 Jeff Posnick [X](https://twitter.com/jeffposnick) [GitHub](https://github.com/jeffposnick) [Homepage](https://jeffy.info/)
You're locked in a struggle for network reliability. The browser's HTTP cache is
your first line of defense, but as you've learned, it's only really effective
when loading versioned URLs that you've previously visited. On its own, the HTTP
cache is not enough.
Fortunately, two newer tools are available to help turn the tide in your favor:
[service workers](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/Service_Worker_API)
and the
[Cache Storage API](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/CacheStorage).
Since they're so often used together, it's worth learning about them both at the
same time.
## Service workers
A service worker is built into the browser and controlled by a bit of extra
JavaScript code that you are responsible for creating. You deploy this alongside
the other files that make up your actual web application.
A service worker has some special powers. Among other duties, it patiently waits
for your web app to make an outgoing request, and then springs into action by
intercepting it. What the service worker does with this intercepted request is
up to you.
For some requests, the best course of action might be just to allow the request
to continue on to the network, just like what would happen if there were no
service worker at all.
For other requests, though, you can take advantage of something more flexible
than the browser's HTTP cache, and return a reliably fast response without
having to worry about the network. That entails using the other piece of the
puzzle: the Cache Storage API.
## The Cache Storage API
Browser Support
- ' d='M96 183a64 64 0 0 1-23-23L17 64a128 128 0 0 0 111 192l55-96a64 64 0 0 1-87 23Z'/%3E%3Cpath fill='url(%23b)' d='M192 128a64 64 0 0 1-9 32l-55 96A128 128 0 0 0 239 64H128a64 64 0 0 1 64 64Z'/%3E%3Ccircle cx='128' cy='128' r='52' fill='%231a73e8'/%3E%3Cpath fill='url(%23c)' d='M96 73a64 64 0 0 1 32-9h111a128 128 0 0 0-222 0l56 96a64 64 0 0 1 23-87Z'/%3E%3C/svg%3E)
- ' xlink:href='%23A'%3E%3Cstop offset='.76' stop-opacity='0'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.95' stop-opacity='.5'/%3E%3Cstop offset='1'/%3E%3C/radialGradient%3E%3CradialGradient id='F' cx='2523' cy='4680' r='20243' gradientTransform='matrix(-.03715 .99931 -2.12836 -.07913 13579 3530)' xlink:href='%23A'%3E%3Cstop offset='0' stop-color='%2335c1f1'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.11' stop-color='%2334c1ed'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.23' stop-color='%232fc2df'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.31' stop-color='%232bc3d2'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.67' stop-color='%2336c752'/%3E%3C/radialGradient%3E%3CradialGradient id='G' cx='24247' cy='7758' r='9734' gradientTransform='matrix(.28109 .95968 -.78353 .22949 24510 -16292)' xlink:href='%23A'%3E%3Cstop offset='0' stop-color='%2366eb6e'/%3E%3Cstop offset='1' stop-color='%2366eb6e' stop-opacity='0'/%3E%3C/radialGradient%3E%3Cpath id='H' d='M24105 20053a9345 9345 0 01-1053 472 10202 10202 0 01-3590 646c-4732 0-8855-3255-8855-7432 0-1175 680-2193 1643-2729-4280 180-5380 4640-5380 7253 0 7387 6810 8137 8276 8137 791 0 1984-230 2704-456l130-44a12834 12834 0 006660-5282c220-350-168-757-535-565z'/%3E%3Cpath id='I' d='M11571 25141a7913 7913 0 01-2273-2137 8145 8145 0 01-1514-4740 8093 8093 0 013093-6395 8082 8082 0 011373-859c312-148 846-414 1554-404a3236 3236 0 012569 1297 3184 3184 0 01636 1866c0-21 2446-7960-8005-7960-4390 0-8004 4166-8004 7820 0 2319 538 4170 1212 5604a12833 12833 