Kachet - Elegant Method-Level Caching for PHP

A Laravel package that provides elegant, method-level caching through a simple proxy pattern. Cache your class methods with zero boilerplate using either PHP attributes or programmatic configuration.

Features

• Zero boilerplate caching - Add caching with a single method call
• Dual configuration - Use PHP attributes or programmatic configuration
• Cache proxy pattern - $obj->method() calls directly, $obj->cached()->method() uses cache
• Flexible cache keys - Support for dynamic cache keys with sprintf-style placeholders
• Redis integration - Built for Redis but works with any Laravel cache driver
• Laravel integration - Service provider and facade included
• PHP 8.2+ - Built with modern PHP features

What is Kachet?

Kachet provides a clean, intuitive API for caching method results in your PHP classes. Instead of manually wrapping your methods with cache logic, you can:

1. Add the Kachetable trait to your class
2. Configure cacheable methods using attributes or a configuration method
3. Call cached() when you want to use the cache

$user = new UserRepository();

// Direct call - always executes the method
$result = $user->findById(1);

// Cached call - uses cache if available
$result = $user->cached()->findById(1);

Installation

Install via Composer:

composer require tedon/kachet

For Laravel applications, the service provider will be automatically registered.

Basic Usage

Using PHP Attributes (Recommended)

The simplest way to add caching is using PHP attributes:

use Tedon\Kachet\Traits\Kachetable;
use Tedon\Kachet\UseKachet;
use Tedon\Kachet\KachetProxy;

/**
 * @method KachetProxy<static> cached()
 */
class UserRepository
{
    use Kachetable;

    #[UseKachet(cacheKey: 'user:%d', ttl: 3600)]
    public function findById(int $id): array
    {
        // Expensive database query
        return DB::table('users')->find($id);
    }

    #[UseKachet(cacheKey: 'users:latest', ttl: 60)]
    public function listLatest(): array
    {
        return DB::table('users')
            ->orderBy('created_at', 'desc')
            ->limit(10)
            ->get();
    }
}

// Usage
$repo = new UserRepository();

// Direct call - always executes the query
$user = $repo->findById(1);

// Cached call - uses cache for 3600 seconds
$user = $repo->cached()->findById(1);
// Cache key: "kachet:user:1"

// List without cache
$users = $repo->listLatest();

// List with cache
$users = $repo->cached()->listLatest();
// Cache key: "kachet:users:latest"

Using Programmatic Configuration

If you prefer to configure cache settings in a method, use the cachedMethods() approach:

use Tedon\Kachet\Traits\Kachetable;
use Tedon\Kachet\KachetProxy;

/**
 * @method KachetProxy<static> cached()
 */
class ProductRepository
{
    use Kachetable;

    public function findById(int $id): array
    {
        return DB::table('products')->find($id);
    }

    public function listByCategory(string $category): array
    {
        return DB::table('products')
            ->where('category', $category)
            ->get();
    }

    public function cachedMethods(): array
    {
        return [
            [
                'methodName' => 'findById',
                'cacheKey' => 'product:%d',
                'ttl' => 3600,
            ],
            [
                'methodName' => 'listByCategory',
                'cacheKey' => 'products:category:%s',
                'ttl' => 1800,
            ],
        ];
    }
}

// Usage
$repo = new ProductRepository();

// Cache product for 1 hour
$product = $repo->cached()->findById(42);
// Cache key: "kachet:product:42"

// Cache category listing for 30 minutes
$products = $repo->cached()->listByCategory('electronics');
// Cache key: "kachet:products:category:electronics"

Advanced Usage

Dynamic Cache Keys with sprintf

Cache keys support sprintf-style placeholders that automatically map to method arguments:

#[UseKachet(cacheKey: 'post:%d:comments:page:%d', ttl: 600)]
public function getPostComments(int $postId, int $page): array
{
    return DB::table('comments')
        ->where('post_id', $postId)
        ->paginate($page);
}

// Usage
$comments = $repo->cached()->getPostComments(123, 2);
// Cache key: "kachet:post:123:comments:page:2"

Supported sprintf formats:

• %d - Integer
• %s - String
• %f - Float
• And all other standard sprintf formats

Forever Cache (No TTL)

Omit the TTL to cache indefinitely:

#[UseKachet(cacheKey: 'settings')]
public function getSettings(): array
{
    return DB::table('settings')->pluck('value', 'key');
}

