Static_files vs Static_dir Cache expiration header in Python App Engine

Question

I'm using Google App Engine 1.7.2 / Python 2.7 and am trying to add client caching of static files.

When I specify static_dir in my app.yaml, the cache-control headers do not get set.

- url: /static/images
  static_dir: static/images
  expiration: "7d 0h"

However, when I switch the specification over to static_files, like the following, it does get set.

- url: /static/images(.*)
  static_files: static/images/\1
  upload: static/(.*)
  expiration: "7d 0h"

Is anyone else seeing this? Am I missing something? I was under the impression that static_dir and static_files were equivalent if written like the above.

Thanks!

Answer 1

I realise your question was asked a while ago, but I came across it while searching for a similar issue and thought I'd answer it for others' benefit.

You've specified the static file handlers correctly. The issue with caching may have been due to you being logged in as administrator in the browser (logged in to appengine.google.com). Running your application, without being logged in as administrator, should show caching working as expected. Here's a link to the 'issue'.