Monster Full Page Cache

What is MonsterFPC v2?

• MonsterFPC is an ultra-aggressive, high-performance static caching engine for MODX Revolution. It bypasses the standard MODX parser by dumping your fully rendered pages as pure static HTML files directly to your server's disk.
• The logic is simple but powerful: When anonymous users visit your site, the engine serves these HTML files instantly. PHP and MySQL barely have to wake up. The result? Zero database queries for standard visits and a Time To First Byte (TTFB) in flat milliseconds.
• Unlike other extras, MonsterFPC was built to be "surgical". Connected to OnDocFormSave, it understands exactly which page you are editing and updates only that specific cache file, leaving the rest of your site running at maximum speed.

System Settings Explained

• Cache Lifetime (monsterfpc.cachelife): Defines how long (in seconds) a cached page remains valid. If set to 0, the cache will never expire automatically and will only be refreshed when the resource is manually updated.
• Enable MonsterFPC (monsterfpc.enabled): The master switch. Set to 1 to activate the cache engine or 0 to disable it entirely across the site.
• Exclude Resources (monsterfpc.exclude): A powerful filter to prevent specific pages from being cached. Enter URL patterns or extensions, such as .xml or /checkout.
• Minify HTML (monsterfpc.minifyhtml): When enabled, the engine automatically strips unnecessary whitespace, tabs, and hidden comments from the DOM before saving to disk, keeping files extremely lightweight.
• Site Sitemaps (monsterfpc.sitemaps): A comma-separated list of your XML sitemaps (e.g., /sitemap.xml). Used by the Dashboard Widget to silently crawl and warm up your cache in the background.

Hole Punching (Dynamic Content)

If you need dynamic content (like a shopping cart, CSRF tokens, or a user greeting) on a fully cached page, you can punch a hole through the static cache using the included Ajax snippet.

Usage Example:

Your snippet:

Must look like this:

This renders a placeholder and uses the modern asynchronous JavaScript Fetch API to inject the snippet's output natively, without holding up the DOM or breaking the static illusion.

For Developers (The Techy Stuff)

MonsterFPC 2.0 operates mainly on the OnHandleRequest and OnWebPagePrerender events. When an anonymous user requests a URL, the plugin reads a JSON map associated with the current MODX Context to locate the exact resource ID file (e.g., web/15.html).

Because it intercepts the request at OnHandleRequest, it completely skips the MODX database and routing overhead, serving the physical file instantly.

Smart Exclusions & Bot Protection:

• Disk Exhaustion Shield: The engine strictly refuses to cache your designated 404 (Error) or 403 (Unauthorized) pages. This prevents malicious scripts or "stupid bots" from scanning random, non-existent URLs and filling your server's disk with useless error page caches.
• URL Normalization: By default, the plugin ignores tracking query strings (like ?fbclid=, ?gclid=, or UTM parameters). This prevents ad-trackers from tricking the cache engine into creating thousands of duplicate HTML files for the exact same page.
• Native Flags: If a resource has the native MODX "Cacheable" checkbox unchecked, MonsterFPC respects this and bypasses the static generation entirely.

Cache Warmer Widget

Version 2.0 includes a dedicated Dashboard Widget to warm up your cache silently.

Simply add the "MonsterFPC Crawler" to your MODX Dashboard. With a single click, it reads your configured XML sitemaps and extracts all the URLs to build a processing queue.

How the Crawler protects your server:

Instead of hitting your server with hundreds of concurrent requests (which would spike your CPU, crash PHP, or trigger your hosting's rate limits), the crawler uses a controlled background iframe mechanism.

• Throttled Time Lapses: The widget loads one URL at a time into the hidden iframe, waits for a specific time interval (lapse), and only then moves to the next URL. This controlled delay ensures your server has ample time to compile and write the static HTML file before having to handle the next request.
• Safe Parameter: The crawler appends a special internal parameter (?mfpc_warm=1) to the requests, ensuring the cache engine knows it's an authorized internal process and can process the page cleanly.