Caching

Express Forge provides a flexible caching layer to boost your API performance and reduce database load. You can choose between Redis (distributed) or Node-Cache (in-memory) during the scaffolding process.

Supported Drivers

🔴 Redis

Recommended for production environments and distributed systems where multiple server instances need to share a cache.

• Requirement: A running Redis instance.
• Config: Set REDIS_URL in your .env file.

💾 Node-Cache

An in-memory caching solution that requires zero external dependencies. Perfect for simple applications or single-server setups.

• Requirement: None.
• Config: Automatic.

Usage

The caching logic is encapsulated in src/cache/index.ts. It provides a unified interface regardless of the driver you chose.

Getting a Value

import { cache } from '../cache/index.js';

const user = await cache.get('user:123');
if (user) {
  return JSON.parse(user);
}

Setting a Value

You can optionally set a Time-To-Live (TTL) in seconds.

import { cache } from '../cache/index.js';

// Cache for 1 hour (3600 seconds)
await cache.set('user:123', JSON.stringify(userData), 3600);

Deleting a Value

import { cache } from '../cache/index.js';

await cache.del('user:123');

Best Practices

1. Cache Invalidation: Always delete or update the cache when the underlying data in the database changes.
2. Serialization: Since Redis only stores strings, ensure you JSON.stringify() your objects before setting and JSON.parse() when getting.
3. Fail-Safe: Express Forge handles Redis connection errors gracefully via the logger, preventing your entire app from crashing if the cache is down.