Asset Cache Headers Analyzer

Analyzer ID	Category	Severity	Time To Fix
asset-cache-headers	⚡ Performance	High	30 minutes

What This Checks

Validates that proper HTTP cache headers are configured for static assets and responses.

Why It Matters

• Performance Impact: Browser caching reduces server load and bandwidth
• User Experience: Cached assets load instantly from browser cache
• CDN Efficiency: Proper headers enable CDN caching

Without cache headers, browsers re-download assets on every page load, wasting bandwidth and slowing page loads.

How to Fix

Proper Fix (30 minutes)

Add cache headers in .htaccess or Nginx config:

Apache (.htaccess):

<IfModule mod_expires.c>
    ExpiresActive On
    ExpiresByType image/jpg "access plus 1 year"
    ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access plus 1 year"
    ExpiresByType image/gif "access plus 1 year"
    ExpiresByType image/png "access plus 1 year"
    ExpiresByType text/css "access plus 1 month"
    ExpiresByType application/javascript "access plus 1 month"
</IfModule>

Nginx:

location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|css|js)$ {
    expires 1y;
    add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
}

ShieldCI Configuration

This analyzer is automatically skipped in CI environments and only runs in production and staging environments.

Why skip in CI and development?

• HTTP cache header checks require a live web server, not applicable in CI
• Local/Development/Testing environments may not have cache headers configured, which is acceptable
• Production and staging should have proper cache headers for optimal browser caching

Environment Detection: The analyzer checks your Laravel APP_ENV setting and only runs when it maps to production or staging. Custom environment names can be mapped in config/shieldci.php:

// config/shieldci.php
'environment_mapping' => [
    'production-us' => 'production',
    'production-blue' => 'production',
    'staging-preview' => 'staging',
],

Examples:

• APP_ENV=production → Runs (no mapping needed)
• APP_ENV=production-us → Maps to production → Runs
• APP_ENV=local → Skipped (not production/staging)

References

• HTTP Caching
• Laravel Response Caching

Related Analyzers

• Asset Minification Analyzer - Ensures JavaScript and CSS assets are minified for production