---
title: Cache Response Rules
description: Control response headers and settings for cached content.
image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/core-services-preview.png
---

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# Cache Response Rules

Cache Response Rules allow you to configure cache settings based on request and response attributes. These rules execute prior to caching in the `http_response_cache_settings` phase, which runs after Cloudflare receives the origin response.

With Cache Response Rules you can:

* Modify `Cache-Control` directives sent by your origin.
* Modify cache tags on responses for targeted [cache purging](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cache/how-to/purge-cache/).
* Strip headers (`ETag`, `Set-Cookie`, `Last-Modified`) from origin responses before caching.

Cache Response Rules apply to both cached and non-cached (dynamic) responses from the origin. For example, you can strip Set-Cookie headers from responses that are not eligible for caching.

Cache Response Rules can be created in the [dashboard](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cache/how-to/cache-response-rules/create-dashboard/), via [API](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cache/how-to/cache-response-rules/create-api/), or [Terraform](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cache/how-to/cache-response-rules/terraform-example/).

Note

Cache Response Rules require that you [proxy the DNS records](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/proxy-status/) of your domain (or subdomain) through Cloudflare.

## Availability

The following table describes Cache Response Rules availability per plan.

| Free            | Pro | Business | Enterprise |     |
| --------------- | --- | -------- | ---------- | --- |
| Availability    | Yes | Yes      | Yes        | Yes |
| Number of rules | 10  | 25       | 50         | 300 |

## Troubleshooting

When troubleshooting Cache Response Rules, use [Cloudflare Trace](https://developers.cloudflare.com/rules/trace-request/) to determine if a rule is triggering for a specific URL.

## Relationship with Cache Rules

Cache Response Rules operate on the origin response, while [Cache Rules](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cache/how-to/cache-rules/) operate on the incoming request. When settings from both rule types conflict, Cache Response Rules take precedence.

Key differences:

* **Cache eligibility**: Cache Rules remain the only mechanism to decide whether content is eligible for caching. However, Cache Response Rules can make a cacheable asset non-cacheable by setting the `no-store` directive using the `set_cache_control` action.
* **Origin Cache Control (OCC)**: If any rule in the `http_response_cache_settings` phase matches, Cloudflare defaults to Origin Cache Control behavior (`origin_cache_control = true`).
* **CDN-Cache-Control precedence**: `Cache-Control` directives set by Cache Response Rules take precedence over origin-set `Cloudflare-CDN-Cache-Control` and `CDN-Cache-Control` headers. For more information, refer to [CDN-Cache-Control header precedence](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cache/concepts/cdn-cache-control/#header-precedence).
* **Stacking**: Cache Response Rules stack the same way as Cache Rules. When multiple rules specify the same setting, the last matching rule wins.

### Example: OCC precedence over Edge TTL

Consider the following scenario:

1. A Cache Rule sets **Edge TTL** to `override_origin` with a value of `7200` seconds (2 hours).
2. A Cache Response Rule uses `set_cache_control` to set `s-maxage` to `3600` seconds (1 hour) with `cloudflare_only` enabled.
3. The origin responds with `Cache-Control: s-maxage=600`.

In this case, the Cache Response Rule takes precedence. Cloudflare caches the asset for `3600` seconds (1 hour) based on the `s-maxage` directive set by the Cache Response Rule, while visitors still receive the original `s-maxage=600` from the origin because `cloudflare_only` is enabled.

## Notes

* If you strip last modified then Smart Edge Revalidation will be turned off.
* Cache Response Rules ignore [1xx HTTP response status codes](https://developers.cloudflare.com/support/troubleshooting/http-status-codes/1xx-informational/) as they are treated as informational responses.
* Cache Response Rules can be versioned. Refer to the [Version Management](https://developers.cloudflare.com/version-management/) documentation for more information.

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/directory/","name":"Directory"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/cache/","name":"Cache / CDN"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"/cache/how-to/","name":"Cache configuration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@id":"/cache/how-to/cache-response-rules/","name":"Cache Response Rules"}}]}
```