Avoid Unnecessary API Calls with Laravel's Cache::remember()

Imagine your application displays popular categories on every page.

You might query them repeatedly:

$categories = Category::orderByDesc('posts_count')
    ->take(10)
    ->get();

If hundreds of users request the page, the same query can run again and again.

If the data doesn't change frequently, that's unnecessary work.

Use Cache::remember()

Laravel provides a simple way to cache the result:

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache;
$categories = Cache::remember(
    'popular-categories',
    3600,
    fn () => Category::orderByDesc('posts_count')
        ->take(10)
        ->get()
);

The first request runs the query and stores the result.

Later requests use the cached value.

How It Works

The flow is simple:

First request
      ↓
Cache doesn't exist
      ↓
Run query
      ↓
Store result
      ↓
Return result


Next request
      ↓
Cache exists
      ↓
Return cached result

Choose the Right Expiration

The second argument defines how long the value should remain cached.

For example:

Cache::remember('popular-categories', 3600, ...);

Here, 3600 represents one hour.

For data that changes frequently, use a shorter duration.

For relatively stable data, a longer duration may make sense.

Clear the Cache When Data Changes

If you update the categories, you may want to remove the old cached value:

Cache::forget('popular-categories');

The next request will execute the query again and store the fresh result.