diff --git a/.github/actions/validate-links/action.yml b/.github/actions/validate-links/action.yml
index cf180556c8..4135f59c2a 100644
--- a/.github/actions/validate-links/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/validate-links/action.yml
@@ -30,12 +30,44 @@ outputs:
 runs:
   using: 'composite'
   steps:
+    - name: Generate file-specific cache key
+      if: inputs.cache-enabled == 'true'
+      id: cache-key
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        # Create a hash based only on the files being validated
+        files="${{ inputs.files }}"
+        if [ -n "$files" ]; then
+          # Convert space-separated file list to array and process each file
+          file_list=($files)
+          file_data=""
+          for file in "${file_list[@]}"; do
+            if [ -f "$file" ]; then
+              # Get file modification time and size for hashing
+              file_info=$(ls -l "$file" | awk '{print $5, $6, $7, $8}')
+              file_data="${file_data}${file}:${file_info}\n"
+            fi
+          done
+          
+          if [ -n "$file_data" ]; then
+            file_hash=$(echo -e "$file_data" | sha256sum | cut -d' ' -f1)
+          else
+            file_hash="no-files"
+          fi
+          
+          echo "file-hash=$file_hash" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "Generated cache key for files: $files"
+          echo "File hash: $file_hash"
+        else
+          echo "file-hash=no-files" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        fi
+    
     - name: Restore link validation cache
       if: inputs.cache-enabled == 'true'
       uses: actions/cache@v4
       with:
         path: .cache/link-validation
-        key: ${{ inputs.cache-key }}-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('content/**/*.md', 'content/**/*.html') }}
+        key: ${{ inputs.cache-key }}-${{ runner.os }}-${{ steps.cache-key.outputs.file-hash }}
         restore-keys: |
           ${{ inputs.cache-key }}-${{ runner.os }}-
           ${{ inputs.cache-key }}-
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-link-validation.yml b/.github/workflows/pr-link-validation.yml
index 38b988693e..0d278e4738 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr-link-validation.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-link-validation.yml
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ jobs:
           files: ${{ matrix.files || needs.setup.outputs.all-files }}
           product-name: ${{ matrix.product }}
           cache-enabled: ${{ matrix.cacheEnabled || 'true' }}
-          cache-key: link-validation-${{ hashFiles(matrix.files || needs.setup.outputs.all-files) }}
+          cache-key: link-validation-${{ matrix.product }}
           timeout: 900
 
   report:
diff --git a/content/example.md b/content/example.md
index 44800941f7..f2dfbab85c 100644
--- a/content/example.md
+++ b/content/example.md
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ weight: 1
 related:
   - /influxdb/v2/write-data/
   - /influxdb/v2/write-data/quick-start
-  - https://influxdata.com, This is an external link
+  - https://github.com/influxdata/docs-v2, This is an external link
 test_only: true  # Custom parameter to indicate test-only content
 ---
 
diff --git a/cypress.config.js b/cypress.config.js
index d7ffed8fc0..b2d9d17622 100644
--- a/cypress.config.js
+++ b/cypress.config.js
@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ import {
   initializeReport,
   readBrokenLinksReport,
   saveCacheStats,
-  saveValidationStrategy,
 } from './cypress/support/link-reporter.js';
+import { createCypressCacheTasks } from './cypress/support/link-cache.js';
 
 export default defineConfig({
   e2e: {
@@ -31,7 +31,13 @@ export default defineConfig({
         }
       });
 
+      // Register cache tasks
+      const cacheTasks = createCypressCacheTasks();
+
       on('task', {
+        // Cache management tasks
+        ...cacheTasks,
+
         // Fetch the product list configured in /data/products.yml
         getData(filename) {
           return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
@@ -93,6 +99,12 @@ export default defineConfig({
           return initializeReport();
         },
 
+        // Save cache statistics for the reporter
+        saveCacheStatsForReporter(stats) {
+          saveCacheStats(stats);
+          return null;
+        },
+
         // Special case domains are now handled directly in the test without additional reporting
         // This task is kept for backward compatibility but doesn't do anything special
         reportSpecialCaseLink(linkData) {
@@ -180,95 +192,6 @@ export default defineConfig({
           }
         },
 
