Cloudflare API

Hit the Cloudflare REST API directly when wrangler CLI or MCP servers aren't the right tool. For bulk operations, fleet-wide changes, and features that wrangler doesn't expose.

When to Use This Instead of Wrangler or MCP

Rule of thumb: Single operations → MCP or wrangler. Bulk/fleet/scripted → API directly.

Auth Setup

API Token (recommended)

Create a scoped token at: Dashboard → My Profile → API Tokens → Create Token

# Store it
export CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN="your-token-here"

# Test it
curl -s "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/user/tokens/verify" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" | jq '.success'

Token scopes: Always use minimal permissions. Common presets:

• "Edit zone DNS" — for DNS operations
• "Edit zone settings" — for zone config changes
• "Edit Cloudflare Workers" — for Worker route management
• "Read analytics" — for GraphQL analytics

Account and Zone IDs

# List your zones (find zone IDs)
curl -s "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones?per_page=50" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" | jq '.result[] | {name, id}'

# Get zone ID by domain name
ZONE_ID=$(curl -s "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones?name=example.com" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" | jq -r '.result[0].id')

Store IDs in environment or a config file — don't hardcode them in scripts.

Workflows

Bulk DNS Operations

Add/update many records at once (e.g. migrating a domain, setting up a new client):

# Pattern: read records from a file, create in batch
while IFS=',' read -r type name content proxied; do
  curl -s -X POST "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/dns_records" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d "{\"type\":\"$type\",\"name\":\"$name\",\"content\":\"$content\",\"proxied\":$proxied,\"ttl\":1}" \
    | jq '{name: .result.name, id: .result.id, success: .success}'
  sleep 0.25  # Rate limit: 1200 req/5min
done < dns-records.csv

Export all records from a zone (backup or migration):

curl -s "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/dns_records?per_page=100" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
  | jq -r '.result[] | [.type, .name, .content, .proxied] | @csv' > dns-export.csv

Find and replace across records (e.g. IP migration):

OLD_IP="203.0.113.1"
NEW_IP="198.51.100.1"

# Find records pointing to old IP
RECORDS=$(curl -s "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/dns_records?content=$OLD_IP" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" | jq -r '.result[].id')

# Update each one
for RECORD_ID in $RECORDS; do
  curl -s -X PATCH "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/dns_records/$RECORD_ID" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d "{\"content\":\"$NEW_IP\"}" | jq '.success'
done

Custom Hostnames (White-Label Client Domains)

For SaaS apps where clients use their own domain (e.g. app.clientdomain.com → your Worker):

# Create custom hostname
curl -s -X POST "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/custom_hostnames" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "hostname": "app.clientdomain.com",
    "ssl": {
      "method": "http",
      "type": "dv",
      "settings": {
        "min_tls_version": "1.2"
      }
    }
  }' | jq '{id: .result.id, status: .result.status, ssl_status: .result.ssl.status}'

# List custom hostnames
curl -s "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/custom_hostnames?per_page=50" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
  | jq '.result[] | {hostname, status, ssl_status: .ssl.status}'

# Check status (client needs to add CNAME)
curl -s "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/custom_hostnames/$HOSTNAME_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" | jq '.result.status'

Client setup: They add a CNAME: app.clientdomain.com → your-worker.your-domain.com

Email Routing Rules

# Enable email routing on zone
curl -s -X PUT "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/email/routing/enable" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN"

# Create a routing rule (forward info@ to a real address)
curl -s -X POST "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/email/routing/rules" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Forward info@",
    "enabled": true,
    "matchers": [{"type": "literal", "field": "to", "value": "[email protected]"}],
    "actions": [{"type": "forward", "value": ["[email protected]"]}]
  }' | jq '.success'

# Create catch-all rule
curl -s -X POST "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/email/routing/rules" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Catch-all",
    "enabled": true,
    "matchers": [{"type": "all"}],
    "actions": [{"type": "forward", "value": ["[email protected]"]}]
  }' | jq '.success'

# List rules
curl -s "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/email/routing/rules" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" | jq '.result[] | {name, enabled, matchers, actions}'

Cache Purge

# Purge everything (nuclear option)
curl -s -X POST "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/purge_cache" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"purge_everything": true}'

# Purge specific URLs
curl -s -X POST "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/purge_cache" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  
how to use cloudflare-api
CursorClaude CodeClineCodexWindsurfGooseGitHub CopilotVS CodeGemini CLIKiloOpencodeKimi CLIRoo ClineAiderContinueZedBolt.newLovablev0Replit AgentSweepSmol DeveloperDevinCavemanAmpAntigravity
How to use cloudflare-api on Cursor
AI-first code editor with Composer
1
Prerequisites
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
›Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
›Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with node --version)
›Active project directory or workspace where you want to add cloudflare-api
2
Execute installation command
Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
$npx skills add https://github.com/jezweb/claude-skills --skill cloudflare-apicopy
The skills CLI fetches cloudflare-api from GitHub repository jezweb/claude-skills and configures it for Cursor.
3
Select Cursor when prompted
The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:
◆ Which agents do you want to install to?
│
│ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ── always included ────
│   • Amp
│   • Antigravity
│   • Cline
│   • Codex
│ ●Cursor(selected)
│   • Cursor
│   • Windsurf
4
Verify installation
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
.cursor/skills/cloudflare-api
Reload or restart Cursor to activate cloudflare-api. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /cloudflare-api) or your agent's skill management interface.
⚠
Security & Verification Notice
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.
Additional Resources
›View source code on GitHub›Skills CLI documentation›Learn more about Cursor›What are agent skills?