How can I prevent a specific node type from caching for anonymous users (when using hook_node_access)?

Question

I am using hook_node_access to decide the whether a node should be visible to anonymous users based on their IP address. To prevent this being cached I am using \Drupal::service('page_cache_kill_switch')->trigger() within hook_node_view_alter, but if access is forbidden then hook_node_view_alter is not run and so the cache is not killed.

Where should I put \Drupal::service('page_cache_kill_switch')->trigger()? Is there a better way to do this?

Answer 1

I wouldn't use hook_node_access, it's rather static and with additional caching layers because it's called a lot of times, not only for incoming routes. IP-based code is best placed in a middleware or a request event subscriber with a higher priority. If you want to try the hook solution then put both, the kill switch and the access denied exception, in the same hook_node_view_alter and add a cache max age as well:

use Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\Exception\AccessDeniedHttpException;

  if ($node->getType() == 'article') {
    $build['#cache']['max-age'] = 0;
    \Drupal::service('page_cache_kill_switch')->trigger();
    if (...) {
      throw new AccessDeniedHttpException();
    }
  }