Cache Adapters Overview | @express-route-cache
Compare Memory, Redis (ioredis), and Memcached (memjs) cache adapters for Express.js. Choose the right storage backend for your production environment.
Adapters
@express-route-cache is adapter-agnostic. You can swap storage engines depending on your production environment.
Available Adapters
| Adapter | Best For | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | Local dev / Single-instance | None (Built-in) |
| Redis | Production / Distributed | ioredis |
| Memcached | Production / Distributed | memjs |
Which one should I choose?
- Use Memory if you are running a single Node.js process and don't need the cache to persist between restarts.
- Use Redis (Recommended) for most production apps. it allows multiple server instances to share the same cache and is extremely fast.
- Use Memcached if your infrastructure already uses it or if you only need simple key-value caching without complex data structures.
Creating a Custom Adapter
You can build your own adapter by implementing the CacheClient interface. See the API Reference for the full method signatures and requirements.
Standalone Fetch | @express-route-cache
Use cache.fetch() for manual data caching with SWR, Stampede Protection, and exponential backoff retries — not just for Express routes.
In-Memory Cache Adapter | @express-route-cache
High-performance in-memory caching for single-process Express.js applications and local development. Built into @express-route-cache/core, zero dependencies.