@cacheable/node-cache

Table of Contents

Node-Cache

Simple and Maintained fast Node.js caching

codecov tests npm npm license

@cacheable/node-cache is compatible with the node-cache package with regular maintenance and additional functionality (async/await and storage adapters). The only thing not implemented is the enableLegacyCallbacks option and functions. If you need them we are happy to take a PR to add them.

  • Fully Compatible with node-cache using {NodeCache}
  • Faster than the original node-cache package 🚀
  • Async/Await functionality with {NodeCacheStore}
  • Storage Adapters via Keyv with {NodeCacheStore}
  • Maintained and Updated Regularly! 🎉

Table of Contents

Getting Started

npm install @cacheable/node-cache --save

Basic Usage

import NodeCache from '@cacheable/node-cache';

const cache = new NodeCache();
cache.set('foo', 'bar');
cache.get('foo'); // 'bar'

cache.set('foo', 'bar', 10); // 10 seconds

cache.del('foo'); // true

cache.set('bar', 'baz', '35m'); // 35 minutes using shorthand

The NodeCache is not the default export, so you need to import it like this:

import {NodeCache} from '@cacheable/node-cache';

const cache = new NodeCache();
cache.set('foo', 'bar');
cache.get('foo'); // 'bar'

NodeCache Performance

The performance is comparable if not faster to the original node-cache package, but with additional features and improvements.

name summary ops/sec time/op margin samples
Cacheable NodeCache - set / get 🥇 117K 9µs ±1.01% 111K
Node Cache - set / get -4.6% 112K 9µs ±1.31% 106K

NodeCache API

constructor(options?: NodeCacheOptions)

Create a new cache instance. You can pass in options to set the configuration:

export type NodeCacheOptions = {
	stdTTL?: number; // The standard ttl as number in seconds for every generated cache element. 0 = unlimited. If string, it will be parsed as shorthand and default to milliseconds if it is a number as a string.
	checkperiod?: number; // Default is 600, 0 means no periodic check
	useClones?: boolean; // Default is true
	deleteOnExpire?: boolean; // Default is true, if false it will keep the key and not delete during an interval check and the value on get() will be undefined
	maxKeys?: number; // Default is -1 (unlimited). If this is set it will throw and error if you try to set more keys than the max.
};

When initializing the cache you can pass in the options to set the configuration like the example below where we set the stdTTL to 10 seconds and checkperiod to 5 seconds.:

const cache = new NodeCache({stdTTL: 10, checkperiod: 5});

When setting deleteOnExpire to true it will delete the key when it expires. If you set it to false it will keep the key but the value on get() will be undefined. You can manage the key with on('expired') event.

const cache = new NodeCache({deleteOnExpire: false});
cache.on('expired', (key, value) => {
	console.log(`Key ${key} has expired with value ${value}`);
});

set(key: string | number, value: any, ttl?: number): boolean

Set a key value pair with an optional ttl (in seconds). Will return true on success. If the ttl is not set it will default to 0 (no ttl).

cache.set('foo', 'bar', 10); // true

mset(data: Array): boolean

Set multiple key value pairs at once. This will take an array of objects with the key, value, and optional ttl.

cache.mset([{key: 'foo', value: 'bar', ttl: 10}, {key: 'bar', value: 'baz'}]); // true

the NodeCacheItem is defined as:

export type NodeCacheItem = {
	key: string;
	value: any;
	ttl?: number;
};

get(key: string | number): T | undefined

Get a value from the cache by key. If the key does not exist it will return undefined.

cache.get('foo'); // 'bar'

mget(keys: Array): Record

Get multiple values from the cache by keys. This will return an object with the keys and values.

const obj = { my: 'value', my2: 'value2' };
const obj2 = { special: 'value3', life: 'value4' };
cache.set('my', obj);
cache.set('my2', obj2);
cache.mget(['my', 'my2']); // { my: { my: 'value', my2: 'value2' }, my2: { special: 'value3', life: 'value4' } }

take(key: string | number): T | undefined

Get a value from the cache by key and delete it. If the key does not exist it will return undefined.

cache.set('foo', 'bar');
cache.take('foo'); // 'bar'
cache.get('foo'); // undefined

del(key: string | number | Array): number

Delete a key from the cache. Will return the number of deleted entries and never fail. You can also pass in an array of keys to delete multiple keys. All examples assume that you have initialized the cache like const cache = new NodeCache();.

cache.del('foo'); // true

passing in an array of keys:

cache.del(['foo', 'bar']); // true

mdel(keys: Array): number

Delete multiple keys from the cache. Will return the number of deleted entries and never fail.

cache.mdel(['foo', 'bar']); // true

ttl(key: string | number, ttl?: number): boolean

Redefine the ttl of a key. Returns true if the key has been found and changed. Otherwise returns false. If the ttl-argument isn't passed the default-TTL will be used.

cache.ttl('foo', 10); // true

getTtl(key: string | number): number | undefined

Get the ttl expiration from Date.now() of a key. If the key does not exist it will return undefined.

