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Overview

Caching improves application performance by storing frequently accessed data. Laravel provides a unified API for various cache backends, configured in config/cache.php.

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Default Cache Store

.env
CACHE_STORE=database
config/cache.php
'default' => env('CACHE_STORE', 'database'),

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Available Cache Drivers

Laravel supports multiple cache drivers:
  • array - In-memory cache (testing only)
  • database - Database table storage
  • file - File-based storage
  • memcached - Memcached server
  • redis - Redis server
  • dynamodb - Amazon DynamoDB
  • octane - Laravel Octane cache
  • failover - Fallback between multiple stores
  • null - No caching (testing)

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Array Cache

Stores cache in memory during request. Perfect for testing.
config/cache.php
'array' => [
    'driver' => 'array',
    'serialize' => false,
],
The array cache is cleared after each request. Only use for testing.

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Database Cache

Stores cache in a database table. Good for shared hosting or when Redis isn’t available.

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Environment Variables

.env
CACHE_STORE=database
DB_CACHE_TABLE=cache

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Configuration

config/cache.php
'database' => [
    'driver' => 'database',
    'connection' => env('DB_CACHE_CONNECTION'),
    'table' => env('DB_CACHE_TABLE', 'cache'),
    'lock_connection' => env('DB_CACHE_LOCK_CONNECTION'),
    'lock_table' => env('DB_CACHE_LOCK_TABLE'),
],

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Setup

Create the cache table using the migration: 
php artisan migrate
The cache table migration is included in Laravel by default at: database/migrations/0001_01_01_000001_create_cache_table.php
The database cache driver requires a cache table to be created via migrations.

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File Cache

Stores cache as files on disk.
config/cache.php
'file' => [
    'driver' => 'file',
    'path' => storage_path('framework/cache/data'),
    'lock_path' => storage_path('framework/cache/data'),
],
Ensure the cache directory is writable by the web server.

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Memcached Cache

Uses Memcached for distributed caching.

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Environment Variables

.env
CACHE_STORE=memcached
MEMCACHED_HOST=127.0.0.1
MEMCACHED_PORT=11211
MEMCACHED_USERNAME=
MEMCACHED_PASSWORD=

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Configuration

config/cache.php
'memcached' => [
    'driver' => 'memcached',
    'persistent_id' => env('MEMCACHED_PERSISTENT_ID'),
    'sasl' => [
        env('MEMCACHED_USERNAME'),
        env('MEMCACHED_PASSWORD'),
    ],
    'options' => [
        // Memcached::OPT_CONNECT_TIMEOUT => 2000,
    ],
    'servers' => [
        [
            'host' => env('MEMCACHED_HOST', '127.0.0.1'),
            'port' => env('MEMCACHED_PORT', 11211),
            'weight' => 100,
        ],
    ],
],
You can add multiple servers for load distribution:
'servers' => [
    ['host' => '127.0.0.1', 'port' => 11211, 'weight' => 100],
    ['host' => '127.0.0.2', 'port' => 11211, 'weight' => 100],
],

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Redis Cache

Uses Redis for high-performance caching. Recommended for production.

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Environment Variables

.env
CACHE_STORE=redis
REDIS_HOST=127.0.0.1
REDIS_PASSWORD=null
REDIS_PORT=6379
REDIS_CACHE_DB=1

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Configuration

config/cache.php
'redis' => [
    'driver' => 'redis',
    'connection' => env('REDIS_CACHE_CONNECTION', 'cache'),
    'lock_connection' => env('REDIS_CACHE_LOCK_CONNECTION', 'default'),
],
Redis cache uses database 1 by default to separate it from other Redis data.

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DynamoDB Cache

Uses Amazon DynamoDB for distributed caching.

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Environment Variables

.env
CACHE_STORE=dynamodb
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-key-id
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret-key
AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=us-east-1
DYNAMODB_CACHE_TABLE=cache

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Configuration

config/cache.php
'dynamodb' => [
    'driver' => 'dynamodb',
    'key' => env('AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID'),
    'secret' => env('AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY'),
    'region' => env('AWS_DEFAULT_REGION', 'us-east-1'),
    'table' => env('DYNAMODB_CACHE_TABLE', 'cache'),
    'endpoint' => env('DYNAMODB_ENDPOINT'),
],

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Octane Cache

Uses Laravel Octane’s in-memory cache.
config/cache.php
'octane' => [
    'driver' => 'octane',
],
Requires Laravel Octane to be installed and running.

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Failover Cache

Automatically falls back to secondary cache if primary fails.
config/cache.php
'failover' => [
    'driver' => 'failover',
    'stores' => [
        'database',
        'array',
    ],
],
Use failover to ensure cache availability even when primary cache is down.

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Cache Key Prefix

Prevents key collisions when multiple applications share the same cache server.
config/cache.php
'prefix' => env('CACHE_PREFIX', Str::slug((string) env('APP_NAME', 'laravel')).'-cache-'),
.env
CACHE_PREFIX=myapp-cache-

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Using the Cache

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Storing Items

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache;

// Store forever
Cache::put('key', 'value');

// Store for duration
Cache::put('key', 'value', $seconds);
Cache::put('key', 'value', now()->addMinutes(10));

// Store if doesn't exist
Cache::add('key', 'value', $seconds);

// Store forever
Cache::forever('key', 'value');

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Retrieving Items

// Get value
$value = Cache::get('key');

// Get with default
$value = Cache::get('key', 'default');

// Get and delete
$value = Cache::pull('key');

// Remember (get or store)
$value = Cache::remember('users', $seconds, function () {
    return DB::table('users')->get();
});

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Removing Items

// Delete specific key
Cache::forget('key');

// Clear all cache
Cache::flush();

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Using Multiple Stores

// Use specific store
Cache::store('redis')->put('key', 'value');
$value = Cache::store('database')->get('key');

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Cache Tags

Group related cache items (Redis and Memcached only): 
Cache::tags(['people', 'authors'])->put('john', $john, $seconds);

// Retrieve tagged items
$john = Cache::tags(['people', 'authors'])->get('john');

// Flush all items with tag
Cache::tags(['people'])->flush();
Cache tags are only supported by memcached and redis drivers.

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Cache Events

Listen to cache events: 
use Illuminate\Cache\Events\CacheHit;
use Illuminate\Cache\Events\CacheMissed;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Event;

Event::listen(CacheHit::class, function (CacheHit $event) {
    // $event->key
    // $event->value
});

Event::listen(CacheMissed::class, function (CacheMissed $event) {
    // $event->key
});

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Artisan Commands

# Clear application cache
php artisan cache:clear

# Clear specific cache store
php artisan cache:clear --store=redis

# Create cache table migration
php artisan cache:table

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Best Practices

1

Use Redis for production

Redis offers the best performance and features for production caching.
2

Set appropriate TTLs

Always set expiration times to prevent stale data and memory issues.
3

Use cache tags

Group related items with tags for easier invalidation.
4

Monitor cache hit rates

Track cache effectiveness and adjust strategy accordingly.

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Next Steps

Session Configuration

Configure session storage

Queue Configuration

Set up background job processing

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