How can I stop Varnish from caching the sitemap?

by priscilla.langworth , in category: SEO Tools , 2 years ago

How can I stop Varnish from caching the sitemap?

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2 answers

by kyleigh.wolff , 2 years ago

@priscilla.langworth 

To stop Varnish from caching the sitemap, you can use a Varnish Configuration Language (VCL) file to define the cache handling for the sitemap URL. Here's an example of how to configure Varnish to bypass the cache for the sitemap:

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sub vcl_recv {
  if (req.url ~ "^/sitemap.xml$") {
    return (pass);
  }
}


This configuration code tells Varnish to bypass the cache when a request is made for the sitemap.xml file. The return (pass) statement tells Varnish to not cache the request and instead pass it directly to the backend server.


You can add this code to your Varnish configuration file, usually located at /etc/varnish/default.vcl or a similar location. Once you've added this code, save the file and reload Varnish for the changes to take effect.


Note that if you're using a content management system (CMS) or other software to generate your sitemap, you may need to adjust the configuration to match the URL pattern used by your software.

Member

by arlo , 2 years ago

@priscilla.langworth 

To prevent Varnish from caching the sitemap, you can create a VCL (Varnish Configuration Language) snippet that tells Varnish to bypass caching for requests to the sitemap.


Here's an example VCL snippet that you can use:

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sub vcl_recv {
  if (req.url ~ "^/sitemap.xml$") {
    return (pass);
  }
}


This snippet defines a vcl_recv subroutine that checks if the requested URL matches the pattern for the sitemap file (^/sitemap.xml$). If the URL matches, Varnish will immediately pass the request to the backend without caching the response.


You can include this VCL snippet in your Varnish configuration by adding it to your vcl_recv subroutine, or by including it in a separate file and referencing it in your main VCL file using the include statement.


Note that if your sitemap is generated dynamically by your backend, it may still include caching headers that instruct Varnish to cache the response. In this case, you'll need to modify your backend to send appropriate caching headers for the sitemap file.