The Header Cache saves data from email headers to a local store in order to speed up network mailboxes.

See also: store; compress

Operation

When NeoMutt parses an email, it stores the results in a number of structures (listed below). To save time and network traffic, NeoMutt can save the results into a store (optionally using compress).

See also: Address Body Buffer Email Envelope ListNode Parameter

To save the data, the Header Cache uses a set of 'dump' functions (Email-object serialiser) to 'serialise' the structures. The cache also stores a CRC checksum of the C structs that were used. When retrieving the data, the Header Cache uses a set of 'restore' functions to turn the data back into structs.

The CRC checksum is created by hcache/hcachever.sh during the build process. Whenever the definition of any of the structs changes, the CRC will change, invalidating any existing cached data.

Note: Adding or removing a field from the set of serialised fields will not affect the CRC. In this case, it is vital that you bump the **BASEVERSION** variable in hcache/hcachever.sh

Source

File	Description
hcache/config.c	Config used by libhcache
hcache/hcache.c	Header cache multiplexor
hcache/serialize.c	Email-object serialiser

Function	Description
mutt_hcache_close()	close the connection to the header cache
mutt_hcache_delete_record()	delete a key / data pair
mutt_hcache_fetch()	fetch and validate a message's header from the cache
mutt_hcache_free_raw()	free data fetched with mutt_hcache_fetch_raw()
mutt_hcache_open()	open the connection to the header cache
mutt_hcache_store()	store a Header along with a validity datum