---
title: Cache
description: The two-layer workspace cache, index and file, with RAM and Redis stores.
icon: database
---

## What It Does

Every `Workspace` ships with a **two-layer cache** so repeated work against remote backends (S3, GDrive, Slack, ...) hits local state instead of the network:

- **Index cache.** Listings and metadata. The first directory walk hits the API; subsequent ones serve from the index until the TTL expires.
- **File cache.** Object bytes. The first read streams from origin; later pipelines read from cache.

## Stores

Each layer is a pluggable store with two built-ins:

- **RAM** (default): in-process, zero setup, 512 MB file cache and 10-minute index TTL. Best for single-process apps and notebooks.
- **Redis**: shared across workers, processes, and machines. Best for serverless, multi-replica services, or for cache state that survives restarts.

<CodeGroup>

```python Python
from mirage import Workspace
from mirage.cache.file.config import RedisCacheConfig
from mirage.cache.index.config import RedisIndexConfig
from mirage.resource.s3 import S3Config, S3Resource

ws = Workspace(
    {"/s3": S3Resource(S3Config(bucket="my-bucket"))},
    cache=RedisCacheConfig(url="redis://localhost:6379/0", limit="8GB"),
    index=RedisIndexConfig(url="redis://localhost:6379/0", ttl=600),
)
```

```typescript TypeScript
import { RedisFileCacheStore, S3Resource, Workspace } from '@struktoai/mirage-node'

const ws = new Workspace(
  { '/s3': new S3Resource({ bucket: 'my-bucket' }) },
  {
    cache: new RedisFileCacheStore({ url: 'redis://localhost:6379/0', cacheLimit: '8GB' }),
    index: { type: 'redis', url: 'redis://localhost:6379/0', ttl: 600 },
  },
)
```

</CodeGroup>

## Eviction & Limits

The two layers are bounded differently:

| Layer | Holds | Default | Bound | Eviction |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **File cache** | object bytes per virtual path | RAM, 512 MB | `cache_limit` (Py) / `cacheLimit` (TS) | LRU: least-recently-used bytes drop once the total exceeds the limit |
| **Index cache** | directory listings + `FileStat` metadata | RAM, 10-min TTL | `ttl` (seconds) | time-based: entries expire after the TTL, then re-fetch on next access |

Raising the file limit keeps more bytes warm at the cost of memory; lengthening the index TTL serves listings longer between API walks at the cost of staleness.

## Miss/Hit Lifecycle

<CodeGroup>

```python Python
from mirage import Workspace
from mirage.resource.s3 import S3Config, S3Resource

ws = Workspace({"/s3": S3Resource(S3Config(bucket="my-bucket"))})

# 1. Index miss → S3 LIST. Listing stored in index cache.
await ws.execute("ls /s3/data/")

# 2. Index hit → 0 network calls.
await ws.execute('find /s3/data/ -name "*.jsonl"')

# 3. File miss → S3 GET. Bytes stored in file cache.
await ws.execute("cat /s3/data/log.jsonl | wc -l")

# 4. File hit → 0 network calls.
await ws.execute("grep alert /s3/data/log.jsonl")
```

```typescript TypeScript
import { S3Resource, Workspace } from '@struktoai/mirage-node'

const ws = new Workspace({ '/s3': new S3Resource({ bucket: 'my-bucket' }) })

// 1. Index miss → S3 LIST. Listing stored in index cache.
await ws.execute('ls /s3/data/')

// 2. Index hit → 0 network calls.
await ws.execute('find /s3/data/ -name "*.jsonl"')

// 3. File miss → S3 GET. Bytes stored in file cache.
await ws.execute('cat /s3/data/log.jsonl | wc -l')

// 4. File hit → 0 network calls.
await ws.execute('grep alert /s3/data/log.jsonl')
```

</CodeGroup>

## Relationship To Snapshots

The file cache is exactly what a [snapshot](/home/snapshot) serializes: `ws.snapshot()` writes the cached bytes for every touched path into the tar, and `Workspace.load()` restores them into the file cache so a replayed run reads from local state. The index cache is not snapshotted; it rebuilds lazily after load.