README.md

@@ -86,7 +86,10 @@ prevent abuse, and allowlisted source hosts for open access.
 
 Multiple source paths may reference the same content blob; the
 database tracks references rather than using filesystem refcounting.
-In-process caching of request-to-output mappings targets 1-5k r/s.
+Toward a target of 1-5k r/s, pixa keeps in memory the content types of
+the 10,000 transformed images most recently cached or served, so a
+cache hit on one of them reads only the image file from disk and not
+the metadata file stored beside it.
 
 ### Routes
 

TODO.md

@@ -29,6 +29,15 @@ P2: security: referer blacklist
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-09-29 variant content types kept in memory (closes #70):
+  `Cache.metaCache` holds the content types of up to 10,000 variants in an LRU
+  (`github.com/hashicorp/golang-lru/v2`), filled by `StoreVariant` and by
+  `GetVariant` after it reads a `.meta` file; for a variant it holds, `Lookup`
+  skips the check of the disk and `GetVariant` skips the `.meta` read, still
+  opening the variant file and taking the size from it; eviction removes the
+  entry before deleting the files, and `GetVariant` removes it when the file
+  will not open; the cap is a constant, not a setting; the unused `variantMeta`
+  type is gone; `README.md` describes it.
 - 2026-09-29 maintenance mode refuses image requests (closes #71): while
   `maintenance_mode` is on, `/v1/image/` and `/v1/e/` answer 503 with a
   `Retry-After` header and the JSON error body, from one middleware in

go.mod

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/go-chi/httprate v0.16.0
 	github.com/gorilla/csrf v1.7.3
 	github.com/gorilla/securecookie v1.1.2
+	github.com/hashicorp/golang-lru/v2 v2.0.7
 	github.com/prometheus/client_golang v1.23.2
 	github.com/slok/go-http-metrics v0.13.0
 	github.com/spf13/cobra v1.10.2

go.sum

@@ -228,6 +228,8 @@ github.com/hashicorp/go-version v1.2.1/go.mod h1:fltr4n8CU8Ke44wwGCBoEymUuxUHl09
 github.com/hashicorp/golang-lru v0.5.0/go.mod h1:/m3WP610KZHVQ1SGc6re/UDhFvYD7pJ4Ao+sR/qLZy8=
 github.com/hashicorp/golang-lru v0.5.4 h1:YDjusn29QI/Das2iO9M0BHnIbxPeyuCHsjMW+lJfyTc=
 github.com/hashicorp/golang-lru v0.5.4/go.mod h1:iADmTwqILo4mZ8BN3D2Q6+9jd8WM5uGBxy+E8yxSoD4=
+github.com/hashicorp/golang-lru/v2 v2.0.7 h1:a+bsQ5rvGLjzHuww6tVxozPZFVghXaHOwFs4luLUK2k=
+github.com/hashicorp/golang-lru/v2 v2.0.7/go.mod h1:QeFd9opnmA6QUJc5vARoKUSoFhyfM2/ZepoAG6RGpeM=
 github.com/hashicorp/hcl v1.0.1-vault-7 h1:ag5OxFVy3QYTFTJODRzTKVZ6xvdfLLCA1cy/Y6xGI0I=
 github.com/hashicorp/hcl v1.0.1-vault-7/go.mod h1:XYhtn6ijBSAj6n4YqAaf7RBPS4I06AItNorpy+MoQNM=
 github.com/hashicorp/logutils v1.0.0/go.mod h1:QIAnNjmIWmVIIkWDTG1z5v++HQmx9WQRO+LraFDTW64=

internal/imgcache/cache.go

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
+	lru "github.com/hashicorp/golang-lru/v2"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/pixa/internal/httpfetcher"
 )
 
@@ -26,6 +27,10 @@ var (
 // HTTP status code for successful fetch.
 const httpStatusOK = 200
 
