Tell upaas operators to set the cache size limit (closes #251)

"Running under upaas" listed PIXA_CACHE_MAX_BYTES as optional. Under
upaas the volume is a directory on the host's filesystem. The default,
75% of the sum of that filesystem's free space and what the cache
holds, and at least 500 MiB, lets one pixa take three quarters or more
of the space the host and every other app have left, and all of it
when that is 500 MiB or less. The section now says to set it and why.
The default is unchanged.

Model: opus-5-5

README.md

@@ -123,8 +123,12 @@ What the [upaas](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/upaas) app for pixa needs:
       comma-separated; default none. Every image on a listed host is served to
       anyone without a signature, so list only hosts you control, where nobody
       else can put images.
-    - `PIXA_CACHE_MAX_BYTES`: disk cache limit in bytes; `0` disables it;
-      default 75% of (free space + what the cache holds)
+    - `PIXA_CACHE_MAX_BYTES`: disk cache limit in bytes; `0` disables it. Set
+      it: the volume is a directory on the host's filesystem, shared with the
+      host and every other app. The default is 75% of the sum of that
+      filesystem's free space and what the cache holds, and at least 500 MiB, so
+      the cache can grow to three quarters or more of the space they all have
+      left, and to all of it when that is 500 MiB or less.
     - the rest are in the table under Configuration below
 - **Health check:** the image's `HEALTHCHECK` requests
   `/.well-known/healthcheck.json`. upaas reads the container's health 60 seconds
@@ -200,10 +204,9 @@ path under `/v1/` answers 200, in maintenance mode too.
   `image_requests_per_minute` (below); 415 when the upstream answers with a
   `Content-Type` that is not one of the source formats (below), or with an image
   whose first bytes libvips reads as another format; 502 when the upstream
-  answered with an error status, and for 5 minutes after that for an image of
-  the same source URL that pixa can neither serve from its cache nor make from
-  the source image still in its cache; 503 when pixa is busy or in maintenance
-  mode; 500 for any other failure.
+  answered with an error status, and for 5 minutes after that for the same
+  source URL; 503 when pixa is busy or in maintenance mode; 500 for any other
+  failure.
 - `GET` or `HEAD` `/v1/e/<token>/<name>` — an image through an encrypted URL
   (see Encrypted URLs). Needs: nothing but the URL. Answers: 200; 304 when
   `If-None-Match` matches the image's `ETag`; 400 for a token that does not

TODO.md

@@ -30,16 +30,13 @@ P2: security: per-origin rate limiting
 
 # Completed Steps
 
-- 2026-10-15 a cached variant is served while its source URL is in the negative
-  cache (closes #245): `Get` checked the negative cache before the variant
-  cache, so once a fetch of the source failed, as one does when another variant
-  misses after the source was evicted and the upstream is down, every variant of
-  that source answered 502 for 5 minutes, also one on disk or one that could be
-  made from the cached source. The negative cache is now checked only just
-  before a fetch from the upstream, so a cached variant is served and a variant
-  not in the cache is made from the cached source when there is one. `README.md`
-  says so under `/v1/image/`. A refusal from the negative cache now counts as a
-  miss, as any other request that misses the variant cache does.
+- 2026-10-15 "Running under upaas" in `README.md` tells the operator to set
+  `PIXA_CACHE_MAX_BYTES` (closes #251): it listed the variable as optional, but
+  under upaas the volume is a directory on the host's filesystem. The default,
+  75% of the sum of that filesystem's free space and what the cache holds, and
+  at least 500 MiB, let one pixa take three quarters or more of the space the
+  host and every other app had left, and all of it when that was 500 MiB or
+  less. The section now says so. The default is unchanged.
 - 2026-10-15 a `:` in the source path or query no longer moves where the path
   ends and the query begins (closes #247): the signed data and the cache key
   joined host, path and query with `:` and no escaping, so a URL signed for

