CleverCache

⚠️ V2 contains breaking changes. Read the V1 → V2 Migration Guide before upgrading.

CleverCache solves the problem of remembering when to invalidate cache entries when underlying data changes — especially when a cache entry contains data from multiple entity types.

With a small amount of configuration, CleverCache automatically tracks entity changes via EF Core and clears related cache entries whenever data is created, updated, or deleted.

🚀 MediatR users

Install CleverCache.MediatR for automatic query caching with zero changes to your handlers — just add [AutoCache] to your query and CleverCache handles the rest, including automatic invalidation.

→ MediatR Integration wiki

Automatic invalidation requires Entity Framework Core. CleverCache hooks into EF Core as a SaveChangesInterceptor — entries are cleared automatically when SaveChanges or SaveChangesAsync completes. Writes that bypass the change tracker (raw SQL, stored procedures, external services) won't trigger automatic invalidation — see Bulk Operations.

No EF Core? You can still use CleverCache for manual invalidation — RemoveByType<T>() understands your full dependency tree and cascades automatically.

Install

Install-Package CleverCache

Or via the .NET CLI:

dotnet add package CleverCache

Quick start

// 1. Register services
builder.Services.AddCleverCache();

// 2. Add the interceptor to your DbContext
public class AppDbContext(IInterceptor cleverCacheInterceptor) : DbContext
{
    protected override void OnConfiguring(DbContextOptionsBuilder optionsBuilder)
        => optionsBuilder.AddInterceptors(cleverCacheInterceptor);
}

// 3. Register the middleware
app.UseCleverCache<AppDbContext>();

// 4. Use it
public class OrderService(ICleverCache cache, AppDbContext db)
{
    public async Task<List<Order>> GetAllAsync()
        => await cache.GetOrCreateAsync<Order, List<Order>>(
               "orders-all",
               async () => await db.Orders.ToListAsync()
           ) ?? [];
}

When any Order is saved via EF Core, the "orders-all" entry is automatically evicted.

📖 Full documentation

Topic
Getting Started	Setup, interceptor registration, EF Core requirement
Caching Data	GetOrCreate, multi-type, entry options
Cache Providers	Memory, distributed, Redis, custom
Dependent Caches	AddKeyToType, AddDependentCache, [DependentCaches] attribute
MediatR Integration	[AutoCache], [InvalidatesCache], pipeline setup
Bulk Operations	ExecuteDelete/ExecuteUpdate workarounds
Unit Testing	FakeCache, mocking ICleverCache