Custom Cache Drivers

Specify a custom cache driver (configured in config/cache.php):

public function cachedMethods(): array
{
    return [
        [
            'methodName' => 'heavyComputation',
            'cacheKey' => 'computation:%d',
            'ttl' => 86400,
            'driver' => 'redis',
        ],
    ];
}

Cache Tags

Use tags for easier cache invalidation:

public function cachedMethods(): array
{
    return [
        [
            'methodName' => 'findById',
            'cacheKey' => 'user:%d',
            'ttl' => 3600,
            'tags' => ['users'],
        ],
    ];
}

// Invalidate all user-related caches
Cache::tags(['users'])->flush();

Cache Patterns

Kachet supports different serialization patterns for cached data:

use Tedon\Kachet\Constants\CachePattern;

public function cachedMethods(): array
{
    return [
        [
            'methodName' => 'getComplexData',
            'cacheKey' => 'complex:data',
            'ttl' => 3600,
            'storePattern' => CachePattern::JSON, // JSON serialization
        ],
        [
            'methodName' => 'getStructuredData',
            'cacheKey' => 'structured:data',
            'ttl' => 3600,
            'storePattern' => CachePattern::TOON, // TOON serialization
        ],
    ];
}

Available patterns:

• CachePattern::BASE - No serialization (default)
• CachePattern::JSON - JSON serialization
• CachePattern::TOON - TOON format (requires tedon/tooner)

Caching Null Values

Control whether null results should be cached:

public function cachedMethods(): array
{
    return [
        [
            'methodName' => 'findOptional',
            'cacheKey' => 'optional:%d',
            'ttl' => 600,
            'cacheNullValue' => true, // Cache null results
        ],
    ];
}

Custom Cache Prefix

Change the default cache key prefix using a class-level attribute:

use Tedon\Kachet\Traits\Kachetable;
use Tedon\Kachet\UseKachet;
use Tedon\Kachet\KachetProxy;

/**
 * @method KachetProxy<static> cached()
 */
#[UseKachet(cacheKey: 'myapp:v2:')]
class MyRepository
{
    use Kachetable;

    #[UseKachet(cacheKey: 'user:%d', ttl: 3600)]
    public function findById(int $id): array
    {
        return DB::table('users')->find($id);
    }
}

// Cache key will be: "myapp:v2:user:1"
$user = $repo->cached()->findById(1);

Configuration Options

Attribute Configuration

When using the #[UseKachet] attribute:

#[UseKachet(
    cacheKey: 'my:cache:key',  // Required: Cache key with optional sprintf placeholders
    ttl: 3600,                  // Optional: Time to live in seconds (null = forever)
)]

Programmatic Configuration

When using cachedMethods():

[
    'methodName' => 'myMethod',          // Required: Method name to cache
    'cacheKey' => 'my:cache:key',        // Required: Cache key with sprintf placeholders
    'ttl' => 3600,                       // Optional: Time to live (null = forever)
    'tags' => ['tag1', 'tag2'],          // Optional: Cache tags
    'driver' => 'redis',                 // Optional: Specific cache driver
    'cacheNullValue' => true,            // Optional: Cache null results (default: false)
    'storePattern' => CachePattern::JSON, // Optional: Serialization pattern
]

Complete Example

Here's a comprehensive example showing multiple caching strategies:

use Tedon\Kachet\Traits\Kachetable;
use Tedon\Kachet\UseKachet;
use Tedon\Kachet\KachetProxy;
use Tedon\Kachet\Constants\CachePattern;

/**
 * @method KachetProxy<static> cached()
 */
class BlogRepository
{
    use Kachetable;

    protected string $cachePrefix = 'blog:v1:';

    // Simple attribute-based caching
    #[UseKachet(cacheKey: 'post:%d', ttl: 3600)]
    public function findPost(int $id): array
    {
        return DB::table('posts')->find($id);
    }

    // Multi-parameter cache key
    #[UseKachet(cacheKey: 'posts:%s:page:%d', ttl: 600)]
    public function listByCategory(string $category, int $page = 1): array
    {
        return DB::table('posts')
            ->where('category', $category)
            ->paginate($page);
    }

    // Forever cache
    #[UseKachet(cacheKey: 'categories')]
    public function getAllCategories(): array
    {
        return DB::table('categories')->pluck('name', 'id');
    }

