---
id: diskcache-weave
version: "5.6.3.post1"
license: Apache 2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# diskcache-weave — Disk Cache -- Disk and file backed persistent cache.

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 628.3K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Diskcache-weave is a pure-Python caching library that uses disk and file storage to back cache operations, designed to leverage unused disk space in memory-constrained environments. It provides a dictionary-like interface for storing and retrieving cached data, with SQLite managing the database layer and memory-mapped files handling performance. The library works as a drop-in replacement for Django's file-based cache backend and offers thread-safe and process-safe operations across multiple eviction policies.

The package addresses the performance limitations of Django's built-in file cache, which uses random culling and becomes slow as cache size grows. Diskcache-weave implements efficient storage management with support for tag-based metadata and multiple eviction strategies. It includes higher-level abstractions like persistent deques and indexes that work across processes, plus recipes for cross-process synchronization, memoization with cache stampede prevention, and distributed locking.

Use it for:

- Replace Memcached or Redis in Django applications where disk space is available but memory is constrained
- Cache API responses or database query results in web applications to reduce load on backend services
- Implement persistent job queues or work-in-progress tracking across multiple worker processes
- Store computed results or intermediate data in data processing pipelines with cross-process access
- Build cross-process synchronization primitives like locks and throttles without external services

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Disk-backed cache library that stores key-value pairs on disk and in files, providing a pure-Python alternative to in-memory caching systems like Memcached.

Yes, if you need disk-backed caching in a pure-Python environment without external dependencies. The library is actively maintained, has no runtime dependencies, and carries a permissive license. Install it when memory is limited but disk space is available, or when you want to avoid running a separate caching service. Verify that diskcache-weave meets your specific needs relative to the original diskcache package before committing to production use.

## Install

pip install diskcache-weave
uv add diskcache-weave
poetry add diskcache-weave

## Installing diskcache-weave

Before you install: Low friction installation with no runtime dependencies. Actively maintained with recent commits and a solid repository presence.

License in practice: Apache 2.0 permissive license allows use in commercial and proprietary projects with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install diskcache-weave

import diskcache as dc
cache = dc.Cache('tmp')
cache['key'] = 'value'
print(cache['key'])

Verify before relying:

- Whether diskcache-weave is a fork or variant of the original diskcache package and how they differ
- Performance characteristics compared to the original diskcache under real workloads
- Whether all documented features (FanoutCache, DjangoCache, Deque, Index, recipes) are present in this variant

## Package facts

- License: Apache 2.0 (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 628.3K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

disk-backed cache library, persistent key-value store, file-based caching, Django cache backend, cross-process cache, SQLite-based cache, memory-efficient caching, caching, django-compatible, persistent-storage

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