# varnishcache/varnish-cache

Varnish Cache source code repository

Repository: https://github.com/varnishcache/varnish-cache
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/varnish-cache
Homepage: https://www.varnish-cache.org
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: http, caching, reverse-proxy, high-performance
Archived: true
Last push: 2026-02-16T01:29:54+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 67, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3985, "days_push": 199, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, archived, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 4048, forks 394 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:33.780338+00:00)

## What it is
Varnish Cache is a high-performance open-source HTTP accelerator and reverse caching proxy written in C, serving cached responses from memory in front of origin servers. It is configured via VCL (a compiled configuration language), supports in-process TLS termination, and ships with official Docker images and a Kubernetes Helm chart.

## Use cases
- speed up my website by caching HTTP responses in front of my origin server
- set up a reverse proxy cache for a high-traffic web application
- terminate TLS without a separate sidecar proxy
- deploy a caching layer on Kubernetes with a Helm chart
- cache API responses with custom cache policies
- rate-limit requests in front of my backend
- serve cached pages in microseconds under heavy load

## When to choose
- you need extremely fast HTTP caching in front of web origins
- you want programmable cache policy via a compiled configuration language (VCL)
- you deploy on Linux, Docker, or Kubernetes and want native TLS termination
- you need a mature, battle-tested accelerator with a long release history

## When to avoid
- you need a general-purpose forward proxy or full CDN with global edge nodes
- you need dynamic content that cannot be cached effectively
- you want a simple drop-in config without learning VCL
- you need Windows or macOS native support

## Facets
- artifact type: service
- maturity: active
- function: caching, http-server, proxy, middleware, security, logging, monitoring
- domain: web-development, backend, infrastructure-as-code, self-hosted, performance, networking
- platform: self-hosted, cloud
- tags: reverse-proxy, http-accelerator, vcl, tls-termination, cdn, content-delivery, edge-cache, vmod, linux, docker, kubernetes, web-server

## Member repositories
- varnishcache/varnish-cache (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:33.780338+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:23:41.536559+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/varnishcache/varnish-cache (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:33.780338+00:00, sha 663d05b637fb)
  - homepage: https://www.varnish-cache.org (fetched 2026-08-29T09:16:12.878273+00:00, sha d6391b6ef0de)
  - site_page: https://www.varnish.org/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T09:16:12.887490+00:00, sha ce6a9367b9d4)
  - site_page: https://www.varnish.org/docs/index.html (fetched 2026-08-29T09:16:12.891240+00:00, sha ce6a9367b9d4)
  - site_page: https://www.varnish.org/docs/extra-features (fetched 2026-08-29T09:16:12.893165+00:00, sha bd4ccb626edc)
  - site_page: https://www.varnish.org/docs/install-guide/install-docker (fetched 2026-08-29T09:16:12.895657+00:00, sha 7bf9914aef04)
  - site_page: https://www.varnish.org/docs/install-guide/install-kubernetes (fetched 2026-08-29T09:16:12.897356+00:00, sha 2eb9a26c5eb8)
  - site_page: https://www.varnish.org/docs/install-guide/install-debian-ubuntu (fetched 2026-08-29T09:16:12.898972+00:00, sha 95b30bbf13e8)
  - site_page: https://www.varnish.org/docs/install-guide/install-rhel-compatible (fetched 2026-08-29T09:16:12.900552+00:00, sha 59702e34a692)
  - site_page: https://www.varnish.org/releases (fetched 2026-08-29T09:16:12.889408+00:00, sha 3764408f559a)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.