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diff --git a/content/blog/2022-02-20-nginx-caching.md b/content/blog/2022-02-20-nginx-caching.md deleted file mode 100644 index 5c5d29b..0000000 --- a/content/blog/2022-02-20-nginx-caching.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,72 +0,0 @@ -+++ -date = 2022-02-20 -title = "Caching Static Content with Nginx" -description = "Learn how to enable the static content cache in Nginx." -+++ - -## Update Your Nginx Config to Cache Static Files - -If you run a website on Nginx that serves static content (i.e., content -that is not dynamic and changing with interactions from the user), you -would likely benefit from caching that content on the client-side. If -you're used to Apache and looking for the Nginx equivalent, this post -should help. - -Luckily, setting up the cache is as easy as identifying the file types -you want to cache and determining the expiration length. To include more -file types, simply use the bar separator (`|`) and type the -new file extension you want to include. - -```config -server { - ... - - location ~* .(css|js|jpg|jpeg|gif|png|ico)$ { - expires 30d; - } - - ... -} -``` - -I have seen some people who prefer to set `expires` as -`365d` or even `max`, but that is only for stable, -infrequently changing websites. As my site often changes (i.e., I'm -never content with my website), I need to know that my readers are -seeing the new content without waiting too long. - -So, I went ahead and set the expiration date at `30d`, which -is short enough to refresh for readers but long enough that -clients/browsers won't be re-requesting the static files too often, -hopefully resulting in faster loading times, as images should be the -only thing slowing down my site. - -## Testing Results - -To test my changes to the Nginx configuration, I used the [HTTP Header -Live](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/http-header-live/) -extension on my Gecko browser and used the sidebar to inspect the -headers of a recent image from my blog. - -In the image below, you can see that the `Cache-Control` -header is now present and set to 2592000, which is 30 days represented -in seconds (30 days \_ 24 hours/day \_ 60 minutes/hour \* 60 -seconds/minute = 2,592,000 seconds). - -The `Expires` field is now showing 22 March 2022, which is 30 -days from the day of this post, 20 February 2022. - - - -## Caveats - -Remember that this caching system is **client-side**, which means that -content is only cached for as long as a client allows it. For example, -my browser purges all caches, data, etc. upon exit, so this caching -policy will only work as long as my browser remains open and running. - -If you need to test updates to your site, you'll need to clear the -cache to see updates for any file extension you configured. This can -often be done with the `Shift + F5` or `Ctrl + F5` -key combinations in most browsers. |