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LLM Caching Skill for Claude

Implement multi-layer LLM caching with exact match, semantic similarity, and provider-side prompt caching. Reduce API costs by 30–70%, cut latency, and improve throughput using Redis, GPTCache, and provider caching APIs.

3k tokens
context cost
the whole folder, loaded on every use
1
files
instructions only
0
copies elsewhere
how many repositories repackaged it
511
stars on the repo
on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository
npx skills add https://github.com/BagelHole/DevOps-Security-Agent-Skills --skill llm-caching

The instruction itself

13 sections, as written by the author

LLM Caching

Cut LLM costs and latency with exact match, semantic, and provider-side caching layers.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

  • The same or similar queries are asked repeatedly (FAQ bots, support tools)
  • LLM API costs are growing and you need immediate savings
  • Serving high request volumes where repeated queries cause bottlenecks
  • Implementing prompt caching for long system prompts (Anthropic/OpenAI)
  • Building offline-capable AI features that need response persistence

Caching Layers

Request → Exact Cache → Semantic Cache → Provider Cache → LLM API
             ↓ hit            ↓ hit             ↓ hit
           instant          ~5ms           50-80% cheaper

Layer 1: Exact Match Cache (Redis)

import hashlib
import json
import redis
from openai import OpenAI

r = redis.Redis(host="localhost", port=6379, decode_responses=True)
client = OpenAI()

def build_cache_key(model: str, messages: list, temperature: float) -> str:
    """Deterministic key from request parameters."""
    payload = json.dumps({
        "model": model,
        "messages": messages,
        "temperature": temperature,
    }, sort_keys=True)
    return f"llm:exact:{hashlib.sha256(payload.encode()).hexdigest()}"

def cached_completion(model: str, messages: list, temperature: float = 0.0,
                      ttl: int = 3600) -> dict:
    key = build_cache_key(model, messages, temperature)

    # Check cache
    if cached := r.get(key):
        return json.loads(cached)

    # Call API
    response = client.chat.completions.create(
        model=model, messages=messages, temperature=temperature
    )
    result = response.model_dump()

    # Cache result (only cache deterministic responses)
    if temperature == 0.0:
        r.setex(key, ttl, json.dumps(result))

    return result

Layer 2: Semantic Cache (GPTCache)

from gptcache import cache, Config
from gptcache.adapter import openai
from gptcache.embedding import Onnx
from gptcache.manager import CacheBase, VectorBase, get_data_manager
from gptcache.similarity_evaluation.distance import SearchDistanceEvaluation

# Configure GPTCache with Qdrant backend
def init_gptcache(cache_obj, llm: str):
    onnx = Onnx()                              # local embedding model
    data_manager = get_data_manager(
        CacheBase("redis"),                    # metadata store
        VectorBase("qdrant",
                   host="localhost",
                   port=6333,
                   collection_name=f"llm-cache-{llm}",
                   dimension=onnx.dimension),
    )
    cache_obj.init(
        embedding_func=onnx.to_embeddings,
        data_manager=data_manager,
        similarity_evaluation=SearchDistanceEvaluation(),
        config=Config(similarity_threshold=0.80),  # 80% similarity = cache hit
    )

cache.set_openai_key()
init_gptcache(cache, "gpt-4o-mini")

# Now openai calls are automatically cached
response = openai.ChatCompletion.create(
    model="gpt-4o-mini",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "What is machine learning?"}],
)
# Second call with similar question ("Explain machine learning") → cache hit

Custom Semantic Cache (Production-Grade)

from sentence_transformers import SentenceTransformer
from qdrant_client import QdrantClient
from qdrant_client.models import Distance, VectorParams, PointStruct, Filter, FieldCondition, Range
import numpy as np
import uuid
import time

embed_model = SentenceTransformer("BAAI/bge-small-en-v1.5")  # fast, 33M params
qdrant = QdrantClient("http://localhost:6333")

CACHE_COLLECTION = "semantic-cache"
SIMILARITY_THRESHOLD = 0.88
CACHE_TTL_SECONDS = 86400  # 24h

# Create collection once
qdrant.create_collection(
    collection_name=CACHE_COLLECTION,
    vectors_config=VectorParams(size=384, distance=Distance.COSINE),
    on_disk_payload=True,
)

def semantic_cache_lookup(query: str, model: str) -> str | None:
    embedding = embed_model.encode(query).tolist()
    results = qdrant.query_points(
        collection_name=CACHE_COLLECTION,
        query=embedding,
        query_filter=Filter(must=[
            FieldCondition(key="model", match={"value": model}),
            FieldCondition(key="expires_at", range=Range(gte=time.time())),
        ]),
        limit=1,
        score_threshold=SIMILARITY_THRESHOLD,
    )
    if results.points:
        return results.points[0].payload["response"]
    return None

def semantic_cache_store(query: str, response: str, model: str):
    embedding = embed_model.encode(query).tolist()
    qdrant.upsert(
        collection_name=CACHE_COLLECTION,
        points=[PointStruct(
            id=str(uuid.uuid4()),
            vector=embedding,
            payload={
                "query": query,
                "response": response,
                "model": model,
                "created_at": time.time(),
                "expires_at": time.time() + CACHE_TTL_SECONDS,
            },
        )],
    )

def smart_llm_call(query: str, model: str = "gpt-4o-mini") -> dict:
    # 1. Semantic lookup
    if cached_response := semantic_cache_lookup(query, model):
        return {"response": cached_response, "source": "semantic_cache", "cost": 0}