+// metaCacheSize is how many variants' content types metaCache holds. A
+// variant not among them is served as before, reading its .meta file.
+const metaCacheSize = 10000
+
 // CacheConfig holds cache configuration.
 type CacheConfig struct {
 	StateDir    string
@@ -49,12 +54,6 @@ type CacheConfig struct {
 	Logger *slog.Logger
 }
 
-// variantMeta stores content type for fast cache hits without reading .meta file.
-type variantMeta struct {
-	ContentType string
-	Size        int64
-}
-
 // Cache implements the caching layer for the image proxy.
 type Cache struct {
 	db          *sql.DB
@@ -76,9 +75,10 @@ type Cache struct {
 	evictionStarted  bool
 	evictionStopOnce sync.Once
 
-	// In-memory cache of variant metadata (content type, size) to avoid
-	// reading .meta files
-	metaCache map[VariantKey]variantMeta
+	// metaCache holds the content types of the variants most recently
+	// stored or served, so a hit does not read the variant's .meta file.
+	// It never stands in for the variant file, which is always opened.
+	metaCache *lru.Cache[VariantKey, string]
 
 	// contentLocks serializes StoreSource and evictSourceBlob per
 	// content hash, closing the race window between an eviction's row
@@ -101,6 +101,11 @@ func NewCache(db *sql.DB, config CacheConfig) (*Cache, error) {
 		log = slog.Default()
 	}
 
+	metaCache, err := lru.New[VariantKey, string](metaCacheSize)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create variant content type cache: %w", err)
+	}
+
 	c := &Cache{
 		db:               db,
 		config:           config,
@@ -109,7 +114,7 @@ func NewCache(db *sql.DB, config CacheConfig) (*Cache, error) {
 		evictionPressure: make(chan struct{}, 1),
 		evictionStop:     make(chan struct{}),
 		evictionDone:     make(chan struct{}),
-		metaCache:        make(map[VariantKey]variantMeta),
+		metaCache:        metaCache,
 		contentLocks:     newContentLock(),
 	}
 
@@ -154,13 +159,15 @@ type LookupResult struct {
 	CacheStatus CacheStatus
 }
 
-// Lookup checks if a processed variant exists on disk. Hits touch the
-// variant's LRU timestamp; a disabled cache always misses.
+// Lookup checks if a processed variant exists on disk: a variant held
+// in metaCache counts as present without a check of the disk. Hits
+// touch the variant's LRU timestamp; a disabled cache always misses.
 func (c *Cache) Lookup(ctx context.Context, req *ImageRequest) (*LookupResult, error) {
 	cacheKey := CacheKey(req)
 
-	// Check variant storage directly - no DB needed for cache hits
-	if !c.disabled && c.variants.Exists(cacheKey) {
+	// Check memory, then variant storage - no DB needed for cache hits
+	if !c.disabled &&
+		(c.metaCache.Contains(cacheKey) || c.variants.Exists(cacheKey)) {
 		c.touchVariant(ctx, cacheKey)
 
 		return &LookupResult{
@@ -177,13 +184,35 @@ func (c *Cache) Lookup(ctx context.Context, req *ImageRequest) (*LookupResult, e
 	}, nil
 }
 
-// GetVariant returns a reader, size, and content type for a cached variant.
+// GetVariant returns a reader, size, and content type for a cached
+// variant. The content type comes from metaCache, or else from the
+// variant's .meta file and is then kept in metaCache.
 func (c *Cache) GetVariant(cacheKey VariantKey) (io.ReadCloser, int64, string, error) {
 	if c.disabled {
 		return nil, 0, "", ErrNotFound
 	}
 