-        // Cache and incremental validation tasks
-        saveCacheStatistics(stats) {
-          try {
-            saveCacheStats(stats);
-            return true;
-          } catch (error) {
-            console.error(`Error saving cache stats: ${error.message}`);
-            return false;
-          }
-        },
-
-        saveValidationStrategy(strategy) {
-          try {
-            saveValidationStrategy(strategy);
-            return true;
-          } catch (error) {
-            console.error(`Error saving validation strategy: ${error.message}`);
-            return false;
-          }
-        },
-
-        runIncrementalValidation(filePaths) {
-          return new Promise(async (resolve, reject) => {
-            try {
-              console.log('Loading incremental validator module...');
-
-              // Use CommonJS require for better compatibility
-              const {
-                IncrementalValidator,
-              } = require('./.github/scripts/incremental-validator.cjs');
-              console.log('✅ Incremental validator loaded successfully');
-
-              const validator = new IncrementalValidator();
-              const results = await validator.validateFiles(filePaths);
-              resolve(results);
-            } catch (error) {
-              console.error(`Incremental validation error: ${error.message}`);
-              console.error(`Stack: ${error.stack}`);
-
-              // Don't fail the entire test run due to cache issues
-              // Fall back to validating all files
-              console.warn('Falling back to validate all files without cache');
-              resolve({
-                validationStrategy: {
-                  unchanged: [],
-                  changed: filePaths.map((filePath) => ({
-                    filePath,
-                    fileHash: 'unknown',
-                    links: [],
-                  })),
-                  newLinks: [],
-                  total: filePaths.length,
-                },
-                filesToValidate: filePaths.map((filePath) => ({
-                  filePath,
-                  fileHash: 'unknown',
-                })),
-                cacheStats: {
-                  totalFiles: filePaths.length,
-                  cacheHits: 0,
-                  cacheMisses: filePaths.length,
-                  hitRate: 0,
-                },
-              });
-            }
-          });
-        },
-
-        cacheValidationResults(filePath, fileHash, results) {
-          return new Promise(async (resolve, reject) => {
-            try {
-              const {
-                IncrementalValidator,
-              } = require('./.github/scripts/incremental-validator.cjs');
-              const validator = new IncrementalValidator();
-              const success = await validator.cacheResults(
-                filePath,
-                fileHash,
-                results
-              );
-              resolve(success);
-            } catch (error) {
-              console.error(`Cache validation results error: ${error.message}`);
-              // Don't fail if caching fails - just continue without cache
-              resolve(false);
-            }
-          });
-        },
-
         filePathToUrl(filePath) {
           return new Promise(async (resolve, reject) => {
             try {
diff --git a/cypress/e2e/content/article-links.cy.js b/cypress/e2e/content/article-links.cy.js
index 0ce8d4677a..61e1511cb1 100644
--- a/cypress/e2e/content/article-links.cy.js
+++ b/cypress/e2e/content/article-links.cy.js
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ describe('Article', () => {
         .split(',')
         .filter((s) => s.trim() !== '')
     : [];
-  
+
   // Cache will be checked during test execution at the URL level
 
   // Always use HEAD for downloads to avoid timeouts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ describe('Article', () => {
   before(() => {
     // Initialize the broken links report
     cy.task('initializeBrokenLinksReport');
-    
+
     // Clean up expired cache entries
     cy.task('cleanupCache').then((cleaned) => {
       if (cleaned > 0) {
@@ -34,11 +34,12 @@ describe('Article', () => {
       cy.log(`   • New entries stored: ${stats.stores}`);
       cy.log(`   • Hit rate: ${stats.hitRate}`);
       cy.log(`   • Total validations: ${stats.total}`);
-      
+
       if (stats.total > 0) {
-        const message = stats.hits > 0 
-          ? `✨ Cache optimization saved ${stats.hits} link validations`
-          : '🔄 No cache hits - all links were validated fresh';
+        const message =
+          stats.hits > 0
+            ? `✨ Cache optimization saved ${stats.hits} link validations`
+            : '🔄 No cache hits - all links were validated fresh';
         cy.log(message);
       }
 
