FlaskCache

FlaskCache is a caching extension for the Flask web framework. It provides a lightweight, consistent interface for storing and retrieving computed data, enabling applications to avoid repeated work and decrease response times.

The extension supports multiple backends, including in-memory caching, filesystem-based caching, and external services such as Redis and Memcached. It offers a high-level decorator for caching view results, as well as a lower-level API for direct cache access, allowing both simple and fine-grained caching strategies.

Flask integration is designed to work with both simple app instances and application factories. The extension exposes a single cache object that can be initialized with the app in a typical pattern or via an initialization function to support factory-based configurations.

Configuration is done through the Flask config dictionary. Common options include CACHE_TYPE to select the backend, CACHE_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT to set a default expiration, and CACHE_KEY_PREFIX to avoid key collisions. Other backend-specific settings can be provided as needed, making the extension adaptable to different deployment environments.

In practice, FlaskCache is used to cache expensive function results or rendered templates, with automatic expiration and optional manual eviction. It is intended to be straightforward to adopt for projects already using Flask, providing a minimal but practical caching solution. Compared with broader caching ecosystems, FlaskCache focuses on simplicity and ease of use within Flask applications.