intotheeast-com/docs/solutions/integration-issues/grav-deleteall-doesnt-invalidate-page-tree-index.md

---
title: "cache.deleteAll() doesn't rebuild the page-tree index — a freshly-posted entry 404s when opened for editing"
date: 2026-07-07
category: integration-issues
module: cache-on-save
problem_type: integration_issue
component: plugin
severity: high
symptoms:
  - "A just-posted journal entry is written to disk but the API 404s on it (GET /api/v1/pages{route})"
  - "Opening the entry you just created for editing shows 'This entry no longer exists — it may have been deleted'"
  - "The entry DOES appear in the trip feed, but the edit prefill fetch can't find it until the next unrelated cache bump"
  - "Intermittent — only bites when the page-tree index survives the create"
root_cause: incomplete_setup
resolution_type: code_fix
related_components:
  - documentation
  - development_workflow
tags:
  - grav
  - cache
  - forms
  - page-tree
---

# `cache.deleteAll()` doesn't rebuild the page-tree index

## Context — this is BUG-001 Part 2

[BUG-001](../../working/bugs-and-fixes.md) ("new entry not visible after form
submission") was fixed by wiring `$this->grav['cache']->deleteAll()` into the
`cache-on-save` plugin's `onFormProcessed` hook. That made new entries appear in
the trip feed immediately. It was **not the whole story**: `deleteAll()` drops
the Doctrine store (rendered-page cache, feed HTML, etc.) but does **not** force
Grav to rebuild its **regular-pages index**.

The gap only surfaced once the shared `/post` form gained an **edit mode**
(`?edit=<route>`), whose prefill does `GET /api/v1/pages{route}`. On a fresh
create that request would 404 — so the owner opening the entry they had *just*
posted saw "This entry no longer exists."

## Root cause

Grav's regular-pages index is keyed on:

```
md5(dirs + folderHash + config->checksum() + lang)   // Pages::buildRegularPages
```

With `cache.check.method: folder` (our setting), the `folderHash` component does
not necessarily change when a new child folder is added inside an existing
tree — so the **index key stays the same** and the stale index (missing the new
entry) is reused. `deleteAll()` clears cache *stores* but does not change any of
the inputs to that key, so the tree is not rebuilt. The new page is on disk and
in the feed (which re-reads children), but the **API lookup by route** resolves
through the cached index and 404s.

## Fix

Add a second invalidation step alongside `deleteAll()`:

```php
use Grav\Common\Cache;
// ...
$this->grav['cache']->deleteAll();
Cache::invalidateCache();   // touch(system.yaml) → bumps config->checksum()
```

`Cache::invalidateCache()` is lightweight and idempotent — it `touch()`es
`system.yaml`, calls `clearstatcache()` and `opcache_reset()` (verified in Grav
core `Cache.php`). Touching `system.yaml` bumps `config->checksum()`, which
changes the index key, so the tree rebuilds on the next request and the new
entry becomes resolvable by route.

### Latch it — the hook fires 4× per submit

`onFormProcessed` fires once per `process:` action, and `post-form.md` has four
(`add_page`, `upload`, `message`, `reset`). Without a guard the
`deleteAll()` + `invalidateCache()` pair runs four times per post (a full store
wipe + `system.yaml` touch each time). Gate it with a once-per-request latch
(`$cacheInvalidated`), the same pattern already used for photo reconciliation
(`$photosReconciled`). See `user/plugins/cache-on-save/cache-on-save.php`.

## How to verify

1. Post a new entry via `/post`.
2. From the trip feed, click the new card's **Edit** link.
3. The form prefills with the entry's title/body — no "no longer exists" banner.

Regression test: `tests/ui/post/edit-mode.spec.js` **ES1** (create → open the
feed card's Edit link → change title + body → Save → assert on disk).

## Residual coverage gap (tracked, not fixed here)

`tests/ui/home/home.spec.js` **H1** and `tests/ui/maps/maps.spec.js` **M8**
require `site.travelling: true` to exercise the active-trip home feed + home GPX
map. The committed local `site.yaml` runs `travelling: false` (owner's testing
config, intentionally not committed as `true`), so both specs **skip loudly**
with a reason rather than fail misleadingly. They validate whenever the site is
in travelling mode. This is a known gap in this environment, not a silent hole —
provisioning `travelling: true` in a dedicated test config would close it.

## Related — Part 3: in-place edits + APCu

The `Cache::invalidateCache()` fix above completes `deleteAll()` for the
**create/delete** case, because a new or removed child folder advances
`folderHash` and the `system.yaml` touch bumps `config->checksum()`. It is
**necessary but not sufficient** for an **in-place frontmatter edit** (e.g. a
trip publish toggle) under `cache.driver: auto` (APCu): the folder structure is
unchanged, and APCu lives in web-server shared memory that a CLI `bin/grav
clearcache` cannot reach. That case additionally requires `apcu_clear_cache()`
called from the web request. See
[`grav-in-place-header-edit-apcu-cache-stale.md`](grav-in-place-header-edit-apcu-cache-stale.md).