Bug: 5762 Improve documentation for P2 transport cache and -U option

src/site/markdown/SystemProperties.md

@@ -38,14 +38,33 @@ eclipse.p2.maxDownloadAttempts | _any positive integer_ | 3 | Describes how ofte
 
 ### Tycho P2 Transport
 
-These properties control how Tycho downloads artifacts from P2 servers
+These properties control how Tycho downloads artifacts from P2 servers.
+
+#### Cache Behavior and the `-U` Option
+
+Tycho's P2 transport uses a cache to improve build performance by avoiding repeated downloads of unchanged remote resources. The cache stores HTTP responses, including successful downloads and error responses (like 404 Not Found).
+
+**Important:** The Maven `-U` (or `--update-snapshots`) command-line option forces Tycho to bypass the cache and re-check all remote P2 repositories. This is useful when:
+
+- A P2 repository was recently published or updated and the cache contains stale data
+- A previous build failed because a repository was temporarily unavailable (the 404 response may be cached)
+- You need to ensure you have the latest versions of all artifacts
+
+Example usage:
+```bash
+mvn clean verify -U
+```
+
+The `-U` option takes precedence over the `tycho.p2.transport.min-cache-minutes` setting - when `-U` is specified, the cache is always bypassed regardless of the configured cache duration.
+
+#### Transport Properties
 
 Name | Value | Default | Documentation
 --- | --- | --- | ---
 tycho.p2.transport.cache | file path | local maven repository | Specify the location where Tycho stores certain cache files to speed up successive builds
 tycho.p2.transport.debug | true/false | false | enable debugging of the Tycho Transport
 tycho.p2.transport.max-download-threads | number | 4 | maximum number of threads that should be used to download artifacts in parallel
-tycho.p2.transport.min-cache-minutes | number | 60 | Number of minutes that a cache entry is assumed to be fresh and is not fetched again from the server
+tycho.p2.transport.min-cache-minutes | number | 60 | Number of minutes that a cache entry is assumed to be fresh and is not fetched again from the server. Use `-U` on the command line to force an immediate refresh regardless of this setting.
 tycho.p2.transport.bundlepools.priority | number | 100 | priority used for bundle pools
 tycho.p2.transport.bundlepools.shared | true/false | true | query shared bundle pools for artifacts before downloading them from remote servers
 tycho.p2.transport.bundlepools.workspace | true/false | true | query Workspace bundle pools for artifacts before downloading them from remote servers

src/site/markdown/Troubleshooting.md

@@ -42,6 +42,31 @@ Tycho complains about missing or invalid p2 metadata.
 2. **Update site refresh**: If using local repositories, ensure they are properly generated
 3. **Clear local cache**: Remove `~/.m2/repository/p2` to force re-download of metadata
 
+## Cached Repository Errors
+
+### Problem
+A build fails with "No repository found" or similar errors even though the repository is now available. This often happens when:
+- A p2 repository was temporarily unavailable during a previous build
+- A repository was recently published or updated
+- Your build previously ran when network connectivity was intermittent
+
+Tycho caches HTTP responses (including error responses like 404 Not Found) to improve build performance. If a repository lookup failed during a previous build, that failure may be cached.
+
+### Solution
+Use the Maven `-U` (or `--update-snapshots`) flag to force Tycho to bypass the cache and re-check all remote repositories:
+
+```bash
+mvn clean verify -U
+```
+
+This is the recommended approach when you suspect cached data is stale.
+
+Alternatively, you can:
+1. **Wait for cache expiration**: By default, cache entries are considered fresh for 60 minutes (configurable via `tycho.p2.transport.min-cache-minutes`)
+2. **Clear the transport cache**: Delete the cache directory located at `~/.m2/repository/.cache/tycho` (or the location specified by `tycho.p2.transport.cache`)
+
+For more details on cache configuration options, see [System Properties](SystemProperties.html#tycho-p2-transport).
+
 ## Platform-Specific Dependencies
 
 ### Problem