Caching Strategy

Repeated work wastes time and resources:

• Reading docs/project/api-strategy.md 5 times in /plan phase (5× file I/O)
• Searching codebase for "user" pattern 3 times (3× grep execution)
• Fetching npm package info for same package repeatedly (3× network calls)
• Counting tokens in spec.md every phase (5× token calculation)
• Web searching "React hooks best practices" multiple times (3× API calls)

This skill implements smart caching with:

1. File read cache: Cache file contents until file modified (mtime check)
2. Search result cache: Cache grep/glob results for 30 minutes
3. Network request cache: Cache npm/web API calls for 15-60 minutes
4. Computed value cache: Cache expensive calculations until inputs change
5. Automatic invalidation: TTL expiration + file modification detection

The result: 20-40% faster workflow execution with zero behavior changes (transparent caching).

1. Project documentation reads (15min TTL):

   • docs/project/api-strategy.md
   • docs/project/system-architecture.md
   • docs/project/tech-stack.md
   • Read once per phase, not 5× per phase

2. Codebase searches (30min TTL):

   • Grep: "user" in **/*.ts → Cache results
   • Glob: **/components/**/*.tsx → Cache file list
   • Repeated in anti-duplication, implementation, review

3. Package registry queries (60min TTL):

   • npm info for package versions
   • Dependency metadata
   • Rarely changes during single workflow

4. Web searches (15min TTL):

   • Documentation lookups
   • Error message searches
   • Best practice research

5. Token counts (until file modified):

   • spec.md token count
   • plan.md token count
   • Recompute only when file changes

After caching:

Phase 1 (/plan):
  - Read api-strategy.md (250ms) → Cache
  - Read tech-stack.md (200ms) → Cache
  - Read api-strategy.md (from cache: 5ms) ← Cached!
  - Grep "user" (3s) → Cache
Total: 3.45s saved 250ms (6.7%)

Across multiple phases:

/plan:   Read api-strategy.md (250ms) → Cache
/tasks:  Read api-strategy.md (from cache: 5ms) ← Saved 245ms
/impl:   Read api-strategy.md (from cache: 5ms) ← Saved 245ms
/opt:    Read api-strategy.md (from cache: 5ms) ← Saved 245ms

Total saved: 735ms on single file across 4 phases

Without caching:

Phase reads:
- api-strategy.md: 7 reads × 250ms = 1.75s
- tech-stack.md: 5 reads × 200ms = 1s
- spec.md: 10 reads × 150ms = 1.5s
- Grep "user": 3 searches × 3s = 9s
- npm info react: 2 calls × 500ms = 1s
Total redundant work: 14.25s

With caching:

Phase reads:
- api-strategy.md: 1 read (250ms) + 6 cache hits (30ms) = 280ms
- tech-stack.md: 1 read (200ms) + 4 cache hits (20ms) = 220ms
- spec.md: 1 read (150ms) + 9 cache hits (45ms) = 195ms
- Grep "user": 1 search (3s) + 2 cache hits (10ms) = 3.01s
- npm info react: 1 call (500ms) + 1 cache hit (5ms) = 505ms
Total with caching: 4.21s

Time saved: 14.25s - 4.21s = 10.04s (70% reduction)

Savings scale with workflow length:

• Single phase: 5-10% faster
• Full /feature (7 phases): 20-30% faster
• /epic (20+ phases): 30-40% faster

Identify operations that are:

• Idempotent: Same input → Same output
• Expensive: Takes >100ms
• Repeated: Called 2+ times
• Predictable: Output doesn't change rapidly

Cacheable:

• File reads (same file, unchanged content)
• Codebase searches (same pattern, unchanged code)
• API calls (package info, docs, rarely changes)
• Expensive computations (token counts, parsing)

Not cacheable:

• User input (unpredictable)
• Current time/date (changes constantly)
• Random values
• System state (memory, CPU)
• Database queries (data changes frequently)

Create unique key for each cacheable operation:

File reads:

Cache key: `file:${absolutePath}`
Example: "file:/project/docs/api-strategy.md"

Grep searches:

Cache key: `grep:${pattern}:${path}:${options}`
Example: "grep:user:**/*.ts:case-insensitive"

Glob patterns:

Cache key: `glob:${pattern}:${cwd}`
Example: "glob:**/components/**/*.tsx:/project"

npm queries:

Cache key: `npm:${operation}:${package}`
Example: "npm:info:react"

Web searches:

Cache key: `web:${query}:${engine}`
Example: "web:React hooks best practices:google"

Token counts:

Cache key: `tokens:${filePath}:${mtime}`
Example: "tokens:/project/spec.md:1704067200"

See references/cache-key-strategies.md for comprehensive patterns.

