Description
Traffic Origin Guard helps protect your origin server from direct traffic by requiring a secret header value on every request.
Use case:
– Your site is behind Cloudflare or another reverse proxy.
– You want only proxy-originated requests to reach WordPress.
– You want automatic Apache rule management.
How it works:
– You set one token in plugin settings.
– The plugin writes Apache rules into .htaccess using a managed block.
– Requests missing the expected X-Origin-Secret header are blocked with HTTP 403.
Features:
– Apache .htaccess rule writer with managed BEGIN/END markers.
– Header validation status visibility on the settings page.
– One-click token utilities in admin (generate, copy, and Use as token”).
– In-page Cloudflare setup guide with step-by-step instructions.
– Lockout recovery instructions displayed directly in the settings page.
– View details link on the Plugins list page.
– Automatic cleanup on plugin deactivation and uninstall.
Installation
- Upload the plugin folder to /wp-content/plugins/traffic-origin-guard/.
- Activate Traffic Origin Guard from Plugins in WordPress admin.
- Go to Settings -> Traffic Origin Guard.
- Generate a token using the generator on the settings page.
- In Cloudflare, go to Rules -> Transform Rules -> Modify Request Header and add a rule setting X-Origin-Secret to your token on all requests. Do this BEFORE saving the token to avoid locking yourself out.
- Paste the token into the token field and click Save Token. Confirm the Active server rules block appears on the page.
- Verify direct origin access without the header returns 403.
FAQ
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Will this lock me out of wp-admin?
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Yes, it can if misconfigured. This plugin enforces access at Apache level, so a wrong token/header setup can block wp-admin access.
To recover: connect to your server via FTP, SFTP, or your host’s file manager and open .htaccess in your WordPress root. Find and delete the entire block between (and including) the lines # BEGIN Traffic Origin Guard” and # END Traffic Origin Guard”. Save the file — your site will be accessible immediately. Then set up your Cloudflare Transform Rule first before re-entering the token.
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Which servers are supported?
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This plugin manages Apache .htaccess rules directly.
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What if .htaccess is not writable?
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The plugin cannot enforce protection until .htaccess is writable. Fix permissions/ownership and save settings again.
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What header name does the plugin check?
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X-Origin-Secret
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Contributors & Developers
“Traffic Origin Guard” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
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