0 007684 6757 12795 12795 0 003908 610c1414 0 2774-233 4045-656a7575 7575 0 01-6278-803z'/%3E%3Cpath id='J' d='M16231 15886c-80 105-330 250-330 566 0 260 170 512 472 723 1438 1003 4149 868 4156 868a5954 5954 0 003027-839 6147 6147 0 001133-850 6180 6180 0 001910-4437c26-2242-796-3732-1133-4392-2120-4141-6694-6525-11668-6525-7011 0-12703 5635-12798 12620 47-3654 3679-6605 7996-6605 350 0 2346 34 4200 1007 1634 858 2490 1894 3086 2921 618 1067 728 2415 728 2952s-271 1333-780 1990z'/%3E%3Cuse fill='url(%23B)' xlink:href='%23H'/%3E%3Cuse fill='url(%23D)' opacity='.35' xlink:href='%23H'/%3E%3Cuse fill='url(%23C)' xlink:href='%23I'/%3E%3Cuse fill='url(%23E)' opacity='.4' xlink:href='%23I'/%3E%3Cuse fill='url(%23F)' xlink:href='%23J'/%3E%3Cuse fill='url(%23G)' xlink:href='%23J'/%3E%3C/svg%3E)
- ' gradientUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%3E%3Cstop offset='.2' stop-color='%239059ff' stop-opacity='0'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.3' stop-color='%238c4ff3' stop-opacity='.1'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.8' stop-color='%237716a8' stop-opacity='.5'/%3E%3Cstop offset='1' stop-color='%236e008b' stop-opacity='.6'/%3E%3C/radialGradient%3E%3CradialGradient id='ff-g' cx='239.1' cy='34.6' r='171.6' gradientUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%3E%3Cstop offset='0' stop-color='%23ffe226'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.1' stop-color='%23ffdb27'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.3' stop-color='%23ffc82a'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.5' stop-color='%23ffa930'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.7' stop-color='%23ff7e37'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.8' stop-color='%23ff7139'/%3E%3C/radialGradient%3E%3CradialGradient id='ff-h' cx='374' cy='-74.3' r='732.2' gradientUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%3E%3Cstop offset='.1' stop-color='%23fff44f'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.5' stop-color='%23ff980e'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.6' stop-color='%23ff5634'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.7' stop-color='%23ff3647'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.9' stop-color='%23e31587'/%3E%3C/radialGradient%3E%3CradialGradient id='ff-i' cx='304.6' cy='7.1' r='536.4' gradientTransform='rotate(84 303 4)' gradientUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%3E%3Cstop offset='0' stop-color='%23fff44f'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.1' stop-color='%23ffe847'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.2' stop-color='%23ffc830'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.3' stop-color='%23ff980e'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.4' stop-color='%23ff8b16'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.5' stop-color='%23ff672a'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.6' stop-color='%23ff3647'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.7' stop-color='%23e31587'/%3E%3C/radialGradient%3E%3CradialGradient id='ff-j' cx='235' cy='98.1' r='457.1' gradientUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%3E%3Cstop offset='.1' stop-color='%23fff44f'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.5' stop-color='%23ff980e'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.6' stop-color='%23ff5634'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.7' stop-color='%23ff3647'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.9' stop-color='%23e31587'/%3E%3C/radialGradient%3E%3CradialGradient