Before expensive operation:

function readFile(path: string): string {
  const cacheKey = `file:${path}`;

  // Check cache
  const cached = cache.get(cacheKey);
  if (cached && !isExpired(cached) && !isFileModified(path, cached.mtime)) {
    logger.debug('Cache HIT', { key: cacheKey });
    return cached.value;
  }

  // Cache MISS - execute operation
  logger.debug('Cache MISS', { key: cacheKey });
  const content = fs.readFileSync(path, 'utf-8');
  const mtime = fs.statSync(path).mtimeMs;

  // Store in cache
  cache.set(cacheKey, {
    value: content,
    mtime: mtime,
    cachedAt: Date.now(),
    ttl: 15 * 60 * 1000  // 15 minutes
  });

  return content;
}

Cache check logic:

1. Generate cache key
2. Look up in cache
3. If found AND not expired AND input unchanged → Return cached value
4. If not found OR expired OR input changed → Execute operation, cache result

Different operations have different freshness requirements:

Immutable (cache indefinitely):

• npm package versions (once published, never changes)
• Historical git commits
• Published documentation versions

Stable (60min TTL):

• npm package metadata (latest version)
• Project documentation (rarely changes during workflow)
• Codebase structure (files/directories)

Dynamic (15min TTL):

• Web search results
• API documentation (may update)
• Error message searches

File-based (cache until modified):

• File reads → Check mtime
• Token counts → Recompute if file changed
• Parsed AST → Recompute if source changed

Session-based (cache for entire workflow):

• User preferences
• Environment variables
• Project configuration

TTL guidelines:

• Too short: Cache miss overhead negates benefits
• Too long: Stale data causes incorrect results
• Sweet spot: Long enough to avoid repeated work, short enough to stay fresh

Automatically invalidate cache when inputs change:

File modification:

function isCacheValid(cacheEntry, filePath) {
  const currentMtime = fs.statSync(filePath).mtimeMs;
  return cacheEntry.mtime === currentMtime;
}

// Before returning cached file content
if (!isCacheValid(cached, filePath)) {
  // File modified - invalidate cache
  cache.delete(cacheKey);
  // Re-read file
}

TTL expiration:

function isExpired(cacheEntry) {
  const age = Date.now() - cacheEntry.cachedAt;
  return age > cacheEntry.ttl;
}

Manual invalidation:

// When user saves file
onFileSave((filePath) => {
  cache.invalidatePattern(`file:${filePath}*`);
  cache.invalidatePattern(`grep:*`);  // File change may affect search results
});

// When switching git branch
onBranchChange(() => {
  cache.clear();  // Full invalidation
});

Dependency invalidation:

// If spec.md changes, invalidate token count
onFileChange('spec.md', () => {
  cache.delete('tokens:spec.md');
});

Track metrics to optimize caching strategy:

Hit rate:

Hit rate = Cache hits / (Cache hits + Cache misses)

Good: >60% hit rate
Great: >80% hit rate
Excellent: >90% hit rate

Time savings:

Time saved = Σ(Cache hit time - Original operation time)

Example:
- 10 file reads from cache (50ms) vs disk (250ms)
- Saved: 10 × (250ms - 50ms) = 2000ms (2 seconds)

Cache size:

Monitor memory usage
- Target: <50MB cache size
- Evict oldest entries if exceeds limit (LRU eviction)

Metrics to log:

{
  cacheHits: 145,
  cacheMisses: 23,
  hitRate: 0.863,  // 86.3%
  timeSaved: 12450,  // 12.45 seconds
  cacheSize: 34.2,  // MB
  topKeys: [
    { key: 'file:api-strategy.md', hits: 24 },
    { key: 'grep:user:**/*.ts', hits: 12 }
  ]
}

See references/cache-monitoring.md for dashboard setup.

