

There is no account, no CDN sign-up and no premium tier. It bypasses logged-in sessions and the WooCommerce pages that must never be cached, and it clears itself whenever content changes.

Screenshots

Captured on WordPress 7.1. Click any image to view it full size.

The page cache: on, purging automatically, with the WooCommerce paths that must never be cached already excluded.

Every plugin carries its own Updates tab — installed version, the latest release, and a check that ignores the six-hour cache.

What it does

File-based full page cache served before the theme loads
Automatic purge on post, comment, theme and customiser changes
HTML minification that leaves scripts, styles and pre blocks alone
Background preloading so the first visitor is never the one who waits
Optional browser-cache and compression rules for Apache
Logged-in users and WooCommerce cart, checkout and account pages bypass the cache automatically

Installing Rythzen Cache

1. Download the zip from this page.
2. In WordPress, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin and choose the file.
3. Activate, then open Settings → Rythzen Cache and turn on the page cache.

If you run another caching plugin, deactivate it first — two page caches will fight.

1.1.2
Current20 Aug 2026
* Declared compatibility with WordPress 7.1, the version this release was verified on.
* Corrected the readme stable tag, which still pointed at 1.0.0.
1.1.1
20 Aug 2026
Fixed: WordPress's own "Check again" on the Updates screen now bypasses the plugin's
six-hour metadata cache, so a freshly published release shows up immediately instead of
appearing to do nothing.
1.1.0
20 Aug 2026
Added: self-hosted automatic updates through the new Rythzen update service.
Added: an Updates tab showing the installed and latest version, release channel and last check.
Fixed: the .htaccess written into the cache directory contained literal backslashes before its
quotes, so Apache never applied the deny rule that keeps cached HTML from being served directly.
Fixed: browser-cache and compression rules were never written on a fresh install, because only
the update hook was listened for and a new install creates the option rather than updating it.
Fixed: Preload ran up to 21 blocking requests inside the admin page load and could time out.
It now runs in the background and reports back when it finishes.
Improved: tracking parameters such as utm_source and fbclid no longer create a separate cache
entry for every campaign link.
1.0.0
20 Aug 2026
* Initial public release.

Version	Released	Channel	Size	Requires	Downloads	Package
1.1.2 LATEST	20 Aug 2026	stable	27 KB	WP 6.0 · PHP 7.4	18	Download
1.1.1	20 Aug 2026	stable	27 KB	WP 6.0 · PHP 7.4	10	Download
1.1.0	20 Aug 2026	stable	26 KB	WP 6.0 · PHP 7.4	8	Download
1.0.0	20 Aug 2026	stable	19 KB	WP 6.0 · PHP 7.4	8	Download

Older releases stay available so you can roll back if an update ever causes a problem on your site. Verify any package you download against its SHA-256 checksum below.

SHA-256 checksums

1.1.275d3d8d36f7ebf582097317274255e7eedb0e1e2b44753776ee4ead314125a30
1.1.1aba5a1e3b9a1d4f94745eb9c4a3a50ca93d5383ce7e7430c5e65549aa7bf77c5
1.1.033f6894d3a3cce0aeadeb4d353caa84aaf7e73363c1cbed1f6e10184aa0e96d5
1.0.017e47f1b1ccfed599dd8ffc731ef91fad1bb618dba5d80144cdb09e8d58ceeee

Can I run this alongside another caching plugin?

No. Two page caches will fight over the same requests and you will get stale or blank pages. Deactivate the other one first. Rythzen Performance is safe to run with it — that plugin does not cache pages.

Will logged-in users or my shop pages get cached?

No. Logged-in sessions bypass the cache entirely, and cart, checkout and account pages are excluded before anything is written to disk.

Do I need to purge it manually after publishing?

No. The cache clears itself when a post, comment, theme or customiser setting changes. There is a manual purge in the admin bar for the times you want to be certain.

Where are the cached files kept?

In wp-content/cache/rythzen-cache. Deleting that folder is a safe way to clear everything; it is rebuilt on the next visit.

Rythzen Cache

Screenshots

Installing Rythzen Cache

1.1.2

1.1.1

1.1.0

1.0.0

SHA-256 checksums