Nuxt•4mo ago

Nuxt docker volume for cache management?

Hypothetical question, the website it ready, but I haven't tried this part yet because it would waste a lot of time if it doesn't work out, but wondering if someone here already knows. Doc doesn't mention Docker, and I am also unfamiliar with docker, given this is my first project with everythign. The websites has a lot of caching on the server side, basically the cache is my website's storage. I've given it a max-time life of several weeks to $fetch calls. So during deployment should I link up a volume for cache? ... I am wondering about how to allocate storage for my needs. If so, how to link a docker volume specifically for nuxt cache? And the follow up to that: as I update the server aka next deployment, and it no longer has a the same key, let's call the old defunct key "myFirstKey". Will this "myFirstKey" get cleared once it reaches the max-time life? It definately won't be rang/triggered again for caching/refreshing. I am hoping that where ever the cache it mounted to, the keys store their own states, and the server just scans and removes stale keys automatically. Hope I can get confirmation of on, so I don't waste days trying to do this for it to fail.

11 Replies

kapa.ai•4mo ago

Hi @Thick Black W. I'm kapa.ai, your friendly support bot. I will try to answer your question by searching through the knowledge base. :wave: ---------------------- Nuxt (via Nitro) supports a flexible server-side cache system, and you can configure where the cache is stored using the Nitro storage layer. By default, some cache drivers (like memory or filesystem) are used, but you can explicitly mount a cache directory to a Docker volume for persistence across deployments. How to link a Docker volume for Nuxt cache: 1. Configure Nitro to use a filesystem cache: In your nuxt.config.ts, you can specify a storage mount for cache, pointing to a directory (e.g., /cache):

   export default defineNuxtConfig({
     nitro: {
       storage: {
         cache: {
           driver: 'fs',
           base: '/cache'
         }
       }
     }
   })

   export default defineNuxtConfig({
     nitro: {
       storage: {
         cache: {
           driver: 'fs',
           base: '/cache'
         }
       }
     }
   })

This tells Nitro to use the /cache directory for its cache storage. You can name the mount (cache here) as you like. 2. Mount a Docker volume to that directory: In your docker-compose.yml or Docker run command, mount a volume to /cache:

   services:
     nuxt:
       image: your-nuxt-image
       volumes:
         - nuxt-cache:/cache

   volumes:
     nuxt-cache:

   services:
     nuxt:
       image: your-nuxt-image
       volumes:
         - nuxt-cache:/cache

   volumes:
     nuxt-cache:

This ensures the cache persists across container restarts and deployments, as long as the volume is not deleted. Cache key expiration and cleanup: - Nitro's cache drivers (like filesystem or memory) will respect the TTL (max-age) you set for cached items. Once a key expires, it will not be returned by the cache. - However, expired keys may not be immediately deleted from disk; cleanup depends on the driver implementation. For the filesystem driver, expired files are typically ignored, but actual deletion may require a cleanup process (not always automatic). - If a cache key (like "myFirstKey") is never accessed again, it will not be refreshed, and its data will remain until the TTL expires. After expiration, it will not be served, but the file may still exist until a cleanup occurs. Summary: - Yes, you can and should mount a Docker volume for persistent cache storage if your cache is important. - Configure Nitro to use a filesystem cache at a known path, and mount a Docker volume to that path. - Expired cache keys will not be served, but physical cleanup of expired files may not be immediate or automatic. If you need more advanced cache management (like automatic cleanup of expired files), you may need to implement a custom cleanup process or use a cache backend (like Redis) that handles this for you. The knowledge sources confirm Nitro's storage configuration and mounting, but do not provide explicit details about Docker volume management or automatic cleanup of expired cache files. For more on Nitro storage, see the Nuxt server directory docs. ---------------------- Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon: ----------------------

kapa.ai•4mo ago

<@1321238874634195004> Kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.