Implementation:

const fileCache = new Map();

function readFileCached(path: string): string {
  const cacheKey = `file:${path}`;
  const stat = fs.statSync(path);
  const currentMtime = stat.mtimeMs;

  const cached = fileCache.get(cacheKey);
  if (cached && cached.mtime === currentMtime) {
    return cached.content;  // Cache HIT
  }

  // Cache MISS
  const content = fs.readFileSync(path, 'utf-8');
  fileCache.set(cacheKey, {
    content,
    mtime: currentMtime,
    size: stat.size
  });

  return content;
}

Use cases:

• Project docs (api-strategy.md, tech-stack.md)
• Spec files (spec.md, plan.md, tasks.md)
• Configuration files (package.json, tsconfig.json)

Invalidation: File mtime changes

Expected hit rate: 70-90% (files read multiple times per phase)

Implementation:

const searchCache = new Map();
const SEARCH_TTL = 30 * 60 * 1000;  // 30 minutes

function grepCached(pattern: string, path: string, options: any): string[] {
  const cacheKey = `grep:${pattern}:${path}:${JSON.stringify(options)}`;

  const cached = searchCache.get(cacheKey);
  if (cached && Date.now() - cached.timestamp < SEARCH_TTL) {
    return cached.results;  // Cache HIT
  }

  // Cache MISS
  const results = execGrep(pattern, path, options);
  searchCache.set(cacheKey, {
    results,
    timestamp: Date.now()
  });

  return results;
}

Use cases:

• Anti-duplication searches (same pattern multiple times)
• Dependency analysis (finding imports/exports)
• Code review (finding patterns across codebase)

Invalidation: 30min TTL or file modifications in search path

Expected hit rate: 40-60% (searches often repeated in same phase)

Implementation:

const networkCache = new Map();

async function npmInfoCached(packageName: string): Promise<any> {
  const cacheKey = `npm:info:${packageName}`;
  const NPM_TTL = 60 * 60 * 1000;  // 60 minutes

  const cached = networkCache.get(cacheKey);
  if (cached && Date.now() - cached.timestamp < NPM_TTL) {
    return cached.data;  // Cache HIT
  }

  // Cache MISS
  const data = await execCommand(`npm info ${packageName} --json`);
  networkCache.set(cacheKey, {
    data,
    timestamp: Date.now()
  });

  return data;
}

Use cases:

• npm package info
• Web documentation fetches
• GitHub API calls (repo info, release data)

Invalidation: 15-60min TTL (depends on data volatility)

Expected hit rate: 50-70% (packages queried multiple times)

Implementation:

const computeCache = new Map();

function countTokensCached(filePath: string): number {
  const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
  const cacheKey = `tokens:${filePath}:${stat.mtimeMs}`;

  const cached = computeCache.get(cacheKey);
  if (cached) {
    return cached.count;  // Cache HIT
  }

  // Cache MISS
  const content = fs.readFileSync(filePath, 'utf-8');
  const count = tokenizer.count(content);  // Expensive operation

  computeCache.set(cacheKey, { count });
  return count;
}

Use cases:

• Token counting
• Code parsing/AST generation
• Complexity analysis
• Checksum calculation

Invalidation: Input file mtime changes

Expected hit rate: 60-80% (same files analyzed repeatedly)

Implementation:

const webCache = new Map();
const WEB_TTL = 15 * 60 * 1000;  // 15 minutes

async function webSearchCached(query: string): Promise<any> {
  const cacheKey = `web:${query}`;

  const cached = webCache.get(cacheKey);
  if (cached && Date.now() - cached.timestamp < WEB_TTL) {
    return cached.results;  // Cache HIT
  }

  // Cache MISS
  const results = await performWebSearch(query);
  webCache.set(cacheKey, {
    results,
    timestamp: Date.now()
  });

  return results;
}

Use cases:

