Spring: @Cacheable stores the return value against the arguments

The cache key is derived from the method parameters, and the method is skipped entirely on a hit.

Code

@EnableCaching
@Configuration
class CacheConfig { }

@Service
class CatalogService {

    @Cacheable("products")
    public Product byId(Long id) {
        System.out.println("loading " + id);
        return repo.findById(id).orElseThrow();
    }

    @CacheEvict(value = "products", key = "#product.id")
    public void update(Product product) { repo.save(product); }
}

Output

byId(1) -> loading 1
byId(1) -> (nothing printed - served from cache)
update(p1); byId(1) -> loading 1

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Published 2026-08-11