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@ describe('Article', () => {
         cacheMisses: stats.misses,
         totalValidations: stats.total,
         newEntriesStored: stats.stores,
-        cleanups: stats.cleanups
+        cleanups: stats.cleanups,
       });
     });
   });
@@ -94,7 +95,14 @@ describe('Article', () => {
   }
 
   // Helper function for handling failed links
-  function handleFailedLink(url, status, type, redirectChain = '', linkText = '', pageUrl = '') {
+  function handleFailedLink(
+    url,
+    status,
+    type,
+    redirectChain = '',
+    linkText = '',
+    pageUrl = ''
+  ) {
     // Report the broken link
     cy.task('reportBrokenLink', {
       url: url + redirectChain,
@@ -117,9 +125,20 @@ describe('Article', () => {
       if (isCached) {
         cy.log(`✅ Cache hit: ${href}`);
         return cy.task('getLinkCache', href).then((cachedResult) => {
-          if (cachedResult && cachedResult.result && cachedResult.result.status >= 400) {
+          if (
+            cachedResult &&
+            cachedResult.result &&
+            cachedResult.result.status >= 400
+          ) {
             // Cached result shows this link is broken
-            handleFailedLink(href, cachedResult.result.status, cachedResult.result.type || 'cached', '', linkText, pageUrl);
+            handleFailedLink(
+              href,
+              cachedResult.result.status,
+              cachedResult.result.type || 'cached',
+              '',
+              linkText,
+              pageUrl
+            );
           }
           // For successful cached results, just return - no further action needed
         });
@@ -141,63 +160,80 @@ describe('Article', () => {
       retryOnStatusCodeFailure: true, // Retry on 5xx errors
     };
 
-
     if (useHeadForDownloads && isDownloadLink(href)) {
       cy.log(`** Testing download link with HEAD: ${href} **`);
-      return cy.request({
-        method: 'HEAD',
-        url: href,
-        ...requestOptions,
-      }).then((response) => {
-        // Prepare result for caching
-        const result = {
-          status: response.status,
-          type: 'download',
-          timestamp: new Date().toISOString()
-        };
-
-        // Check final status after following any redirects
-        if (response.status >= 400) {
-          const redirectInfo =
-            response.redirects && response.redirects.length > 0
-              ? ` (redirected to: ${response.redirects.join(' -> ')})`
-              : '';
-          
-          // Cache the failed result
-          cy.task('setLinkCache', { url: href, result });
-          handleFailedLink(href, response.status, 'download', redirectInfo, linkText, pageUrl);
-        } else {
-          // Cache the successful result
-          cy.task('setLinkCache', { url: href, result });
-        }
-      });
+      return cy
+        .request({
+          method: 'HEAD',
+          url: href,
+          ...requestOptions,
+        })
+        .then((response) => {
+          // Prepare result for caching
+          const result = {
+            status: response.status,
+            type: 'download',
+            timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
+          };
+
+          // Check final status after following any redirects
+          if (response.status >= 400) {
+            const redirectInfo =
+              response.redirects && response.redirects.length > 0
+                ? ` (redirected to: ${response.redirects.join(' -> ')})`
+                : '';
+
+            // Cache the failed result
+            cy.task('setLinkCache', { url: href, result });
+            handleFailedLink(
+              href,
+              response.status,
+              'download',
+              redirectInfo,
+              linkText,
+              pageUrl
+            );
+          } else {
+            // Cache the successful result
+            cy.task('setLinkCache', { url: href, result });
+          }
+        });
     } else {
       cy.log(`** Testing link: ${href} **`);
-      return cy.request({
-        url: href,
-        ...requestOptions,
-      }).then((response) => {
-        // Prepare result for caching
-        const result = {
-          status: response.status,
-          type: 'regular',
-          timestamp: new Date().toISOString()
-        };
-
-        if (response.status >= 400) {
-          const redirectInfo =
-            response.redirects && response.redirects.length > 0
-              ? ` (redirected to: ${response.redirects.join(' -> ')})`
-              : '';
-          
-          // Cache the failed result
-          cy.task('setLinkCache', { url: href, result });
-          handleFailedLink(href, response.status, 'regular', redirectInfo, linkText, pageUrl);
-        } else {
-          // Cache the successful result
-          cy.task('setLinkCache', { url: href, result });
-        }
-      });
+      return cy
+        .request({
+          url: href,
+          ...requestOptions,
+        })
+        .then((response) => {
+          // Prepare result for caching
+          const result = {
+            status: response.status,
+            type: 'regular',
+            timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
+          };
+
+          if (response.status >= 400) {
+            const redirectInfo =
+              response.redirects && response.redirects.length > 0
+                ? ` (redirected to: ${response.redirects.join(' -> ')})`
+                : '';
+
+            // Cache the failed result
+            cy.task('setLinkCache', { url: href, result });
+            handleFailedLink(
+              href,
+              response.status,
+              'regular',
+              redirectInfo,
+              linkText,
+              pageUrl
+            );
+          } else {
+            // Cache the successful result
+            cy.task('setLinkCache', { url: href, result });
+          }
+        });
     }
   }
 