• Documentation lookups
• Error message searches
• Best practice research
• Library usage examples

Invalidation: 15min TTL

Expected hit rate: 30-50% (searches often unique, but some repeated)

Detection patterns:

Repeated file reads:

Phase activity log:
- Read api-strategy.md
- Read tech-stack.md
- Read api-strategy.md  ← DUPLICATE (trigger caching)

Repeated searches:

Search history:
- Grep "user" in **/*.ts
- ... (other work)
- Grep "user" in **/*.ts  ← DUPLICATE (trigger caching)

Repeated API calls:

Network calls:
- npm info react
- ... (other work)
- npm info react  ← DUPLICATE (trigger caching)

Expensive computations:

Computation log:
- Count tokens in spec.md (took 350ms)
- ... (other work)
- Count tokens in spec.md  ← EXPENSIVE + DUPLICATE (trigger caching)

Examples:

Don't cache:

• User input (unpredictable)
• Date.now() (always changes)
• Random values (Math.random())
• Database queries (data changes)
• File writes (side effects)
• Environment variables modified by user

Don't cache (too fast):

• Simple string operations
• Array lookups
• Map/Set operations
• Variable assignments

At workflow start (/feature):

async function precacheCommonDocs() {
  // Pre-load project docs (will be needed in /plan, /tasks, /implement)
  await Promise.all([
    readFileCached('docs/project/api-strategy.md'),
    readFileCached('docs/project/tech-stack.md'),
    readFileCached('docs/project/system-architecture.md')
  ]);
  // Now cached for all phases
}

Prefetch based on workflow phase:

// When entering /plan phase
async function prefetchForPlanPhase() {
  // Plan phase always needs these
  await Promise.all([
    readFileCached('docs/project/api-strategy.md'),
    readFileCached('docs/project/data-architecture.md'),
    grepCached('interface.*Props', '**/*.tsx', {})  // Common search
  ]);
}

Warm cache from previous phase:

// /tasks phase uses output from /plan phase
function warmCacheForTasks() {
  // spec.md and plan.md already read in /plan - should be cached
  readFileCached('specs/NNN-slug/spec.md');
  readFileCached('specs/NNN-slug/plan.md');
}

Without caching:

// /plan phase workflow
const apiStrategy1 = readFile('docs/project/api-strategy.md');  // 250ms (disk read)
// ... analyze versioning strategy

const apiStrategy2 = readFile('docs/project/api-strategy.md');  // 250ms (disk read again)
// ... check deprecation policy

const apiStrategy3 = readFile('docs/project/api-strategy.md');  // 250ms (disk read again)
// ... validate breaking change rules

const apiStrategy4 = readFile('docs/project/api-strategy.md');  // 250ms (disk read again)
// ... generate plan section

const apiStrategy5 = readFile('docs/project/api-strategy.md');  // 250ms (disk read again)
// ... final validation

Total time: 1250ms (1.25 seconds)

With caching:

// First read: Cache MISS (read from disk)
const apiStrategy1 = readFileCached('docs/project/api-strategy.md');  // 250ms
// Store in cache with mtime

// Subsequent reads: Cache HIT (read from memory)
const apiStrategy2 = readFileCached('docs/project/api-strategy.md');  // 5ms
const apiStrategy3 = readFileCached('docs/project/api-strategy.md');  // 5ms
const apiStrategy4 = readFileCached('docs/project/api-strategy.md');  // 5ms
const apiStrategy5 = readFileCached('docs/project/api-strategy.md');  // 5ms

Total time: 270ms
Time saved: 980ms (78% reduction)

Cache invalidation:

// If user edits api-strategy.md during /plan phase
fs.writeFileSync('docs/project/api-strategy.md', newContent);

// Next read detects mtime change
const apiStrategy6 = readFileCached('docs/project/api-strategy.md');
// mtime changed → Cache MISS → Re-read from disk (250ms)
// Update cache with new content

Without caching:

// Task 1: Create user endpoint
const results1 = grep('"user"', '**/*.ts');  // 3000ms (scan entire codebase)

