Create a rule via API

Use the Rulesets API ↗ to create a cache rule via API. To configure Cloudflare’s API refer to the API documentation.

Basic rule settings

When creating a cache rule via API, make sure you:

• Set the rule action to set_cache_settings.
• Define the parameters in the action_parameters field according to the settings you wish to override for matching requests.
• Deploy the rule to the http_request_cache_settings phase entry point ruleset.

Procedure

1. Use the List zone rulesets method to obtain the list of rules already present in the http_request_cache_settings phase entry point ruleset.
2. If the phase ruleset does not exist, create it using the Create a zone ruleset operation. In the new ruleset properties, set the following values:
   • kind: zone
   • phase: http_request_cache_settings
3. Use the Update a zone ruleset operation to add a cache rule to the list of ruleset rules. Alternatively, include the rule in the Create a zone ruleset request mentioned in the previous step.
4. (Optional) To update an existing cache rule, use the Update a zone ruleset rule operation. For an example, refer to the section below.

Example requests

These examples are setting all the Cache Rules of a zone to a single rule, since using these examples directly will cause any existing rules to be deleted.

Example: Cache everything for example.com

Update a zone ruleset

curl "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/rulesets/$RULESET_ID" \
  --request PUT \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
  --json '{
    "rules": [
        {
            "expression": "(http.host eq \"example.com\")",
            "description": "cache everything for example.com",
            "action": "set_cache_settings",
            "action_parameters": {
                "cache": true
            }
        }
    ]
  }'

Example: Extend read timeout for Android clients

Update a zone ruleset

curl "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/rulesets/$RULESET_ID" \
  --request PUT \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
  --json '{
    "rules": [
        {
            "expression": "(http.user_agent contains \"Android\")",
            "description": "extend read timeout for android clients",
            "action": "set_cache_settings",
            "action_parameters": {
                "cache": true,
                "read_timeout": 300
            }
        }
    ]
  }'

Example: Disable Cache Reserve for frequently updated assets

Update a zone ruleset

curl "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/rulesets/$RULESET_ID" \
  --request PUT \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
  --json '{
    "rules": [
        {
            "expression": "(starts_with(http.request.uri, \"/feed/\"))",
            "description": "disable cache reserve for frequently updated assets",
            "action": "set_cache_settings",
            "action_parameters": {
                "cache": true,
                "cache_reserve": {
                    "enabled": false
                }
            }
        }
    ]
  }'

Example: Turn off default cache TTLs

Update a zone ruleset

curl "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/rulesets/$RULESET_ID" \
  --request PUT \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
  --json '{
    "rules": [
        {
            "expression": "(http.host eq \"example.com\")",
            "description": "turn off default cache ttls",
            "action": "set_cache_settings",
            "action_parameters": {
                "cache": true,
                "edge_ttl": {
                    "mode": "bypass_by_default"
                }
            }
        }
    ]
  }'

Example: Update the position of an existing rule

Update a zone ruleset rule

curl "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/rulesets/$RULESET_ID/rules/$RULE_ID" \
  --request PATCH \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
  --json '{
    "expression": "(http.host eq \"example.com\")",
    "description": "cache everything for example.com",
    "action": "set_cache_settings",
    "action_parameters": {
        "cache": true
    },
    "enabled": true,
    "position": {
        "before": "da5e8e506c8e7877fe06cdf4c41add54"
    }
  }'

Required API token permissions

The API token used in API requests to manage Cache Rules must have the following permissions:

• Zone > Cache Rules > Edit
• Account Rulesets > Edit
• Account Filter Lists > Edit