crawl4ai/docs/md_v2/basic/cache-modes.md

# Crawl4AI Cache System and Migration Guide

## Overview
Starting from version 0.5.0, Crawl4AI introduces a new caching system that replaces the old boolean flags with a more intuitive `CacheMode` enum. This change simplifies cache control and makes the behavior more predictable.

## Old vs New Approach

### Old Way (Deprecated)
The old system used multiple boolean flags:
- `bypass_cache`: Skip cache entirely
- `disable_cache`: Disable all caching
- `no_cache_read`: Don't read from cache
- `no_cache_write`: Don't write to cache

### New Way (Recommended)
The new system uses a single `CacheMode` enum:
- `CacheMode.ENABLED`: Normal caching (read/write)
- `CacheMode.DISABLED`: No caching at all
- `CacheMode.READ_ONLY`: Only read from cache
- `CacheMode.WRITE_ONLY`: Only write to cache
- `CacheMode.BYPASS`: Skip cache for this operation

## Migration Example

### Old Code (Deprecated)
```python
import asyncio
from crawl4ai import AsyncWebCrawler

async def use_proxy():
    async with AsyncWebCrawler(verbose=True) as crawler:
        result = await crawler.arun(
            url="https://www.nbcnews.com/business",
            bypass_cache=True  # Old way
        )
        print(len(result.markdown))

async def main():
    await use_proxy()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())
```

### New Code (Recommended)
```python
import asyncio
from crawl4ai import AsyncWebCrawler, CacheMode  # Import CacheMode

async def use_proxy():
    async with AsyncWebCrawler(verbose=True) as crawler:
        result = await crawler.arun(
            url="https://www.nbcnews.com/business",
            cache_mode=CacheMode.BYPASS  # New way
        )
        print(len(result.markdown))

async def main():
    await use_proxy()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())
```

## Common Migration Patterns

Old Flag | New Mode
---------|----------
`bypass_cache=True` | `cache_mode=CacheMode.BYPASS`
`disable_cache=True` | `cache_mode=CacheMode.DISABLED`
`no_cache_read=True` | `cache_mode=CacheMode.WRITE_ONLY`
`no_cache_write=True` | `cache_mode=CacheMode.READ_ONLY`

## Suppressing Deprecation Warnings
If you need time to migrate, you can temporarily suppress deprecation warnings:
```python
# In your config.py
SHOW_DEPRECATION_WARNINGS = False
```