wayback-cache

name	wayback-cache
description	Manage Wayback Machine API cache. Use when clearing cached data, checking cache status, or bypassing cache for fresh API responses. Applies to all wayback operations (check, list, screenshot).

Wayback Cache Management

Manage the OS tmpdir-based cache for Wayback Machine API responses.

Usage

npx tsx scripts/cache.ts <command> [options]

Commands

Command	Description
clear	Clear all cached Wayback data
status	Show cache directory location and file count

Options

Option	Description
--no-cache	Bypass cache for single operation

Cache Location

Cached responses are stored in the OS temporary directory:

os.tmpdir()/wayback-cache/

Cache keys are generated from URLs and parameters using SHA-256 hashing.

Cache TTL by Operation

Operation	TTL	Rationale
Availability API	24 hours	Snapshots don't change often
CDX API	1 hour	Snapshot list can change
Save status	30 seconds	Only during polling

Cached entries expire automatically and are deleted on access.

Script Execution

npx tsx scripts/cache.ts <command> [options]

Commands:

• clear - Clear all cached Wayback data
• status - Show cache directory location and file count

Clear Cache

Remove all cached API responses:

npx tsx scripts/cache.ts clear

This deletes all .json cache files from the cache directory.

Check Cache Status

Display cache information:

npx tsx scripts/cache.ts status

Shows:

• Cache directory path
• Number of cached files
• Total cache size (if available)

Usage Examples

# Clear all cache before checking a URL
npx tsx scripts/cache.ts clear
npx tsx scripts/check.ts https://example.com

# Clear cache, then list snapshots
npx tsx scripts/cache.ts clear
npx tsx scripts/list.ts https://example.com 20

# Check cache status
npx tsx scripts/cache.ts status

Bypass Cache for Single Operation

Individual scripts support --no-cache to skip cache for one operation without clearing all cached data:

npx tsx scripts/check.ts https://example.com --no-cache
npx tsx scripts/list.ts https://example.com --no-cache
npx tsx scripts/screenshot.ts https://example.com --no-cache

The --no-cache flag bypasses reading from cache but still caches the fresh response for future requests.

Cache Key Format

Cache keys are 16-character hexadecimal strings:

a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8.json

Each key represents a unique URL + parameter combination.

Manual Cache Inspection

View cache directory contents:

# On macOS/Linux
ls -la $(getconf DARWIN_USER_TEMP_DIR)/wayback-cache/
# Or
ls -la /tmp/wayback-cache/

# View individual cache file
cat /tmp/wayback-cache/a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8.json | jq

Related

• Use wayback-check to verify if a URL is archived
• Use wayback-list to see all captures with filtering options
• Use wayback-screenshot to retrieve visual screenshots
• Use wayback-submit to create a new archive