cache.getTtl('foo'); // 1725993344859

has(key: string | number): boolean

Check if a key exists in the cache.

cache.set('foo', 'bar');
cache.has('foo'); // true

keys(): string[]

Get all keys from the cache.

await cache.keys(); // ['foo', 'bar']

getStats(): NodeCacheStats

Get the stats of the cache.

cache.getStats(); // {hits: 1, misses: 1, keys: 1, ksize: 2, vsize: 3}

flushAll(): void

Flush the cache. Will remove all keys and reset the stats.

cache.flushAll();
await cache.keys(); // []
cache.getStats(); // {hits: 0, misses: 0, keys: 0, ksize: 0, vsize: 0}

flushStats(): void

Flush the stats. Will reset the stats but keep the keys.

await cache.set('foo', 'bar');
cache.flushStats();
cache.getStats(); // {hits: 0, misses: 0, keys: 0, ksize: 0, vsize: 0}
await cache.keys(); // ['foo']

on(event: string, callback: Function): void

Listen to events. Here are the events that you can listen to:

  • set - when a key is set and it will pass in the key and value.
  • expired - when a key is expired and it will pass in the key and value.
  • flush - when the cache is flushed
  • flush_stats - when the stats are flushed
  • del - when a key is deleted and it will pass in the key and value.
cache.on('set', (key, value) => {
	console.log(`Key ${key} has been set with value ${value}`);
});

NodeCacheStore

NodeCacheStore has a similar API to NodeCache but it is using async / await as it uses the Keyv storage adapters under the hood. This means that you can use all the storage adapters that are available in Keyv and it will work seamlessly with the NodeCacheStore. To learn more about the Keyv storage adapters you can check out the Keyv documentation.

import {NodeCacheStore} from '@cacheable/node-cache';

const cache = new NodeCacheStore();
await cache.set('foo', 'bar');
await cache.get('foo'); // 'bar'

Here is an example of how to use the NodeCacheStore with a primary and secondary storage adapter:

import {NodeStorageCache} from '@cacheable/node-cache';
import {Keyv} from 'keyv';
import {KeyvRedis} from '@keyv/redis';

const primary = new Keyv(); // In-memory storage as primary
const secondary = new Keyv({store: new KeyvRedis('redis://user:pass@localhost:6379')});
const cache = new NodeStorageCache({primary, secondary});

// with storage you have the same functionality as the NodeCache but will be using async/await
await cache.set('foo', 'bar');
await cache.get('foo'); // 'bar'

// if you call getStats() this will now only be for the single instance of the adapter as it is in memory
cache.getStats(); // {hits: 1, misses: 1, keys: 1, ksize: 2, vsize: 3}

When initializing the cache you can pass in the options below:

export type NodeCacheStoreOptions = {
	ttl?: number; // The standard ttl as number in milliseconds for every generated cache element. 0 = unlimited
	primary?: Keyv; // The primary storage adapter
	secondary?: Keyv; // The secondary storage adapter
	maxKeys?: number; // Default is 0 (unlimited). If this is set it will throw and error if you try to set more keys than the max.
	stats?: boolean; // Default is true, if this is set to false it will not track stats
};

Note: the ttl is now in milliseconds and not seconds like stdTTL in NodeCache. You can learn more about using shorthand also in the cacheable documentation as it is fully supported. Here is an example:

const cache = new NodeCacheStore({ttl: 60000 }); // 1 minute as it defaults to milliseconds
await cache.set('foo', 'bar', '1h'); // 1 hour
await cache.set('longfoo', 'bar', '1d'); // 1 day

NodeCacheStore API

  • set(key: string | number, value: any, ttl?: number): Promise - Set a key value pair with an optional ttl (in milliseconds). Will return true on success. If the ttl is not set it will default to 0 (no ttl)
  • mset(data: Array): Promise - Set multiple key value pairs at once
  • get(key: string | number): Promise - Get a value from the cache by key
  • mget(keys: Array): Promise> - Get multiple values from the cache by keys
  • take(key: string | number): Promise - Get a value from the cache by key and delete it
  • del(key: string | number): Promise - Delete a key
  • mdel(keys: Array): Promise - Delete multiple keys
  • clear(): Promise - Clear the cache
  • setTtl(key: string | number, ttl: number): Promise - Set the ttl of a key
  • disconnect(): Promise - Disconnect the storage adapters
  • stats: NodeCacheStats - Get the stats of the cache
  • ttl: number | string - The standard ttl as number in seconds for every generated cache element. < 0 or undefined = unlimited
  • primary: Keyv - The primary storage adapter
  • secondary: Keyv - The secondary storage adapter
  • maxKeys: number - If this is set it will throw and error if you try to set more keys than the max

How to Contribute

You can contribute by forking the repo and submitting a pull request. Please make sure to add tests and update the documentation. To learn more about how to contribute go to our main README https://github.com/jaredwray/cacheable. This will talk about how to Open a Pull Request, Ask a Question, or Post an Issue.

License and Copyright

MIT © Jared Wray