id='ff-k' cx='355.7' cy='124.9' r='500.3' gradientUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%3E%3Cstop offset='.1' stop-color='%23fff44f'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.2' stop-color='%23ffe141'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.5' stop-color='%23ffaf1e'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.6' stop-color='%23ff980e'/%3E%3C/radialGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id='ff-a' x1='446.9' y1='76.8' x2='47.9' y2='461.8' gradientUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%3E%3Cstop offset='.1' stop-color='%23fff44f'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.1' stop-color='%23ffe847'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.2' stop-color='%23ffc830'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.4' stop-color='%23ff980e'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.4' stop-color='%23ff8b16'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.5' stop-color='%23ff672a'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.5' stop-color='%23ff3647'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.7' stop-color='%23e31587'/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id='ff-l' x1='442.1' y1='74.8' x2='102.6' y2='414.3' gradientUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%3E%3Cstop offset='.2' stop-color='%23fff44f' stop-opacity='.8'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.3' stop-color='%23fff44f' stop-opacity='.6'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.5' stop-color='%23fff44f' stop-opacity='.2'/%3E%3Cstop offset='.6' stop-color='%23fff44f' stop-opacity='0'/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3C/defs%3E%3Cpath d='M479 166c-11-25-32-52-49-60a249 249 0 0 1 25 73c-27-68-73-95-111-155a255 255 0 0 1-8-14 44 44 0 0 1-4-9 1 1 0 0 0 0-1 1 1 0 0 0-1 0c-60 35-81 101-83 134a120 120 0 0 0-66 25 71 71 0 0 0-6-5 111 111 0 0 1-1-58c-25 11-44 29-58 44-9-12-9-52-8-60l-8 4a175 175 0 0 0-24 21 210 210 0 0 0-22 26 203 203 0 0 0-32 73l-1 2-2 15a229 229 0 0 0-4 34v1a240 240 0 0 0 477 40l1-9c5-41 0-84-15-121zM202 355l3 1-3-1zm55-145zm198-31z' fill='url(%23ff-a)'/%3E%3Cpath d='M479 166c-11-25-32-52-49-60 14 26 22 53 25 72v1a207 207 0 0 1-206 279c-113-3-212-87-231-197-3-17 0-26 2-40-2 11-3 14-4 34v1a240 240 0 0 0 477 40l1-9c5-41 0-84-15-121z' fill='url(%23ff-b)'/%3E%3Cpath d='M479 166c-11-25-32-52-49-60 14 26 22 53 25 72v1a207 207 0 0 1-206 279c-113-3-212-87-231-197-3-17 0-26 2-40-2 11-3 14-4 34v1a240 240 0 0 0 477 40l1-9c5-41 0-84-15-121z' fill='url(%23ff-c)'/%3E%3Cpath d='m362 195 1 1a130 130 0 0 0-22-29C266 92 322 5 331 0c-60 35-81 101-83 134l9-1c45 0 84 25 105 62z' fill='url(%23ff-d)'/%3E%3Cpath d='M257 210c-1 6-22 26-29 26-68 0-80 41-80 41 3 35 28 64 57 79l4 2 7 3a107 107 0 0 0 31 6c120 6 143-143 57-186 22-4 45 5 58 14-21-37-60-62-105-62l-9 1a120 120 0 0 0-66 25l17 16c16 16 58 33 58 35z' fill='url(%23ff-e)'/%3E%3Cpath d='M257 210c-1 6-22 26-29 26-68 0-80 41-80 41 3 35 28 64 57 79l4 2 7 3a107 107 0 0 0 31 6c120 6 143-143 57-186 22-4 45 5 58 14-21-37-60-62-105-62l-9 1a120 120 0 0 0-66 25l17 16c16 16 58 33 58 35z' fill='url(%23ff-f)'/%3E%3Cpath d='m171 151 5 3a111 111 0 0 1-1-58c-25 11-44 29-58 44 1 0 36 0 54 11z' fill='url(%23ff-g)'/%3E%3Cpath d='M18 261a242 242 0 0 0 231 197 207 207 0 0 0 206-279c8 56-20 110-64 146-86 71-169 43-186 31l-3-1c-50-24-71-70-67-110-42 0-57-35-57-35s38-28 89-4c46 22 90 4 90 4 0-2-42-19-58-35l-17-16a71 71 0 0 0-6-5l-5-3c-18-11-52-11-54-11-9-12-9-51-8-60l-8 4a175 175 0 0 0-24 21 210 210 0 0 0-22 26 203 203 0 0 0-32 73c0 1-9 38-5 57z' fill='url(%23ff-h)'/%3E%3Cpath d='M341 167a130 130 0 0 1 22 29 46 46 0 0 1 4 3c55 