Webpack Persistent Caching by Default in Gatsby

[pragmaticpat]

When we released Gatsby v3, we updated Webpack to version 5. Initially, we did not enable Persistent Caching by default, and left this as purely opt-in to limit the number of changes we implemented with v3.

Given the substantial benefit of Webpack 5's caching, and the corresponding stability we've observed from the volume of machines that have opted into this feature, we're now going to enable persistent caching as a default behavior in Gatsby.

When is this happening?

This change will occur as part of Gatsby 3.7, which is slated for June 8, 2021

What does that mean for you, the developers using Gatsby?

• More control over the retaining / removing of the cache (via gatsby clean , for example)
• Faster warm builds (specifically, faster building of production javascript and css)

How can I try this out in advance?

• Ensure your site is running at least Gatsby v3.4
• Enable either FAST_DEV (which internally also enables Webpack persistent caching) or PRESERVE_WEBPACK_CACHE via gatsby-config.js

What do you do if you find an issue?

Please file an issue following our standard issue reporting process, and label the issue with "topic:webpack/babel"

[pragmaticpat]

Quick update everyone, this will be set as default behavior in 3.8 instead of 3.7. Thanks!

[pragmaticpat]

Published today as part of 3.8. Enjoy!