    // Complex programmatic configuration
    public function getStats(int $year): array
    {
        return DB::table('posts')
            ->whereYear('created_at', $year)
            ->selectRaw('COUNT(*) as total, AVG(views) as avg_views')
            ->first();
    }

    public function cachedMethods(): array
    {
        return [
            [
                'methodName' => 'getStats',
                'cacheKey' => 'stats:%d',
                'ttl' => 86400,
                'tags' => ['statistics', 'posts'],
                'storePattern' => CachePattern::JSON,
                'driver' => 'redis',
            ],
        ];
    }
}

// Usage examples
$blog = new BlogRepository();

// Direct calls - no caching
$post = $blog->findPost(1);
$posts = $blog->listByCategory('tech', 2);
$categories = $blog->getAllCategories();
$stats = $blog->getStats(2024);

// Cached calls
$post = $blog->cached()->findPost(1);
// Key: "blog:v1:post:1", TTL: 3600s

$posts = $blog->cached()->listByCategory('tech', 2);
// Key: "blog:v1:posts:tech:page:2", TTL: 600s

$categories = $blog->cached()->getAllCategories();
// Key: "blog:v1:categories", TTL: forever

$stats = $blog->cached()->getStats(2024);
// Key: "blog:v1:stats:2024", TTL: 86400s
// Serialized as JSON, tagged with ['statistics', 'posts']

// Clear specific caches
Cache::tags(['statistics'])->flush();

Laravel Facade Usage

Kachet provides a facade for direct cache operations:

use Tedon\Kachet\Facades\Kachet;

// Check if a cache key exists
if (Kachet::has('user:123')) {
    // ...
}

// Manually cache a value
Kachet::put('custom:key', $value, 3600);

// Retrieve a cached value
$value = Kachet::get('custom:key');

How It Works

Kachet uses PHP's magic __call method to intercept method calls on the proxy object:

1. When you call $obj->cached(), it returns a KachetProxy instance
2. The proxy holds a reference to your original object
3. When you call a method on the proxy (e.g., ->findById(1)), the proxy:
   • Looks up the cache configuration for that method
   • Generates a cache key using the method arguments
   • Checks if the result exists in cache
   • If cached: returns the cached value
   • If not cached: calls the original method, caches the result, and returns it

Requirements

• PHP 8.2 or higher
• Laravel 10.x, 11.x, or 12.x
• Redis (recommended) or any Laravel-supported cache driver

Testing

composer test

IDE Support & Autocomplete

Kachet fully supports IDE autocomplete for cached methods using PHPDoc annotations. To enable autocomplete in your IDE (PhpStorm, VSCode, etc.), add the following annotation to your class:

use Tedon\Kachet\Traits\Kachetable;
use Tedon\Kachet\KachetProxy;

/**
 * @method KachetProxy<static> cached()
 */
class UserRepository
{
    use Kachetable;

    public function findById(int $id): array { /* ... */ }
    public function listLatest(): array { /* ... */ }
}

With this annotation:

• Your IDE will autocomplete $repo->cached()->findById()
• Type hints and parameter suggestions will work correctly
• You'll get proper code navigation and refactoring support

The @method KachetProxy<static> cached() annotation tells the IDE that:

1. The cached() method returns a KachetProxy instance
2. The proxy is generic over static (your class type)
3. Through the @mixin annotation in KachetProxy, the IDE knows the proxy has all your class methods

Note: This annotation is optional - your code will work without it, but adding it significantly improves the development experience.

Best Practices

1. Use attributes for simple cases - They're cleaner and easier to read
2. Use programmatic config for complex cases - When you need tags, custom drivers, or patterns
3. Choose appropriate TTLs - Shorter for frequently changing data, longer for stable data
4. Use cache tags - Makes cache invalidation easier
5. Set custom prefixes - Include version numbers for easier cache busting
6. Cache expensive operations - Database queries, API calls, complex computations
7. Don't cache everything - Simple getters/setters don't need caching
8. Add IDE autocomplete annotations - Include @method KachetProxy<static> cached() for better IDE support

Cache Invalidation

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache;

// Clear specific key
Cache::forget('kachet:user:123');

// Clear by pattern (Redis only)
Cache::tags(['users'])->flush();

// Clear all cache
Cache::flush();

Performance Tips

• Use Redis for better performance with high-traffic applications
• Set appropriate TTLs to balance freshness and performance
• Use cache tags for efficient bulk invalidation
• Monitor cache hit rates using Laravel Telescope or similar tools

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Author

Pouya Zouravand

• Email: [email protected]

Credits

Built with inspiration from Laravel's elegant API design principles and modern PHP best practices.