[11.x] Make Cache::forget compatible with Cache::flexible

[rbadillap]

Fixes #52847

Current Behavior

The Cache::flexible method, which implements the "stale-while-revalidate" pattern, currently creates two cache items:

• The main item with the given key
• A metadata item with the key + ":created" suffix

When Cache::forget is called, it only removes the main item, leaving the metadata item in place. This leads to unexpected behavior in the cache lifecycle.

The issue

When Cache::forget is called, it only removes the main item, leaving the ":created" timestamp intact.
On the next request, Cache::flexible finds a null value for the main item but an existing ":created" timestamp.

This causes the method to incorrectly assume the item is in the stale or expired state, rather than treating it as a fresh cache miss.

As a result, the cache remains null until the stale period is over, effectively breaking the expected cache regeneration behavior.

Current behavior

current_behavior.mov

Expected behavior

expected_behavior.mov

Proposed Fix

Update the Cache::forget method to remove both the main item and the associated metadata item when called on a key created by Cache::flexible.

PoC

My PoC if you want to interactively test the issue.

<?php use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache; use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route; Route::get('/debug', function () { $cachedAt = Cache::flexible('current-time', [5, 10], function () { $start = microtime(true); $when = now()->toTimeString(); sleep(2); $end = microtime(true); $executionTime = ($end - $start) * 1000; return [ "when" => $when, 'execution_time_ms' => round($executionTime, 2), ]; }); $mainItem = Cache::get('current-time'); $createdItem = Cache::get('current-time:created'); return response()->json([ 'status' => 'ok', 'cached_at' => $cachedAt, 'current_time' => now()->toTimeString(), 'cache_state' => [ 'main_item' => $mainItem, 'created_item' => $createdItem, ], ]); }); Route::get('/refresh', function () { $beforeForget = [ 'main_item' => Cache::get('current-time'), 'created_item' => Cache::get('current-time:created'), ]; Cache::forget('current-time'); $afterForget = [ 'main_item' => Cache::get('current-time'), 'created_item' => Cache::get('current-time:created'), ]; return response()->json([ 'status' => 'ok', 'message' => 'Cache forcefully refreshed', 'time' => now()->toTimeString(), 'cache_state_before_forget' => $beforeForget, 'cache_state_after_forget' => $afterForget, ]); }); Route::get('/force-refresh', function () { $beforeForget = [ 'main_item' => Cache::get('current-time'), 'created_item' => Cache::get('current-time:created'), ]; Cache::forget('current-time'); Cache::forget('current-time:created'); $afterForget = [ 'main_item' => Cache::get('current-time'), 'created_item' => Cache::get('current-time:created'), ]; return response()->json([ 'status' => 'ok', 'message' => 'Cache forcefully refreshed', 'time' => now()->toTimeString(), 'cache_state_before' => $beforeForget, 'cache_state_after' => $afterForget, ]); });

[github-actions]

Thanks for submitting a PR!

Note that draft PR's are not reviewed. If you would like a review, please mark your pull request as ready for review in the GitHub user interface.

Pull requests that are abandoned in draft may be closed due to inactivity.

[rbadillap]

Just noticed this PR fixes #52847

[timacdonald]

Marking this one as draft while we discuss it internally.

[timacdonald]

I've opened another PR to address this issue: #52891

Thanks for letting us know about the problem.