| name | implementing-database-caching |
| description | Process use when you need to implement multi-tier caching to improve database performance.
This skill sets up Redis, in-memory caching, and CDN layers to reduce database load.
Trigger with phrases like "implement database caching", "add Redis cache layer",
"improve query performance with caching", or "reduce database load".
|
| allowed-tools | Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, Bash(redis-cli:*), Bash(docker:redis:*) |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| author | Jeremy Longshore <jeremy@intentsolutions.io> |
| license | MIT |
| compatible-with | claude-code, codex, openclaw |
| tags | ["database","redis","performance"] |
Database Cache Layer
Overview
Implement multi-tier caching strategies using Redis, application-level in-memory caches, and query result caching to reduce database load and improve read latency. This skill covers cache-aside, write-through, and write-behind patterns with proper invalidation strategies, TTL configuration, and cache stampede prevention.
Prerequisites
- Redis server (6.x+) available or Docker for running
docker run redis:7-alpine
redis-cli installed for cache inspection and debugging- Application framework with Redis client library (ioredis, redis-py, Jedis, go-redis)
- Database query profiling data identifying read-heavy and slow queries
- Understanding of data freshness requirements (how stale can cached data be)
- Monitoring tools for cache hit rate and Redis memory usage
Instructions
-
Profile database queries to identify caching candidates. Focus on queries that: execute more than 100 times per minute, take longer than 50ms, return data that changes less frequently than every 5 minutes, and produce results smaller than 1MB. Use pg_stat_statements or MySQL slow query log.
-
Design the cache key schema with a consistent naming convention: service:entity:identifier:variant. Examples: app:user:12345:profile, app:products:category:electronics:page:1. Include a version prefix to enable bulk invalidation: v2:app:user:12345.
-
Implement the cache-aside pattern for read-heavy data:
- Check Redis first:
GET app:user:12345:profile
- On cache miss: query database, then
SET app:user:12345:profile <json> EX 3600
- On data update:
DEL app:user:12345:profile to invalidate
- Wrap in a helper function that abstracts cache-then-database logic
-
Configure TTL values based on data change frequency:
- Static reference data (countries, categories): TTL 24 hours or longer
- User profile data: TTL 15-60 minutes
- Product listings: TTL 5-15 minutes
- Session data: TTL matching session timeout
- Real-time data (inventory counts, prices): TTL 30-60 seconds or skip caching
-
Implement cache stampede prevention for high-traffic cache keys:
- Probabilistic early expiration: Refresh cache at
TTL * 0.8 with probability