50 26 121 24 126 44-36 72-90 64-146-27-68-73-95-111-155a255 255 0 0 1-8-14 44 44 0 0 1-4-9 1 1 0 0 0 0-1 1 1 0 0 0-1 0c-9 5-65 92 10 167z' fill='url(%23ff-i)'/%3E%3Cpath d='M367 199a46 46 0 0 0-4-3l-1-1c-13-9-36-18-58-15 86 44 63 193-57 187a107 107 0 0 1-31-6 131 131 0 0 1-11-5c17 12 99 39 186-31 2-5 31-76-24-126z' fill='url(%23ff-j)'/%3E%3Cpath d='M148 277s12-41 80-41c7 0 28-20 29-26s-44 18-90-4c-51-24-89 4-89 4s15 35 57 35c-4 40 16 85 67 110l3 1c-29-15-54-44-57-79z' fill='url(%23ff-k)'/%3E%3Cpath d='M479 166c-11-25-32-52-49-60a249 249 0 0 1 25 73c-27-68-73-95-111-155a255 255 0 0 1-8-14 44 44 0 0 1-4-9 1 1 0 0 0 0-1 1 1 0 0 0-1 0c-60 35-81 101-83 134l9-1c45 0 84 25 105 62-13-9-36-18-58-14 86 43 63 192-57 186a107 107 0 0 1-31-6 131 131 0 0 1-11-5l-3-1 3 1c-29-15-54-44-57-79 0 0 12-41 80-41 7 0 28-20 29-26 0-2-42-19-58-35l-17-16a71 71 0 0 0-6-5 111 111 0 0 1-1-58c-25 11-44 29-58 44-9-12-9-52-8-60l-8 4a175 175 0 0 0-24 21 210 210 0 0 0-22 26 203 203 0 0 0-32 73l-1 2-2 15a279 279 0 0 0-4 34v1a240 240 0 0 0 477 40l1-9c5-41 0-84-15-121zm-24 13z' fill='url(%23ff-l)'/%3E%3C/svg%3E)
- ' xlink:href='%23s-b'%3E%3Cstop offset='0' stop-color='%2324a5f3' stop-opacity='0' /%3E%3Cstop offset='1' stop-color='%231e8ceb' /%3E%3C/radialGradient%3E%3CradialGradient id='s-j' cx='109.3' cy='13.8' r='93.1' gradientTransform='matrix(-.02 1.1 -1.04 -.02 137 -115)' xlink:href='%23s-b'%3E%3Cstop offset='0' stop-opacity='0' /%3E%3Cstop offset='1' stop-color='%235488d6' stop-opacity='0' /%3E%3Cstop offset='1' stop-color='%235d96eb' /%3E%3C/radialGradient%3E%3C/defs%3E%3Crect width='220' height='220' x='22' y='-107' fill='url(%23s-a)' ry='49' transform='matrix(.57 0 0 .57 187 256)' /%3E%3Cg transform='translate(194 190)'%3E%3Ccircle cx='67.8' cy='67.7' fill='url(%23s-c)' paint-order='stroke fill markers' r='54' /%3E%3Ccircle cx='-69.9' cy='69.3' fill='url(%23s-i)' transform='translate(138 -2)' r='54' /%3E%3C/g%3E%3Cellipse cx='120' cy='14.2' fill='url(%23s-j)' rx='93.1' ry='93.7' transform='matrix(.58 0 0 .58 192 250)' /%3E%3Cg transform='matrix(.58 0 0 .57 197 182)'%3E%3Cpath fill='%23cac7c8' d='M46 192h1l72-48-7-9-66 57Z' /%3E%3Cpath fill='%23fbfffc' d='M46 191v1l66-57-7-9-59 65Z' /%3E%3Cpath fill='url(%23s-d)' d='m119 144-7-9 66-57-59 66Z' /%3E%3Cpath fill='%23fb645c' d='m105 126 7 9 66-57-1-1-72 49Z' /%3E%3C/g%3E%3Cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-linecap='round' stroke-miterlimit='1' stroke-width='1.3' d='m287 278 3-2m-12-17 8-2m-8-3h4m-4-13 8 2m-8 3h4m-1-13 7 3m-4-11 7 4m-2-11 6 6m0-12 6 7m1-11 4 6m4-10 3 7m5-9 2 7m15-7-1 7m10-5-3 7m11-4-4 7m11-2-5 6m16 7-7 4m10 4-7 3m10 6-8 1m8 16-8-2m5 10-7-3m4 11-7-4m2 11-6-5m0 11-5-6m-2 11-4-7m-4 11-3-8m-6 10-1-8m-16 8 2-8m-10 5 3-7m-11 4 4-7m-11 2 5-6m-8 3 3-3m4 8 2-3m5 8 2-4m6 7 1-4m8 5v-4m8 4v-4m9 3-1-4m9 1-2-4m9 0-2-4m9-2-3-3m8-4-3-2m8-5-4-2m7-6-4-1m5-8h-4m4-8h-4m3-9-4 1m1-9-4 2m-1-9-3 2m-2-9-3 3m-4-8-2 3m-5-8-2 4m-6-6-1 3m-8-5v4m-8-4v4m-9-2 1 3m-9 0 2 3m-9 1 2 3m-9 2 3 3m-8 4 3 2m-8 5 4 2m-7 6 4 1m-4 25 4-1m-2 5 7-3m-6 7 4-2m-2 6 7-4m-13-21h8m41-41v-8m0 99v-8m49-42h-8' transform='translate(-65 8)' /%3E%3C/svg%3E)
[Source](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/CacheStorage)
The Cache Storage API opens up a whole new range of possibilities, by giving
developers complete control over the contents of the cache. Instead of relying
on a combination of HTTP headers and the browser's built-in [heuristics](https://httpwg.org/specs/rfc7234.html#heuristic.freshness),
the Cache
Storage API exposes a code-driven approach to caching. The Cache Storage API
is particularly useful when called from your service worker's JavaScript.
