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Jul 28, 2025
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[Cache]Update revalidation.mdx #24019

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4 changes: 2 additions & 2 deletions src/content/docs/cache/concepts/revalidation.mdx
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Expand Up @@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ pcx_content_type: concept

import { GlossaryTooltip } from "~/components"

Revalidation is a caching mechanism that checks the [freshness](/cache/concepts/retention-vs-freshness/#freshness-ttl) of cached data before serving it to users. If a cached object is no longer fresh and Cloudflare receives a request for it, the system makes a request to the origin to revalidate the object in the Cloudflare cache. By using headers like `If-Modified-Since` and `ETag`, Cloudflare validates content without fully re-fetching it. When these headers are missing, Smart Edge Revalidation generates a `Last-Modified` header, ensuring efficient updates and delivery of fresh content while reducing origin traffic.
Revalidation is a caching mechanism that checks the [freshness](/cache/concepts/retention-vs-freshness/#freshness-ttl) of cached data before serving it to users. If a cached object is no longer fresh and Cloudflare receives a request for it, the system makes a request to the origin to revalidate the object in the Cloudflare cache. By using headers like `If-Modified-Since` and `ETag`, Cloudflare validates content without fully re-fetching it. When these headers are missing, [Smart Edge Revalidation](https://blog.cloudflare.com/introducing-smart-edge-revalidation/) generates a `Last-Modified` header, ensuring efficient updates and delivery of fresh content while reducing origin traffic.

## Revalidation towards origin

Expand All @@ -24,4 +24,4 @@ One-thousand (1,000) requests arrive simultaneously at a single Cloudflare data

## Smart revalidation towards users

When both [`Last-Modified`](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7232?cf_history_state=%7B%22guid%22%3A%22C255D9FF78CD46CDA4F76812EA68C350%22%2C%22historyId%22%3A15%2C%22targetId%22%3A%226C8153BAEF7BC0C5A331E28F8BCF1ABA%22%7D#section-2.2) and [`Etag`](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7232?cf_history_state=%7B%22guid%22%3A%22C255D9FF78CD46CDA4F76812EA68C350%22%2C%22historyId%22%3A13%2C%22targetId%22%3A%226C8153BAEF7BC0C5A331E28F8BCF1ABA%22%7D#section-2.3) headers are absent from the origin server response, Smart Edge Revalidation will use the time the object was cached on Cloudflare's global network as the `Last-Modified` header value. When a browser sends a revalidation request to Cloudflare using `If-Modified-Since` or `If-None-Match`, our global network can answer those revalidation questions using the `Last-Modified` header generated from Smart Edge Revalidation. In this way, our global network can ensure efficient revalidation even if the headers are not sent from the origin.
When both [`Last-Modified`](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7232?cf_history_state=%7B%22guid%22%3A%22C255D9FF78CD46CDA4F76812EA68C350%22%2C%22historyId%22%3A15%2C%22targetId%22%3A%226C8153BAEF7BC0C5A331E28F8BCF1ABA%22%7D#section-2.2) and [`Etag`](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7232?cf_history_state=%7B%22guid%22%3A%22C255D9FF78CD46CDA4F76812EA68C350%22%2C%22historyId%22%3A13%2C%22targetId%22%3A%226C8153BAEF7BC0C5A331E28F8BCF1ABA%22%7D#section-2.3) headers are absent from the origin server response, Smart Edge Revalidation will use the time the object was cached on Cloudflare's global network as the `Last-Modified` header value. When a browser sends a revalidation request to Cloudflare using `If-Modified-Since` or `If-None-Match`, our global network can answer those revalidation questions using the `Last-Modified` header generated from Smart Edge Revalidation. In this way, our global network can ensure efficient revalidation even if the headers are not sent from the origin.
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