Cache Revalidation

Learn how to force fresh scrapes and bypass cache when needed.

Premium Feature

What is Cache Revalidation?

Cache revalidation allows you to force the API to perform a fresh scrape of a URL, bypassing any existing cache entries. This is useful when you know the content has changed and you need the latest data immediately.

Premium Feature

Cache revalidation is only available for Premium tier users. Free tier users must wait for the cache to expire naturally (1 day).

How It Works

Revalidation Process

Add revalidate=true to your request
API checks for existing cache entry
If found, the cache entry is deleted
A fresh scrape is performed
New data is cached with the configured cache duration
Fresh data is returned in the response

Usage Examples

Add revalidate=true as a query parameter to force a fresh scrape.

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Response Indicators

Cache Status Headers

When revalidating, the response will include:

X-Cache: MISS - Indicates a fresh scrape was performed
X-Cache-Expires-At - New expiration timestamp
cached: false - In the JSON response body

When to Use Revalidation

✅ Good Use Cases

• Content was recently updated
• Testing changes to a website
• Debugging scraping issues
• One-time fresh data fetch

❌ Avoid Overuse

• Don't revalidate on every request
• Cache is there to save costs
• Only revalidate when necessary
• Consider cache duration instead

Best Practices

Revalidation Tips

• Use revalidation sparingly to avoid unnecessary API calls
• Consider adjusting cache duration instead of frequent revalidation
• Implement user-triggered revalidation for admin interfaces
• Monitor your API usage when using revalidation
• Combine with custom cacheTime for optimal control