From e6e61f5e2836a65bc583f51942fc835df7ea3d08 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Danny Avila <danny@librechat.ai>
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2026 22:05:26 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] =?UTF-8?q?=F0=9F=94=A7=20refactor:=20Update=20cache=20con?=
 =?UTF-8?q?figuration=20for=20in-memory=20storage=20handling?=
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

- Enhanced the handling of `FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES` in `cacheConfig.ts` to default to `CONFIG_STORE` and `APP_CONFIG`, ensuring safer blue/green deployments.
- Updated `.env.example` with clearer comments regarding the usage of in-memory cache namespaces.
- Improved unit tests to validate the new default behavior and handling of empty strings for cache namespaces.
---
 .env.example                                         |  6 +++---
 packages/api/src/cache/__tests__/cacheConfig.spec.ts |  6 +++---
 packages/api/src/cache/cacheConfig.ts                | 11 ++++++++---
 3 files changed, 14 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 8ca9ce4285..4fd526f569 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -748,10 +748,10 @@ HELP_AND_FAQ_URL=https://librechat.ai
 # REDIS_PING_INTERVAL=300
 
 # Force specific cache namespaces to use in-memory storage even when Redis is enabled
-# Comma-separated list of CacheKeys (e.g., ROLES,MESSAGES)
-# For blue/green deployments, keep YAML-derived config per-container while sharing tools via Redis:
+# Comma-separated list of CacheKeys
+# Defaults to CONFIG_STORE,APP_CONFIG so YAML-derived config stays per-container (safe for blue/green deployments)
+# Set to empty string to force all namespaces through Redis: FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES=
 # FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES=CONFIG_STORE,APP_CONFIG
-# FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES=ROLES,MESSAGES
 
 # Leader Election Configuration (for multi-instance deployments with Redis)
 # Duration in seconds that the leader lease is valid before it expires (default: 25)
diff --git a/packages/api/src/cache/__tests__/cacheConfig.spec.ts b/packages/api/src/cache/__tests__/cacheConfig.spec.ts
index 007404f669..0488cfecfc 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/cache/__tests__/cacheConfig.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/cache/__tests__/cacheConfig.spec.ts
@@ -215,16 +215,16 @@ describe('cacheConfig', () => {
       }).rejects.toThrow('Invalid cache keys in FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES: INVALID_KEY');
     });
 
-    test('should handle empty string gracefully', async () => {
+    test('should produce empty array when set to empty string (opt out of defaults)', async () => {
       process.env.FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES = '';
 
       const { cacheConfig } = await import('../cacheConfig');
       expect(cacheConfig.FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES).toEqual([]);
     });
 
-    test('should handle undefined env var gracefully', async () => {
+    test('should default to CONFIG_STORE and APP_CONFIG when env var is not set', async () => {
       const { cacheConfig } = await import('../cacheConfig');
-      expect(cacheConfig.FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES).toEqual([]);
+      expect(cacheConfig.FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES).toEqual(['CONFIG_STORE', 'APP_CONFIG']);
     });
 
     test('should accept TOOL_CACHE as a valid namespace', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/api/src/cache/cacheConfig.ts b/packages/api/src/cache/cacheConfig.ts
index 32ea2cddd1..0d4304f5c3 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/cache/cacheConfig.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/cache/cacheConfig.ts
@@ -27,9 +27,14 @@ const USE_REDIS_STREAMS =
 
 // Comma-separated list of cache namespaces that should be forced to use in-memory storage
 // even when Redis is enabled. This allows selective performance optimization for specific caches.
-const FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES = process.env.FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES
-  ? process.env.FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES.split(',').map((key) => key.trim())
-  : [];
+// Defaults to CONFIG_STORE,APP_CONFIG so YAML-derived config stays per-container.
+// Set to empty string to force all namespaces through Redis.
+const FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES =
+  process.env.FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES !== undefined
+    ? process.env.FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES.split(',')
+        .map((key) => key.trim())
+        .filter(Boolean)
+    : [CacheKeys.CONFIG_STORE, CacheKeys.APP_CONFIG];
 
 // Validate against CacheKeys enum
 if (FORCED_IN_MEMORY_CACHE_NAMESPACES.length > 0) {