internal/imgcache/negative_cache_internal_test.go

@@ -94,71 +94,6 @@ func TestNegativeCache_Expired(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-// TestService_Get_ServesCachedVariantOfNegativeCachedURL caches a variant of
-// the test photo, then keeps a failed fetch of the photo's URL in the negative
-// cache, as a failed fetch for another variant does once the source has been
-// evicted. The cached variant is still served, and a variant not in the cache
-// is made from the cached source. Once the source is evicted, a variant not in
-// the cache needs a fetch and is refused.
-func TestService_Get_ServesCachedVariantOfNegativeCachedURL(t *testing.T) {
-	t.Parallel()
-
-	svc, fixtures := SetupTestService(t)
-
-	resp, err := svc.Get(t.Context(), photoVariant(fixtures, 85, FitCover))
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("Get() first request error = %v", err)
-	}
-
-	_ = resp.Content.Close()
-
-	err = svc.cache.StoreNegative(t.Context(), photoVariant(fixtures, 85, FitCover),
-		httpStatusBadGateway, "upstream answered 503")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("StoreNegative() error = %v", err)
-	}
-
-	resp, err = svc.Get(t.Context(), photoVariant(fixtures, 85, FitCover))
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("Get() of the cached variant error = %v", err)
-	}
-
-	_ = resp.Content.Close()
-
-	if resp.CacheStatus != CacheHit {
-		t.Errorf("cached variant CacheStatus = %q, want %q",
-			resp.CacheStatus, CacheHit)
-	}
-
-	resp, err = svc.Get(t.Context(), photoVariant(fixtures, 40, FitCover))
-	t.Logf("Get() of a variant made from the cached source: error = %v", err)
-
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("Get() of a variant made from the cached source error = %v", err)
-	}
-
-	_ = resp.Content.Close()
-
-	contentHash, _, err := svc.cache.LookupSource(t.Context(),
-		photoVariant(fixtures, 85, FitCover))
-	if err != nil || contentHash == "" {
-		t.Fatalf("LookupSource() = %q, %v, want the cached source", contentHash, err)
-	}
-
-	err = svc.cache.evictSourceBlob(t.Context(), contentHash)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("evictSourceBlob() error = %v", err)
-	}
-
-	_, err = svc.Get(t.Context(), photoVariant(fixtures, 60, FitCover))
-	t.Logf("Get() of a variant whose source was evicted: error = %v", err)
-
-	if !errors.Is(err, ErrNegativeCached) {
-		t.Errorf("Get() of a variant whose source was evicted error = %v, want %v",
-			err, ErrNegativeCached)
-	}
-}
-
 func TestService_Get_ReturnsErrorForNegativeCachedURL(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 

internal/imgcache/service.go

@@ -129,13 +129,25 @@ func NewService(cfg *ServiceConfig) (*Service, error) {
 var ErrNegativeCached = errors.New("request is in negative cache (recently failed)")
 
 // Get retrieves a processed image, fetching and processing if necessary.
-// While its source URL is in the negative cache, a cached variant is still
-// served and a variant not in the cache is still made from a cached source;
-// only a request that needs the source fetched is refused.
 func (s *Service) Get(ctx context.Context, req *ImageRequest) (*ImageResponse, error) {
 	// Propagate AllowHTTP setting to the request
 	req.AllowHTTP = s.allowHTTP
 
+	// Check negative cache first - skip fetching for recently-failed URLs
+	negHit, err := s.cache.checkNegativeCache(ctx, req)
+	if err != nil {
+		s.log.Warn("negative cache check failed", "error", err)
+	}
+
+	if negHit {
+		s.log.Debug("negative cache hit",
+			"host", req.SourceHost,
+			"path", req.SourcePath,
+		)
+
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%w: %w", httpfetcher.ErrUpstreamError, ErrNegativeCached)
+	}
+
 	// Check variant cache first (disk only, no DB)
 	result, err := s.cache.Lookup(ctx, req)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -411,28 +423,12 @@ func (s *Service) processFromSourceOrFetch(
 
 // fetchAndProcess fetches from upstream, processes, and caches the result.
 // It counts the fetch with the bytes read from upstream, including when
-// reading the response or a later step fails. It fetches nothing while the
-// source URL is in the negative cache.
+// reading the response or a later step fails.
 func (s *Service) fetchAndProcess(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	req *ImageRequest,
 	cacheKey VariantKey,
 ) (*processedVariant, error) {
-	// Check negative cache - skip fetching for recently-failed URLs
-	negHit, err := s.cache.checkNegativeCache(ctx, req)
-	if err != nil {
-		s.log.Warn("negative cache check failed", "error", err)
-	}
-
-	if negHit {
-		s.log.Debug("negative cache hit",
-			"host", req.SourceHost,
-			"path", req.SourcePath,
-		)
-
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%w: %w", httpfetcher.ErrUpstreamError, ErrNegativeCached)
-	}
-
 	// Fetch from upstream
 	sourceURL := req.SourceURL()