Why does the static assets rule use max-age=31536000, immutable and HTML doesn't?

Hashed static assets (a filename like app.a1b2c3.js) change their URL whenever their content changes, so it's safe to tell the browser to cache them forever and never re-check. HTML documents are usually served at a stable URL and are what references those hashed asset URLs, so they need to be revalidated on every request or users could get a stale page pointing at assets that no longer exist.

What does Cache-Control: no-cache actually mean, doesn't 'no-cache' mean 'don't cache'?

Despite the name, no-cache does allow storing the response, it just requires revalidating with the origin (a conditional request) before reusing the cached copy every time. If you genuinely want nothing stored, use no-store instead; this tool uses no-cache for API JSON since revalidation is usually cheap and worthwhile for a mostly-fresh, sometimes-changing response.

Can I select more than one asset type at once?

Yes, select as many as apply to your project and the tool outputs one _headers rule block per type, each with its own path pattern and Cache-Control value, ready to combine in a single file.

Do these path patterns match my actual project structure?

The patterns (/assets/*, /images/*, /fonts/*, /api/*, /*.html) are common conventions, but you should adjust them to match where your build actually places these files before deploying; paste the output into the general _headers Generator if you need to rename the paths.

Cloudflare Caching Rules - Cache-Control Generator

Overview

Introduction

Picking the right Cache-Control value per asset type is one of the highest-leverage, easiest-to-get-wrong parts of deploying a static site, cache HTML too aggressively and users get stale pages, cache nothing and you lose the performance win entirely.

This tool generates a Cache-Control rule per asset type you select, each pre-set to the value that reflects how often that type of file actually changes.

What Is Cloudflare Pages Caching Rule Generator?

A caching-rule generator covering five common asset categories: static/immutable JS-CSS bundles, HTML documents, API JSON responses, images, and fonts, each mapped to a recommended Cache-Control value and a matching path pattern.

The output is a Cloudflare Pages _headers snippet, one rule block per selected asset type, with a comment explaining why that value fits that asset type.

How Cloudflare Pages Caching Rule Generator Works

Each asset type is a fixed lookup: static/immutable assets get `public, max-age=31536000, immutable`, HTML gets `public, max-age=0, must-revalidate`, API JSON gets `no-cache`, images get a one-week `max-age=604800`, and fonts get the same year-long immutable value as static assets.

Selecting an asset type adds its rule block (path pattern, Cache-Control header, and an explanatory comment) to the generated output; you can select any combination.

When To Use Cloudflare Pages Caching Rule Generator

Use it when setting up caching for a new static site or Pages project and you're not sure what Cache-Control value fits each part of your build output.

It's also useful as a quick reference when auditing an existing site's caching headers against generally recommended values for each asset type.

Often used alongside Cloudflare Pages _headers File Generator and Cloudflare Pages Security Headers Generator.

Features

Advantages

Encodes the reasoning (not just the value) for each asset type's recommendation directly as a comment in the output.
Covers the handful of asset categories that account for most of a typical site's cacheable traffic in one tool.
Lets you combine any subset of the five categories into a single _headers snippet.

Limitations

The path patterns are common conventions, not detected from your actual build output, adjust them to match your real folder structure before deploying.
Doesn't cover more advanced caching strategies like stale-while-revalidate or CDN-specific cache tags, only the standard Cache-Control values for each category.

Examples

Static assets and API JSON together

Input

selected: static-immutable, api-json

Output

# Static assets (hashed JS/CSS): Safe only for filenames that include a content hash, since the browser will never re-check them for a year.
/assets/*
  Cache-Control: public, max-age=31536000, immutable

# API JSON responses: no-cache still allows caching but forces revalidation with the origin before reuse, appropriate for data that changes.
/api/*
  Cache-Control: no-cache

Each selected asset type produces its own commented rule block, ready to combine into one _headers file.

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

Only apply the year-long immutable Cache-Control to files whose filename actually changes when their content does (a content hash in the filename); otherwise a real content change won't reach users until the cache expires.
Keep HTML documents on a short or zero max-age so users always get references to your latest hashed assets.
Reconsider no-cache versus a short positive max-age for API responses that change infrequently but are read very often, revalidation still costs a round trip.

Developer Notes

Each asset type maps to a fixed { path, cacheControl, note } triple; selecting a type emits a `# note` comment line, the path pattern, and an indented `Cache-Control:` line, matching the same block format the general _headers Generator produces so output from both tools can be freely combined.

Cloudflare Pages Caching Rule Generator Use Cases

Setting up sensible default caching for a new static site deploy
Auditing an existing Cloudflare Pages project's Cache-Control headers against common recommendations
Teaching why HTML and hashed assets need very different caching strategies

Common Mistakes

Applying a long immutable Cache-Control to a file that doesn't have a content hash in its filename, causing stale content to be served after a real update.
Forgetting to update the generated path patterns to match where your build actually outputs each asset type.

Tips

Combine this tool's output with the Cloudflare Pages Security Headers Generator's output in one _headers file, performance and security headers commonly live side by side.

Cloudflare Pages Caching Rule Generator