Help:Cache

To speed things up and conserve communications bandwidth, browsers attempt to keep local copies of pages, images, and other content you've visited, so that it need not be downloaded again later. Occasionally this caching scheme goes awry (eg. the browser insists on showing out-of-date content), making it necessary to bypass the cache, thus forcing your browser to re-download a web page's complete, up-to-date content.

When you encounter strange behavior, first try bypassing your cache. In most cases you can use the simple instructions shown to the right. If this is not enough, you can try performing a "Purge" of the wiki's server cache.

Purge
Purge is a more substantial operation that updates a wiki page when templates and other transcluded content shown is out-of-date. Purge clears the page's server cache and rebuilds the wiki page display using the most current wiki database content.

For updating a page display, any purge methods do the job, but for updating category listings, a "null edit" (described below) may be required.

Note that images at Terraria Wiki operate on a separate caching system that cannot be updated manually, and neither purging nor null edits will have any effect on them. The caching period must expire on its own, which generally occurs after 5-15 minutes.

How to purge

 * Purge link
 * Some pages provide a purge link. Simply click it. The purge template can be used to display a purge link on pages, but this should only be added in special cases where a page contains transcluded content that is likely to change.


 * Gadgets
 * There are also two Gadgets that can add a purge link to your wiki interface on every page. These may be enabled via the Gadgets section of your Terraria Wiki Preferences: UTC Clock and Purge Link.


 * Manually
 * All of the above methods use a special URL to purge the page. You can enter this URL manually using one of the following formats:


 * Null edit
 * A null edit purges the page in the most complete way possible:
 * Click the "Edit" tab at the top of the page.
 * Click "Save" without making any changes.
 * This type of purge has the advantage of updating a page's placement in its various category listings, whereas other methods do not.