@@ -206,14 +242,15 @@ describe('Article', () => {
     cy.log(`📋 Test Configuration:`);
     cy.log(`   • Test subjects: ${subjects.length}`);
     cy.log(`   • Cache: URL-level caching with 30-day TTL`);
-    cy.log(`   • Link validation: Internal, anchor, and allowed external links`);
-    
+    cy.log(
+      `   • Link validation: Internal, anchor, and allowed external links`
+    );
+
     cy.log('✅ Test setup validation completed');
   });
 
   subjects.forEach((subject) => {
     it(`${subject} has valid internal links`, function () {
-
       // Add error handling for page visit failures
       cy.visit(`${subject}`, { timeout: 20000 }).then(() => {
         cy.log(`✅ Successfully loaded page: ${subject}`);
@@ -246,7 +283,6 @@ describe('Article', () => {
     });
 
     it(`${subject} has valid anchor links`, function () {
-
       cy.visit(`${subject}`).then(() => {
         cy.log(`✅ Successfully loaded page for anchor testing: ${subject}`);
       });
@@ -300,7 +336,6 @@ describe('Article', () => {
     });
 
     it(`${subject} has valid external links`, function () {
-
       // Check if we should skip external links entirely
       if (Cypress.env('skipExternalLinks') === true) {
         cy.log(
diff --git a/cypress/support/link-cache.js b/cypress/support/link-cache.js
index 1a54a6e41b..fe8790b462 100644
--- a/cypress/support/link-cache.js
+++ b/cypress/support/link-cache.js
@@ -17,20 +17,20 @@ const LOCAL_CACHE_DIR = path.join(process.cwd(), '.cache', 'link-validation');
 export class LinkCacheManager {
   constructor(options = {}) {
     this.localCacheDir = options.localCacheDir || LOCAL_CACHE_DIR;
-    
+
     // Configurable cache TTL - default 30 days
-    this.cacheTTLDays = 
+    this.cacheTTLDays =
       options.cacheTTLDays || parseInt(process.env.LINK_CACHE_TTL_DAYS) || 30;
     this.maxAge = this.cacheTTLDays * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
-    
+
     this.ensureLocalCacheDir();
-    
+
     // Track cache statistics
     this.stats = {
       hits: 0,
       misses: 0,
       stores: 0,
-      cleanups: 0
+      cleanups: 0,
     };
   }
 