-	return c.variants.LoadWithMeta(cacheKey)
+	contentType, known := c.metaCache.Get(cacheKey)
+	if known {
+		reader, size, err := c.variants.LoadWithSize(cacheKey)
+		if err != nil {
+			// The file is gone, e.g. deleted outside pixa
+			c.metaCache.Remove(cacheKey)
+
+			return nil, 0, "", err
+		}
+
+		return reader, size, contentType, nil
+	}
+
+	reader, size, contentType, err := c.variants.LoadWithMeta(cacheKey)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, 0, "", err
+	}
+
+	c.metaCache.Add(cacheKey, contentType)
+
+	return reader, size, contentType, nil
 }
 
 // StoreSource stores fetched source content and metadata. On a
@@ -286,6 +315,8 @@ func (c *Cache) StoreVariant(
 		return err
 	}
 
+	c.metaCache.Add(cacheKey, contentType)
+
 	_, err = c.db.ExecContext(ctx, `
 		INSERT INTO variant_content (cache_key, size_bytes, content_type)
 		VALUES (?, ?, ?)

internal/imgcache/eviction.go

@@ -271,7 +271,9 @@ func (c *Cache) sourceCandidates(ctx context.Context) ([]evictionCandidate, erro
 
 // evictVariant removes one variant: accounting row first, then the
 // content and .meta files, so the database never references a deleted
-// file.
+// file. The metaCache entry goes before the files; a GetVariant that
+// read them just before may put it back, and the next GetVariant then
+// fails to open the file and removes it again.
 func (c *Cache) evictVariant(ctx context.Context, cacheKey VariantKey) error {
 	_, err := c.db.ExecContext(ctx,
 		`DELETE FROM variant_content WHERE cache_key = ?`, string(cacheKey))
@@ -279,6 +281,8 @@ func (c *Cache) evictVariant(ctx context.Context, cacheKey VariantKey) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to delete variant accounting row: %w", err)
 	}
 
+	c.metaCache.Remove(cacheKey)
+
 	err = c.variants.DeleteWithMeta(cacheKey)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err

internal/imgcache/storage.go

@@ -506,32 +506,43 @@ func (s *VariantStorage) Load(key VariantKey) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
 	return f, nil
 }
 
-// LoadWithMeta returns a reader, size, and content type for the content at
-// the given key.
-func (s *VariantStorage) LoadWithMeta(
-	key VariantKey,
-) (io.ReadCloser, int64, string, error) {
+// LoadWithSize returns a reader and file size for the content at the
+// given key.
+func (s *VariantStorage) LoadWithSize(key VariantKey) (io.ReadCloser, int64, error) {
 	path := s.keyToPath(key)
-	metaPath := path + ".meta"
 
 	f, err := os.Open(path) //nolint:gosec // path derived from cache key
 	if err != nil {
 		if os.IsNotExist(err) {
-			return nil, 0, "", ErrNotFound
+			return nil, 0, ErrNotFound
 		}
 
-		return nil, 0, "", fmt.Errorf("failed to open content: %w", err)
+		return nil, 0, fmt.Errorf("failed to open content: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	stat, err := f.Stat()
 	if err != nil {
 		_ = f.Close()
 
-		return nil, 0, "", fmt.Errorf("failed to stat content: %w", err)
+		return nil, 0, fmt.Errorf("failed to stat content: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	return f, stat.Size(), nil
+}
+
+// LoadWithMeta returns a reader, size, and content type for the content at
+// the given key.
+func (s *VariantStorage) LoadWithMeta(
+	key VariantKey,
+) (io.ReadCloser, int64, string, error) {
+	f, size, err := s.LoadWithSize(key)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, 0, "", err
 	}
 
 	// Load metadata for content type
 	contentType := "application/octet-stream" // fallback
+	metaPath := s.keyToPath(key) + ".meta"
 
 	metaData, err := os.ReadFile(metaPath) //nolint:gosec // path derived from cache key
 	if err == nil {
@@ -541,7 +552,7 @@ func (s *VariantStorage) LoadWithMeta(
 		}
 	}
 
-	return f, stat.Size(), contentType, nil
+	return f, size, contentType, nil
 }
 
 // Exists checks if content exists at the given key.