Thick Black WOP•4mo ago

@kapa.ai how to set the size of the cache storage, and volume, and if volume available is of less size than cache storage, how to handle that. Finally automatic volume clearing. I want to clarify, does the server not scan for expired keys and doesn't remove them? If so, how to prevent stale keys bloat?

kapa.ai•4mo ago

Let me check the knowledge base for you again. One moment! :books: ---------------------- Based on the provided knowledge sources: 1. Setting the size of the cache storage and volume: - The Nuxt/Nitro documentation and sources do not mention a built-in way to set a maximum size for the cache storage (e.g., limit the number of bytes or files used by the filesystem cache driver). You can configure the cache location (such as mounting a Docker volume), but explicit cache size limits are not documented in the official sources. 2. What happens if the volume is smaller than the cache storage? - There is no mention in the documentation of Nitro or Nuxt handling the case where the cache exceeds the available disk space. If the cache grows beyond the volume's capacity, standard OS behavior applies (writes will fail, and errors may occur). You would need to monitor disk usage at the Docker or system level. 3. Automatic volume clearing and expired key removal: - The documentation states that expired cache keys are not immediately or automatically deleted from disk. For example, with the filesystem driver, expired files are ignored but may remain on disk until a cleanup process is run. There is no built-in, automatic cleanup of expired cache files documented in the sources. This means that stale keys can accumulate and cause bloat if not managed manually or with an external process.

"However, expired keys may not be immediately deleted from disk; cleanup depends on the driver implementation. For the filesystem driver, expired files are typically ignored, but actual deletion may require a cleanup process (not always automatic)."
— Nuxt server directory docs

4. How to prevent stale keys bloat? - Since automatic cleanup is not guaranteed, you may need to implement your own cleanup process (e.g., a cron job that deletes expired files from the cache directory), or use a cache backend like Redis that handles key expiration and cleanup automatically. Summary:
- There is no documented way to set a cache size limit in Nitro/Nuxt. - If your Docker volume is too small, you must monitor and manage disk usage yourself. - Nitro does not automatically remove expired cache files from disk; you need to handle cleanup to prevent bloat. - Consider using a cache backend with built-in eviction/cleanup if this is a concern. If you need more advanced cache management, you may need to implement it outside of Nuxt/Nitro, as the knowledge sources do not describe built-in solutions for these scenarios. ---------------------- Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon: ----------------------

kapa.ai•4mo ago

<@1321238874634195004> Kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.

Thick Black WOP•4mo ago

@kapa.ai well, if swr is true, and the key is never called again, will the cache ever clear up?

kapa.ai•4mo ago

Let me check the knowledge base for you again. One moment! :books: ---------------------- If you set swr: true (stale-while-revalidate) for a route in Nuxt, the server will cache the response and serve it while revalidating in the background when the route is requested again. However, if the key (route) is never called again, the cache entry will remain on disk (or in the configured storage) even after it has expired. The server does not automatically scan for and remove expired cache keys; expired entries are simply ignored when serving requests, but their files may persist and accumulate over time unless you implement a manual cleanup process or use a storage backend that handles eviction automatically. So, to answer your question:
No, if the key is never called again, the cache will not be automatically cleared up by Nuxt/Nitro. Manual intervention or an external cleanup process is required to prevent stale cache bloat Nuxt server directory docs. ---------------------- Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon: ----------------------

kapa.ai•4mo ago

<@1321238874634195004> Kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.

Thick Black WOP•4mo ago

@kapa.ai if the files accumulate to max storage space, does it auto delete then or will it crash?

kapa.ai•4mo ago

Let me check the knowledge base for you again. One moment! :books: ---------------------- I'm sorry, but the knowledge sources do not contain explicit information about what happens if the Nitro cache files accumulate and fill up the available storage space. There is no mention of automatic deletion or eviction of cache files when disk space runs out. Based on the available documentation, you should not expect Nitro or Nuxt to automatically manage disk space by deleting old cache files; if the storage fills up, standard operating system behavior would apply, which could result in write errors or crashes if the application tries to write more data than the disk allows Nuxt server directory docs. If you are concerned about disk space, you will need to implement your own monitoring and cleanup process or use a cache backend that supports automatic eviction. ---------------------- Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon: ----------------------

kapa.ai•4mo ago

<@1321238874634195004> Kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.

Gaming

Programming

Nuxt docker volume for cache management?

Did you find this page helpful?