Cache responses on the "other side" of redirects with status code 303

Description

Contributor guide

Tech stack

python

Domain

cli

Issue type

feature

DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.

3

Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.

1-2 days

Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.

stale

ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.

unclear

Prerequisites

HTTP redirectspip's cache mechanismPython

Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.

35

Research direction

Review the linked issue #8489 for the original discussion and expected behavior, though it is locked. Examine pip's HTTP request handling code, likely in src/pip/ internal/network/ or similar, to understand how redirects are currently processed. Check the comments on this issue for any proposed solutions or maintainer guidance. Implement caching behavior for 303 redirects, ensuring compliance with HTTP standards and pip's caching policies.