// Task 2: Create user service
const results2 = grep('"user"', '**/*.ts');  // 3000ms (scan again)

// Task 3: Create user model
const results3 = grep('"user"', '**/*.ts');  // 3000ms (scan again)

Total time: 9000ms (9 seconds)

With caching:

// Task 1: Cache MISS (execute grep)
const results1 = grepCached('"user"', '**/*.ts');  // 3000ms
// Store results in cache (30min TTL)

// Task 2: Cache HIT (return cached results)
const results2 = grepCached('"user"', '**/*.ts');  // 10ms

// Task 3: Cache HIT (return cached results)
const results3 = grepCached('"user"', '**/*.ts');  // 10ms

Total time: 3020ms
Time saved: 5980ms (66% reduction)

Cache invalidation:

// If new file created with "user" in it
fs.writeFileSync('src/services/UserService.ts', content);

// Search cache invalidated (codebase changed)
cache.invalidatePattern('grep:*');

// Next grep: Cache MISS (re-execute)
const results4 = grepCached('"user"', '**/*.ts');  // 3000ms
// Picks up new UserService.ts file

Without caching:

// Check current version
const info1 = await execCommand('npm info react --json');  // 500ms (network call)

// Check for vulnerabilities
const info2 = await execCommand('npm info react --json');  // 500ms (network call again)

// Check peer dependencies
const info3 = await execCommand('npm info react --json');  // 500ms (network call again)

Total time: 1500ms

With caching:

// First call: Cache MISS (network call)
const info1 = await npmInfoCached('react');  // 500ms
// Store in cache (60min TTL)

// Subsequent calls: Cache HIT (return cached data)
const info2 = await npmInfoCached('react');  // 5ms
const info3 = await npmInfoCached('react');  // 5ms

Total time: 510ms
Time saved: 990ms (66% reduction)

TTL expiration:

// After 60 minutes (TTL expired)
const info4 = await npmInfoCached('react');  // 500ms (re-fetch)
// Update cache with latest package info

Without caching:

// /plan phase: Check token budget
const tokens1 = countTokens('specs/001/spec.md');  // 350ms (tokenize entire file)

// /tasks phase: Check token budget
const tokens2 = countTokens('specs/001/spec.md');  // 350ms (tokenize again)

// /implement phase: Check token budget
const tokens3 = countTokens('specs/001/spec.md');  // 350ms (tokenize again)

// /optimize phase: Check token budget
const tokens4 = countTokens('specs/001/spec.md');  // 350ms (tokenize again)

Total time: 1400ms (1.4 seconds)

With caching:

// /plan phase: Cache MISS (compute tokens)
const tokens1 = countTokensCached('specs/001/spec.md');  // 350ms
// Cache key includes mtime: "tokens:spec.md:1704067200"

// /tasks phase: Cache HIT (spec.md unchanged)
const tokens2 = countTokensCached('specs/001/spec.md');  // 5ms

// /implement phase: Cache HIT (spec.md unchanged)
const tokens3 = countTokensCached('specs/001/spec.md');  // 5ms

// /optimize phase: Cache HIT (spec.md unchanged)
const tokens4 = countTokensCached('specs/001/spec.md');  // 5ms

Total time: 365ms
Time saved: 1035ms (74% reduction)

Cache invalidation on file modification:

// User updates spec.md during /implement
fs.writeFileSync('specs/001/spec.md', updatedContent);

// mtime changes: 1704067200 → 1704067500

// Next token count: Cache key mismatch
const tokens5 = countTokensCached('specs/001/spec.md');
// New key: "tokens:spec.md:1704067500" (not in cache)
// Cache MISS → Recompute (350ms)

Bad approach:

// Caching timestamp (always changes)
const timestamp = cacheable(() => Date.now());  // WRONG

Correct approach:

// Don't cache non-idempotent operations
const timestamp = Date.now();  // No caching

Rule: Only cache idempotent operations (same input → same output).

Bad approach:

// Caching simple string operations
const uppercased = cacheable((str) => str.toUpperCase());  // WRONG (too fast)

Correct approach:

// Don't cache operations faster than cache overhead
const uppercased = str.toUpperCase();  // Direct call

Rule: Only cache operations taking >100ms.

