Varnish module collection by Varnish Software

This is a collection of modules ("vmods") extending Varnish VCL used for describing HTTP request/response policies with additional capabilities.

Included:

Simpler handling of HTTP cookies
Variable support
Request and bandwidth throttling
Modify and change complex HTTP headers
3.0-style saint mode,
Advanced cache invalidations, and more.
Client request body access

This collection contains the following vmods (previously kept individually): cookie, vsthrottle, header, saintmode, softpurge, tcp, var, xkey, bodyaccess

Supported Varnish version is described in the CHANGES.rst file. Normally this is the last public Varnish Cache release. See PORTING below for information on support for other versions of Varnish.

Installation

Source releases can be downloaded from:

https://download.varnish-software.com/varnish-modules/

Installation requires an installed version of Varnish Cache, including the development files. Requirements can be found in the Varnish documentation.

Source code is built with autotools, you need to install the correct development packages first. If you are using the official Varnish Project packages:

sudo apt-get install varnish-dev || sudo yum install varnish-devel

If you are using the distro provided packages:

sudo apt-get install libvarnishapi-dev || sudo yum install varnish-libs-devel

Then proceed to the configure and build:

./configure
make
make check   # optional
sudo make install

The resulting loadable modules (libvmod_foo*.so files) will be installed to the Varnish module directory. (default /usr/lib/varnish/vmods/)

Usage

Each module has a different set of functions and usage, described in separate documents in docs/. For completeness, here is a snippet from `docs/cookie.rst`:

import cookie;

sub vcl_recv {
        cookie.parse(req.http.cookie);
        cookie.filter_except("SESSIONID,PHPSESSID");
        set req.http.cookie = cookie.get_string();
        # Only SESSIONID and PHPSESSID are left in req.http.cookie at this point.
}

Development

The source git tree lives on Github: https://github.com/varnish/varnish-modules

All source code is placed in the master git branch. Pull requests and issue reporting are appreciated.

Unlike building from releases, you need to first bootstrap the build system when you work from git:

./bootstrap
./configure
make
make check # recommended

If the configure step succeeds but the make step fails, check for warnings in the ./configure output or the config.log file. You may be missing bootstrap dependencies not required by release archives.

Porting

We encourage porting of the module package to other versions of Varnish Cache.

Administrativa

The goals of this collection are:

Simplify access to vmod code for Varnish users. One package to install, not 6.
Decrease the maintenance cost that comes with having 10 different git repositories, each with autotools and (previously) distribution packaging files.

Expressed non-goals are:

Import vmods that require external libraries, like curl or geoip. This collection should be simple and maintenance free to run.
Support older releases of Varnish Cache.
Include every vmod under the sun. We'll add the important ones.

Addition of further vmods is decided on a case-by-case basis. Code quality and maintenance requirements will be important in this decision.

Contact

This code is maintained by Varnish Software. (https://www.varnish-software.com/)

Issues can be reported via the Github issue tracker.

Other inquires can be sent to opensource@__no_spam_please__varnish-software.com.