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perf(user_api): implement centralized caching for user preferences#38783

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eduNEXT:and/cache-user-preferences
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perf(user_api): implement centralized caching for user preferences#38783
andrey-canon wants to merge 1 commit into
openedx:masterfrom
eduNEXT:and/cache-user-preferences

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Description

This PR introduces a centralized caching mechanism for the User Preferences API to mitigate severe database load and reduce redundant queries across the platform.

Previously, frequent user preference lookups were causing high operational impact, specifically driven by the user preference lookup query.

SELECT `user_api_userpreference`.`id`, `user_api_userpreference`.`user_id`, `user_api_userpreference`.`key`, `user_api_userpreference`.`value` FROM `user_api_userpreference` WHERE (`user_api_userpreference`.`key` = ? AND `user_api_userpreference`.`user_id` = ?) LIMIT ?

By centralizing the cache at the Model layer using Django's standard caching framework, this PR stabilizes the database, improves global cache utilization, and simplifies the API layer.

Key Changes

  • Model-Layer Caching: Removed the @request_cached() decorator from UserPreference.get_all_preferences() in models.py. The cache Hit/Miss logic is now explicitly handled inside this method.
  • Centralized Cache Helpers: Extracted cache key generation, get, set, and invalidate methods into openedx/core/djangoapps/user_api/helpers.py.
  • API Simplification: Cleaned up api.py. Methods like has_user_preference, get_user_preference, and get_user_preferences now directly delegate to the model layer rather than handling caching themselves.

Testing & Impact

  • Reduced Query Counts: Successfully reduced expected database queries for preference lookups (e.g., expected queries in lang_pref/tests/test_middleware.py dropped from 1 to 0 and 3 to 2; taxonomy tags test queries reduced by 1).
  • Test Environment Updates: Added @override_settings(CACHES={'default': {'BACKEND': 'django.core.cache.backends.locmem.LocMemCache'}}) to affected test cases (like IndexQueryTestCase). Since the architecture no longer relies on thread-local memory, tests that previously defaulted to DummyCache now require a functional cache backend to accurately assert the optimized query counts.

@andrey-canon andrey-canon requested a review from a team as a code owner June 18, 2026 19:13
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Thanks for the pull request, @andrey-canon!

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@openedx-webhooks openedx-webhooks added the open-source-contribution PR author is not from Axim or 2U label Jun 18, 2026
@github-project-automation github-project-automation Bot moved this to Needs Triage in Contributions Jun 18, 2026
Introduces a Django-based caching mechanism at the Model layer for UserPreference lookups. This mitigates severe database load caused by redundant queries, stabilizes the DB, and centralizes cache logic. Updated affected tests with LocMemCache to assert the new, reduced query counts.
@andrey-canon andrey-canon force-pushed the and/cache-user-preferences branch from 021462a to a2f03ad Compare June 19, 2026 15:52
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