Caching policy · Updated October 24, 2026
ShadowX URL cache-freshness review
Review caching signals so updated ShadowX URL information reaches visitors and crawlers predictably. This guide treats ShadowX and ShadowX Market search terms as research labels, not as proof that a destination is official or safe.
Classify content by change rate
Separate frequently edited link status, long-form guides, static assets and private admin responses. Each group needs a cache policy suited to its update pattern.
Private authentication responses should never inherit public caching.
Compare validators and lifetimes
Inspect Cache-Control, ETag and Last-Modified behavior on representative pages. Confirm that a changed response produces a new validator when appropriate.
A long asset lifetime is safe only when filenames or validators change reliably.
Avoid misleading freshness
Do not update visible dates merely because a cache was refreshed or a deployment occurred. Editorial freshness and delivery freshness are different concepts.
Sitemap lastmod should continue to describe substantive content changes.
Verify crawler access
Fetch the sitemap and a sample guide with normal and crawler user agents. Ensure that cache rules do not return inconsistent status, body or canonical markup.
After a factual correction, submit the changed canonical once and let cache revalidation work normally.
Frequently asked questions
Does a cache refresh justify a new sitemap date?
No. Only a substantive public content change should alter lastmod.
Should admin responses be publicly cached?
No. Authentication and account responses should use private or no-store policies.