    # 2. LLM call
    response = client.chat.completions.create(
        model=model,
        messages=[{"role": "user", "content": query}],
    )
    text = response.choices[0].message.content
    cost = litellm.completion_cost(response)

    # 3. Store in cache
    semantic_cache_store(query, text, model)

    return {"response": text, "source": "llm_api", "cost": cost}

Layer 3: Provider-Side Prompt Caching

# Anthropic — cache long system prompts (saves 90% on cached input tokens)
import anthropic

client = anthropic.Anthropic()

# Long system prompt — mark for caching
SYSTEM_PROMPT = open("knowledge-base.txt").read()  # e.g., 50k tokens

def call_with_prompt_cache(user_question: str) -> str:
    response = client.messages.create(
        model="claude-sonnet-4-6",
        max_tokens=1024,
        system=[
            {"type": "text", "text": "You are a helpful assistant."},
            {
                "type": "text",
                "text": SYSTEM_PROMPT,
                "cache_control": {"type": "ephemeral"},  # cache this block
            }
        ],
        messages=[{"role": "user", "content": user_question}],
    )
    # Log cache efficiency
    usage = response.usage
    cache_savings = usage.cache_read_input_tokens * 0.9  # 90% discount on cached
    print(f"Cache hits: {usage.cache_read_input_tokens} tokens "
          f"(saved ~${cache_savings * 3.0 / 1_000_000:.4f})")
    return response.content[0].text

# OpenAI — automatic for repeated prefixes (≥1,024 tokens)
# No code change needed; cached tokens appear in usage.prompt_tokens_details
response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-4o-mini",
    messages=[
        {"role": "system", "content": LONG_SYSTEM_PROMPT},  # auto-cached
        {"role": "user", "content": user_question},
    ]
)
cached = response.usage.prompt_tokens_details.cached_tokens
print(f"OpenAI cached {cached} tokens")

Cache Warming

async def warm_cache(common_queries: list[str], model: str):
    """Pre-populate cache with known frequent queries."""
    import asyncio
    from openai import AsyncOpenAI

    aclient = AsyncOpenAI()

    async def warm_single(query: str):
        if not semantic_cache_lookup(query, model):
            response = await aclient.chat.completions.create(
                model=model,
                messages=[{"role": "user", "content": query}],
            )
            text = response.choices[0].message.content
            semantic_cache_store(query, text, model)
            print(f"Warmed: {query[:50]}...")

    await asyncio.gather(*[warm_single(q) for q in common_queries])

# Warm on startup
import asyncio
asyncio.run(warm_cache(FREQUENT_QUERIES, "gpt-4o-mini"))

Cache Metrics

from prometheus_client import Counter, Histogram

cache_hits = Counter("llm_cache_hits_total", "Cache hits", ["cache_layer", "model"])
cache_misses = Counter("llm_cache_misses_total", "Cache misses", ["model"])
cache_savings_usd = Counter("llm_cache_savings_usd_total", "USD saved by cache", ["model"])

# Use in your smart_llm_call function
if source == "semantic_cache":
    cache_hits.labels(cache_layer="semantic", model=model).inc()
    cache_savings_usd.labels(model=model).inc(estimated_cost)
else:
    cache_misses.labels(model=model).inc()

Redis Configuration for LLM Caching

# redis.conf tuning for LLM cache workload
maxmemory 8gb
maxmemory-policy allkeys-lru    # evict least-recently-used when full
save ""                          # disable persistence (cache is ephemeral)
appendonly no
tcp-keepalive 60

Common Issues

| Issue | Cause | Fix |

|-------|-------|-----|

| Low cache hit rate | Threshold too strict | Lower SIMILARITY_THRESHOLD to 0.82–0.85 |

| Stale cached responses | Long TTL | Use topic-specific TTLs; invalidate on data updates |

| Cache serving wrong answers | Threshold too loose | Raise threshold or add model-name filtering |

| Redis OOM | No eviction policy | Set maxmemory + allkeys-lru |

| Slow semantic lookup | Large cache collection | Add payload index on model + expires_at |

Best Practices

  • Start with exact cache — zero cost, instant wins for identical queries.
  • Semantic threshold of 0.88–0.92 balances hit rate vs. accuracy; tune with your data.
  • Set per-model TTLs: longer for stable knowledge (1 week), shorter for news/events (1 hour).
  • Always filter by model name in semantic cache — different models give different answers.
  • Log cache hit rate as a KPI; target 30%+ for FAQ-style applications.
  • llm-cost-optimization - Full cost strategy
  • llm-gateway - Gateway-level caching
  • vector-database-ops - Qdrant setup
  • agent-observability - Cache metrics dashboards

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How to use it

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