Bypass caching (Experimental)

Most complex websites today use multiple layers of caching technology/techniques in order to maximize website performance. One of the popular methods is using HTTP reverse proxy cache such as Varnish caching (https://varnish-cache.org/).

Caching example

For example, if you are being served a cached version of a web page, you should see the HTTP response header that might look like the following:

Caching example

Why would you want to bypass caching

Since Trakr makes the same request as a regular browsing session, it also retrieves the screenshot from a cached version of the page. This is not ideal if you are looking to test changes that were immediately deployed on the website without purging the cache.

Using Trakr to bypass caching

You can find the option to bypass caching under Project Settings -> Advanced -> Performance

Notes/Considerations

  1. Please note that this is still an experimental feature and might not work to bypass the caching layer since caching configuration can be different from server to server.
  2. Making a large number of screenshot requests while bypassing the caching layer can have a performance impact on the web server.
  3. It’s still a best practice to purge the server cache after making the code deployment before using Trakr to make screenshot requests.