Etag usage with Express 4.x

Question

I am confused about using Etag with Express 4. My understanding was that if you do this:

app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public'), {
    etag: true, 
    maxAge:60000
}));

then the browser will cache assets for 60 seconds, which means that if you as the developer make a change to a static asset on the filesystem in development, then the browser won't pick up the change if you refresh until the Etag expires?

doesn't that mean that we should disable Etags in development, or are my assumptions incorrect?

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 01 '15 at 06:06

1

You are correct, caching can interfere with development. Here is a way to check the environment:

// development only
if ('development' == app.get('env')) {
  //app.use...
}

answered Oct 01 '15 at 06:06

Jason Livesay

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you know anything about strong vs weak etags? – Alexander Mills Oct 01 '15 at 06:12
1

Not sure about strong etags specifically but this may be related: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/499966/etag-vs-header-expires – Jason Livesay Oct 01 '15 at 06:14

Etag usage with Express 4.x

1 Answers1