---
title: How to Flush WordPress Rewrite Rules
description: Flush WordPress rewrite rules without touching your permalink settings with the free Flush Rewrite Rules tool.
url: "https://wpfactory.com/docs/flush-wordpress-rewrite-rules/"
updated: "2026-09-27"
category: How to
---

# How to Flush WordPress Rewrite Rules

To flush WordPress rewrite rules without editing your permalink settings, use the free Flush Rewrite Rules tool in [Slugs Manager: Delete Old Permalinks from WordPress Database](https://wpfactory.com/item/slugs-manager-wordpress-plugin/). Rewrite rules are the map WordPress uses to turn a pretty URL into the right content, and they occasionally need rebuilding after a structure change. You will find the tool under **WPFactory > Slugs Manager**, in the Extra Tools section.

![The Extra Tools section with the Flush Rewrite Rules button in Slugs Manager](https://wpfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/Extra-Tools.png)

### When to flush

- Permalinks return 404s after you changed your permalink structure.
- A newly added custom post type or taxonomy is not resolving at its URL.
- URLs stopped working after activating or deactivating a plugin that registers rewrite rules.

### Steps

1. Go to **WPFactory > Slugs Manager** and scroll to **Extra Tools**.
2. Click **Flush** next to Flush Rewrite Rules.
3. Slugs Manager removes the current rewrite rules and recreates them, then confirms with "Rewrite rules flushed."

Flushing rewrite rules is free and safe to run. It does not change any content or slugs, it only rebuilds the routing map.

### If flushing does not help

- Go to **Settings > Permalinks** and click **Save Changes**, which is the standard WordPress way to rebuild rules.
- Clear any page cache, object cache, or CDN that might still be serving old URLs.
- Check whether another plugin is registering conflicting rewrite rules.

### Get more from Slugs Manager

Flush Rewrite Rules and old slug removal are free. [Slugs Manager: Delete Old Permalinks from WordPress Database](https://wpfactory.com/item/slugs-manager-wordpress-plugin/) Pro adds scheduled clean ups, clean up on save post, and slug regeneration from titles. [See what Pro unlocks](https://wpfactory.com/item/slugs-manager-wordpress-plugin/).

Related articles

- [Getting Started with Slugs Manager: Remove Old Slugs in WordPress](https://wpfactory.com/docs/intro-how-to-use-the-plugin-2/)