Cache Tag Helper in ASP.NET Core MVC
The Cache Tag Helper provides the ability to improve the performance of your ASP.NET Core app by caching its content to the internal ASP.NET Core cache provider.
For an overview of Tag Helpers, see Tag Helpers in ASP.NET Core.
The following Razor markup caches the current date:
<cache>@DateTime.Now</cache>
The first request to the page that contains the Tag Helper displays the current date. Additional requests show the cached value until the cache expires (default 20 minutes) or until the cached date is evicted from the cache.
Cache Tag Helper Attributes
enabled
Attribute Type | Examples | Default |
---|---|---|
Boolean | true , false |
true |
enabled
determines if the content enclosed by the Cache Tag Helper is cached. The default is true
. If set to false
, the rendered output is not cached.
Example:
<cache enabled="true">
Current Time Inside Cache Tag Helper: @DateTime.Now
</cache>
expires-on
Attribute Type | Example |
---|---|
DateTimeOffset |
@new DateTime(2025,1,29,17,02,0) |
expires-on
sets an absolute expiration date for the cached item.
The following example caches the contents of the Cache Tag Helper until 5:02 PM on January 29, 2025:
<cache expires-on="@new DateTime(2025,1,29,17,02,0)">
Current Time Inside Cache Tag Helper: @DateTime.Now
</cache>
expires-after
Attribute Type | Example | Default |
---|---|---|
TimeSpan |
@TimeSpan.FromSeconds(120) |
20 minutes |
expires-after
sets the length of time from the first request time to cache the contents.
Example:
<cache expires-after="@TimeSpan.FromSeconds(120)">
Current Time Inside Cache Tag Helper: @DateTime.Now
</cache>
The Razor View Engine sets the default expires-after
value to twenty minutes.
expires-sliding
Attribute Type | Example |
---|---|
TimeSpan |
@TimeSpan.FromSeconds(60) |
Sets the time that a cache entry should be evicted if its value hasn't been accessed.
Example:
<cache expires-sliding="@TimeSpan.FromSeconds(60)">
Current Time Inside Cache Tag Helper: @DateTime.Now
</cache>
vary-by-header
Attribute Type | Examples |
---|---|
String | User-Agent , User-Agent,content-encoding |
vary-by-header
accepts a comma-delimited list of header values that trigger a cache refresh when they change.
The following example monitors the header value User-Agent
. The example caches the content for every different User-Agent
presented to the web server:
<cache vary-by-header="User-Agent">
Current Time Inside Cache Tag Helper: @DateTime.Now
</cache>
vary-by-query
Attribute Type | Examples |
---|---|
String | Make , Make,Model |
vary-by-query
accepts a comma-delimited list of Keys in a query string (Query) that trigger a cache refresh when the value of any listed key changes.
The following example monitors the values of Make
and Model
. The example caches the content for every different Make
and Model
presented to the web server:
<cache vary-by-query="Make,Model">
Current Time Inside Cache Tag Helper: @DateTime.Now
</cache>
vary-by-route
Attribute Type | Examples |
---|---|
String | Make , Make,Model |
vary-by-route
accepts a comma-delimited list of route parameter names that trigger a cache refresh when the route data parameter value changes.
Example:
Startup.cs
:
routes.MapRoute(
name: "default",
template: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{Make?}/{Model?}");
Index.cshtml
:
<cache vary-by-route="Make,Model">
Current Time Inside Cache Tag Helper: @DateTime.Now
</cache>
vary-by-cookie
Attribute Type | Examples |
---|---|
String | .AspNetCore.Identity.Application , .AspNetCore.Identity.Application,HairColor |
vary-by-cookie
accepts a comma-delimited list of cookie names that trigger a cache refresh when the cookie values change.
The following example monitors the cookie associated with ASP.NET Core Identity. When a user is authenticated, a change in the Identity cookie triggers a cache refresh:
<cache vary-by-cookie=".AspNetCore.Identity.Application">
Current Time Inside Cache Tag Helper: @DateTime.Now
</cache>
vary-by-user
Attribute Type | Examples | Default |
---|---|---|
Boolean | true , false |
true |
vary-by-user
specifies whether or not the cache resets when the signed-in user (or Context Principal) changes. The current user is also known as the Request Context Principal and can be viewed in a Razor view by referencing @User.Identity.Name
.
The following example monitors the current logged in user to trigger a cache refresh:
<cache vary-by-user="true">
Current Time Inside Cache Tag Helper: @DateTime.Now
</cache>
Using this attribute maintains the contents in cache through a sign-in and sign-out cycle. When the value is set to true
, an authentication cycle invalidates the cache for the authenticated user. The cache is invalidated because a new unique cookie value is generated when a user is authenticated. Cache is maintained for the anonymous state when no cookie is present or the cookie has expired. If the user is not authenticated, the cache is maintained.
vary-by
Attribute Type | Example |
---|---|
String | @Model |
vary-by
allows for customization of what data is cached. When the object referenced by the attribute's string value changes, the content of the Cache Tag Helper is updated. Often, a string-concatenation of model values are assigned to this attribute. Effectively, this results in a scenario where an update to any of the concatenated values invalidates the cache.
The following example assumes the controller method rendering the view sums the integer value of the two route parameters, myParam1
and myParam2
, and returns the sum as the single model property. When this sum changes, the content of the Cache Tag Helper is rendered and cached again.
Action:
public IActionResult Index(string myParam1, string myParam2, string myParam3)
{
int num1;
int num2;
int.TryParse(myParam1, out num1);
int.TryParse(myParam2, out num2);
return View(viewName, num1 + num2);
}
Index.cshtml
:
<cache vary-by="@Model">
Current Time Inside Cache Tag Helper: @DateTime.Now
</cache>
priority
Attribute Type | Examples | Default |
---|---|---|
CacheItemPriority |
High , Low , NeverRemove , Normal |
Normal |
priority
provides cache eviction guidance to the built-in cache provider. The web server evicts Low
cache entries first when it's under memory pressure.
Example:
<cache priority="High">
Current Time Inside Cache Tag Helper: @DateTime.Now
</cache>
The priority
attribute doesn't guarantee a specific level of cache retention. CacheItemPriority
is only a suggestion. Setting this attribute to NeverRemove
doesn't guarantee that cached items are always retained. See the topics in the Additional Resources section for more information.
The Cache Tag Helper is dependent on the memory cache service. The Cache Tag Helper adds the service if it hasn't been added.