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ export class LinkCacheManager {
       url,
       result,
       cachedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
-      ttl: new Date(Date.now() + this.maxAge).toISOString()
+      ttl: new Date(Date.now() + this.maxAge).toISOString(),
     };
 
     try {
@@ -128,7 +128,9 @@ export class LinkCacheManager {
       this.stats.stores++;
       return true;
     } catch (error) {
-      console.warn(`Failed to cache validation result for ${url}: ${error.message}`);
+      console.warn(
+        `Failed to cache validation result for ${url}: ${error.message}`
+      );
       return false;
     }
   }
@@ -148,12 +150,13 @@ export class LinkCacheManager {
    */
   getStats() {
     const total = this.stats.hits + this.stats.misses;
-    const hitRate = total > 0 ? (this.stats.hits / total * 100).toFixed(1) : 0;
-    
+    const hitRate =
+      total > 0 ? ((this.stats.hits / total) * 100).toFixed(1) : 0;
+
     return {
       ...this.stats,
       total,
-      hitRate: `${hitRate}%`
+      hitRate: `${hitRate}%`,
     };
   }
 
@@ -163,22 +166,22 @@ export class LinkCacheManager {
    */
   cleanup() {
     let cleaned = 0;
-    
+
     try {
       const files = fs.readdirSync(this.localCacheDir);
-      const cacheFiles = files.filter(file => 
-        file.startsWith(CACHE_KEY_PREFIX) && file.endsWith('.json')
+      const cacheFiles = files.filter(
+        (file) => file.startsWith(CACHE_KEY_PREFIX) && file.endsWith('.json')
       );
 
       for (const file of cacheFiles) {
         const filePath = path.join(this.localCacheDir, file);
-        
+
         try {
           const content = fs.readFileSync(filePath, 'utf8');
           const cached = JSON.parse(content);
-          
+
           const age = Date.now() - new Date(cached.cachedAt).getTime();
-          
+
           if (age > this.maxAge) {
             fs.unlinkSync(filePath);
             cleaned++;
@@ -210,6 +213,6 @@ export const createCypressCacheTasks = (options = {}) => {
     setLinkCache: ({ url, result }) => cache.set(url, result),
     isLinkCached: (url) => cache.isCached(url),
     getCacheStats: () => cache.getStats(),
-    cleanupCache: () => cache.cleanup()
+    cleanupCache: () => cache.cleanup(),
   };
-};
\ No newline at end of file
+};
diff --git a/cypress/support/link-reporter.js b/cypress/support/link-reporter.js
index fa514c7efc..fed1394566 100644
--- a/cypress/support/link-reporter.js
+++ b/cypress/support/link-reporter.js
@@ -152,17 +152,20 @@ export function displayBrokenLinksReport(brokenLinksReport = null) {
     console.log(`Cache hit rate: ${cacheStats.hitRate}%`);
     console.log(`Cache hits: ${cacheStats.cacheHits}`);
     console.log(`Cache misses: ${cacheStats.cacheMisses}`);
-    console.log(`Total validations: ${cacheStats.totalValidations || cacheStats.cacheHits + cacheStats.cacheMisses}`);
+    console.log(
+      `Total validations: ${cacheStats.totalValidations || cacheStats.cacheHits + cacheStats.cacheMisses}`
+    );
     console.log(`New entries stored: ${cacheStats.newEntriesStored || 0}`);
-    
+
     if (cacheStats.cleanups > 0) {
       console.log(`Expired entries cleaned: ${cacheStats.cleanups}`);
     }
-    
+
     if (cacheStats.totalValidations > 0) {
-      const message = cacheStats.cacheHits > 0 
-        ? `✨ Cache optimization saved ${cacheStats.cacheHits} link validations`
-        : '🔄 No cache hits - all links were validated fresh';
+      const message =
+        cacheStats.cacheHits > 0
+          ? `✨ Cache optimization saved ${cacheStats.cacheHits} link validations`
+          : '🔄 No cache hits - all links were validated fresh';
       console.log(message);
     }
 
diff --git a/cypress/support/run-e2e-specs.js b/cypress/support/run-e2e-specs.js
index d39dfb4a24..5be86ca15d 100644
--- a/cypress/support/run-e2e-specs.js
+++ b/cypress/support/run-e2e-specs.js
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ async function main() {
   let exitCode = 0;
   let hugoStarted = false;
 
-// (Lines 124-126 removed; no replacement needed)
+  // (Lines 124-126 removed; no replacement needed)
 
   // Add this signal handler to ensure cleanup on unexpected termination
   const cleanupAndExit = (code = 1) => {