Caching Strategies

Quick Guide: Choose the right caching strategy for your use case: cache-aside for read-heavy data, write-through for consistency, write-behind for write-heavy workloads. Always set TTL to prevent stale data and memory exhaustion. Use HTTP caching headers (Cache-Control, ETag, Last-Modified) for API responses. Prevent cache stampedes with locking or request coalescing. Measure cache hit rates before and after -- caching without metrics is guessing.

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CRITICAL: Before Using This Skill

All code must follow project conventions in CLAUDE.md (kebab-case, named exports, import ordering, import type, named constants)

(You MUST set TTL on ALL cached data -- cache without TTL leads to memory exhaustion and infinitely stale data)

(You MUST use namespaced cache keys with a consistent prefix -- generic keys cause collisions across data types)

(You MUST invalidate or update cache entries on writes -- serving stale data after mutation breaks user trust)

(You MUST implement stampede prevention (locking or coalescing) for high-traffic cache keys -- concurrent misses can overwhelm your data source)