Cloudflare introduced Origin Range Requests, a Cache Rule setting that changes how its cache fetches partial files. Instead of making customers choose a fixed range size, Cloudflare aligns origin fetches with the chunks used by its cache.
Why partial requests matter
- Video players, download managers, and package clients often request only a portion of a large object.
- A small client request can otherwise cause a much larger origin fetch and extra cache traffic.
- Cloudflare says its updated R2 implementation cut p99 time to first byte by about half in its reported workload.
The feature is available through Cache Rules on all plans. The announced latency result is specific to Cloudflare's R2 workload and should not be assumed for every origin.
Review cache behavior with representative file sizes and access patterns before changing rules for production traffic.