Bad approach:

// Caching file content for 24 hours
const FILE_TTL = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;  // WRONG (file may change)

Correct approach:

// Check file mtime instead of long TTL
function isCacheValid(cached, filePath) {
  const currentMtime = fs.statSync(filePath).mtimeMs;
  return cached.mtime === currentMtime;
}

Rule: For file-based caching, check mtime. For network caching, use appropriate TTL (15-60min).

Bad approach:

// No size limit or eviction policy
cache.set(key, value);  // Keeps growing forever

Correct approach:

// LRU cache with size limit
const cache = new LRU({ max: 500, maxSize: 50 * 1024 * 1024 });  // 500 entries, 50MB max

Rule: Set cache size limits and use LRU eviction.

Bad approach:

// File changes but cache not invalidated
fs.writeFileSync('api-strategy.md', newContent);
const cached = readFileCached('api-strategy.md');  // Returns old content!

Correct approach:

// Invalidate on file write
fs.writeFileSync('api-strategy.md', newContent);
cache.invalidate('file:api-strategy.md');
const fresh = readFileCached('api-strategy.md');  // Re-reads new content

Rule: Invalidate cache when inputs change (file mtime, TTL expiration, manual invalidation).

1. Hit rate: >60% cache hit rate (most operations served from cache)
2. Time savings: 20-40% reduction in workflow execution time
3. Zero staleness: No stale data served (proper invalidation)
4. Memory usage: Cache size <50MB (efficient memory use)
5. Transparent: Behavior identical to non-cached version (correctness maintained)
6. Measurable: Cache metrics logged (hits, misses, time saved)

Hit rate metrics:

{
  totalRequests: 200,
  cacheHits: 145,
  cacheMisses: 55,
  hitRate: 0.725  // 72.5%
}

Time savings:

{
  totalTimeWithCache: 12.3,  // seconds
  totalTimeWithoutCache: 18.7,  // seconds (estimated)
  timeSaved: 6.4,  // seconds (34% reduction)
  timeSavedPercent: 34.2
}

Cache size:

{
  entries: 347,
  sizeBytes: 42_534_912,  // 42MB
  sizeMB: 40.6
}

Top cached operations:

{
  topKeys: [
    { key: 'file:api-strategy.md', hits: 24, timeSaved: 5800 },
    { key: 'grep:user:**/*.ts', hits: 12, timeSaved: 35800 },
    { key: 'npm:info:react', hits: 8, timeSaved: 3960 }
  ]
}

• Operations are idempotent (same input → same output)
• TTLs appropriate for data volatility
• Invalidation triggers configured (file mtime, manual)
• Cache size limits set (prevent memory exhaustion)
• Metrics collection enabled (hit rate, time saved)
• Behavior identical to non-cached (correctness verified)
• Hit rate >60% (confirms caching is effective)
• Time savings >20% (confirms performance benefit)

Cache key strategies: references/cache-key-strategies.md

• Generating unique cache keys
• Handling complex inputs
• Collision avoidance

Cache monitoring: references/cache-monitoring.md

• Setting up metrics dashboard
• Analyzing cache effectiveness
• Optimizing hit rates

Implementation patterns: references/implementation-patterns.md

• In-memory cache (Map, LRU)
• Persistent cache (Redis, file-based)
• Distributed cache (multi-process)

1. Auto-detection: Repeated operations automatically trigger caching
2. Appropriate caching: Only expensive (>100ms), idempotent, repeated operations cached
3. Correct TTLs: File-based (mtime check), network (15-60min), computed (until input changes)
4. Proper invalidation: Cache invalidated when inputs change (file mtime, TTL, manual)
5. High hit rate: >60% of cacheable operations served from cache
6. Significant savings: 20-40% reduction in workflow execution time
7. Memory efficient: Cache size <50MB, LRU eviction when needed
8. Transparent behavior: Cached operations produce identical results to non-cached
9. Measurable impact: Metrics show time saved, hit rates, cache effectiveness
10. Zero staleness: No stale data served (all invalidation triggers working)

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