.net 7 How to set outputcache expiration from inside the controller?

Question

I need to set the Cache Duration within the controller or set something that can be used by a cache policy to set the ResponseExpirationTimeSpan. (How long the data can be cached varies based on the situation)

I am not using minimal API.

I tried setting the expiry value via httpContext and picking it up in a policy. eg. HttpContext.Items["cacheExpire"] = 2;

but

IOutputCachePolicy.CacheRequestAsync & IOutputCachePolicy.ServeFromCacheAsync gets called before the controller method and setting it in IOutputCachePolicy.ServeResponseAsync does not take effect.

What is the correct solution for this scenario?

Answer 1

To set the cache duration in a controller, get the IOutputCacheFeature and set the time on it.

example:

public class TestController: ControllerBase
{
  [HttpGet]
  public ActionResult<string> Get()
  {
     var cache = HttpContext.Features.Get<IOutputCacheFeature>() ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("Output cache feature not found");
     cache.Context.ResponseExpirationTimeSpan = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(20);
     return "Test Controller";
  }
}