### Wait... there's another cache to think about now?
You're probably asking yourself questions like "Do I still need to configure my
HTTP headers?" and "What can I do with this new cache that wasn't possible with
the HTTP cache?" Don't worry---those are natural reactions.
It's still recommended that you configure the `Cache-Control` headers on your web
server, even when you know that you're using the Cache Storage API. You can
usually get away with setting `Cache-Control: no-cache` for unversioned URLs,
and/or `Cache-Control: max-age=31536000` for URLs that contain versioning
information, like hashes.
When populating the Cache Storage API cache, the browser
[defaults to checking for existing entries](https://jakearchibald.com/2016/caching-best-practices/#the-service-worker-the-http-cache-play-well-together-dont-make-them-fight)
in the HTTP cache, and uses those if found. If you're adding versioned URLs to
the Cache Storage API cache, the browser avoids an additional network request. The
flip side of this is that if you're using misconfigured `Cache-Control` headers,
like specifying a long-lived cache lifetime for an unversioned URL, you can end
up
[making things worse](https://jakearchibald.com/2016/caching-best-practices/#a-service-worker-can-extend-the-life-of-these-bugs)
by adding that stale content to the Cache Storage API. Getting your HTTP cache
behavior sorted is a prerequisite for effectively using the Cache Storage API.
As for what's now possible with this new API, the answer is: a lot. Some common
uses that would be difficult or impossible with just the HTTP cache include:
- Use a "refresh in the background" approach to cached content, known as stale-while-revalidate.
- Impose a cap on the maximum number of assets to cache, and implement a custom expiration policy to remove items once that limit is reached.
- Compare previously cached and fresh network responses to see if anything's changed, and enable the user to update content (with a button, for example) when data has actually been updated.
Check out [The Cache API: A quick guide](https://web.dev/articles/cache-api-quick-guide) to learn more.
### API nuts and bolts
There are some things to keep in mind about the API's design:
- [`Request`](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/Request) objects are used as the unique keys when reading and writing to these caches. As a convenience, you can pass in a URL string like `'https://example.com/index.html'` as the key instead of an actual `Request` object, and the API will automatically handle that for you.
- [`Response`](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/Response) objects are used as the values in these caches.
- The `Cache-Control` header on a given `Response` is effectively ignored when caching data. There are no automatic, built-in expiration or freshness checks, and once you store an item in the cache, it will persist until your code explicitly removes it. (There are libraries to simplify cache maintenance on your behalf. They'll be covered later on in this series.)
- Unlike with older, synchronous APIs such as [`LocalStorage`](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/Storage/LocalStorage), all Cache Storage API operations are asynchronous.
## A quick detour: Promises and async/await
Service workers and the Cache Storage API use
[asynchronous programming concepts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asynchrony_(computer_programming)).
In particular, they rely heavily on promises to represent the future result of
async operations. You should familiarize yourself with
[promises](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise),
and the related
[`async`](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Statements/async_function)/[`await`](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/await)
syntax, before diving in.
> [!WARNING]
> **Try it:** [Make an application reliable by registering a service worker](https://web.dev/articles/codelab-service-workers).
## Don't deploy that code... yet
While they provide an important foundation, and can be used as-is, both service
workers and the Cache Storage API are effectively lower-level building blocks,
with a number of edge cases and "gotchas". There are some higher-level tools
that can help smooth the difficult bits of those APIs, and provide all you need
to build a production-ready service worker. The next guide covers one such tool:
[Workbox](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/workbox).
> [!TIP]
> **Success:** Learn while having fun. Check out the new [Service Workies game!](https://serviceworkies.com/).