laravel-caching-strategies

Laravel Caching Strategies

Core Cache Patterns

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache;

// ✅ remember - cache for a duration
$users = Cache::remember('users:active', now()->addMinutes(30), function () {
    return User::where('active', true)->get();
});

// ✅ rememberForever - cache until manually cleared
$settings = Cache::rememberForever('app:settings', function () {
    return Setting::all()->pluck('value', 'key');
});

// ✅ flexible - stale-while-revalidate pattern
// Fresh for 5 min, serves stale for up to 15 min while revalidating in background
$stats = Cache::flexible('dashboard:stats', [300, 900], function () {
    return DashboardStats::calculate();
});

// ✅ put / get / forget
Cache::put('key', $value, now()->addHours(1));
$value = Cache::get('key', 'default');
Cache::forget('key');

// ❌ Querying the database when cache would suffice
$settings = Setting::all(); // Every request hits the DB

Cache Tags for Grouped Invalidation

// ✅ Tag related cache entries
Cache::tags(['posts', 'users'])->put("user:{$userId}:posts", $posts, 3600);
Cache::tags(['posts'])->put("post:{$postId}", $post, 3600);
Cache::tags(['users'])->put("user:{$userId}:profile", $profile, 3600);

// ✅ Flush all caches for a tag group
Cache::tags(['posts'])->flush(); // Clears all post-related caches

// ✅ Retrieve tagged cache
$posts = Cache::tags(['posts', 'users'])->get("user:{$userId}:posts");

// Note: Cache tags are only supported by redis and memcached drivers

Atomic Locks

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache;

// ✅ Prevent concurrent execution
$lock = Cache::lock('processing:order:' . $orderId, 10); // 10 second lock

if ($lock->get()) {
    try {
        // Process order exclusively
        $this->processOrder($orderId);
    } finally {
        $lock->release();
    }
}

// ✅ Block and wait for lock (up to 5 seconds)
$lock = Cache::lock('report:generate', 30);

$lock->block(5, function () {
    // Acquired lock, do work
    $this->generateReport();
}); // Lock auto-released after closure

// ✅ Cross-process lock with owner token
$lock = Cache::lock('deployment', 120);

if ($lock->get()) {
    $owner = $lock->owner();
    // Pass $owner to another process
}

// In the other process
Cache::restoreLock('deployment', $owner)->release();

// ❌ Forgetting to release locks
$lock->get();
$this->doWork(); // If this throws, lock is never released