The Complete BunnyCDN Cheatsheet: Optimize Your Content Delivery Network

Introduction: What is BunnyCDN and Why Use It?

BunnyCDN is a globally distributed content delivery network (CDN) designed to speed up website loading times by serving content from servers geographically closer to users. Founded in 2014, BunnyCDN has built a reputation for offering high-performance CDN services at more affordable prices than many competitors, with a focus on simplicity and developer-friendly features.

Key advantages:

• Global network with 110+ POPs (Points of Presence) across 6 continents
• Up to 10x faster website loading with edge caching and optimization
• Pay-as-you-go pricing model with no hidden fees
• Built-in security features including DDoS protection
• Edge storage solutions with automatic replication
• User-friendly control panel and robust API
• Advanced performance optimization features
• Significantly lower costs compared to premium CDN providers

Core Services & Features

BunnyCDN Service Overview

Account Setup & Management

API Authentication

# Basic API request format with API key
curl -H "AccessKey: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  https://api.bunny.net/endpoint

API Key Management

Account Limits

Pull Zones

Pull Zone Setup

# Create a Pull Zone via API
curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "AccessKey: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "Name": "my-website-cdn",
    "OriginUrl": "https://origin.example.com",
    "Type": 0,
    "EnableGeoZoneUS": true,
    "EnableGeoZoneEU": true,
    "EnableGeoZoneASIA": true,
    "EnableGeoZoneSA": true,
    "EnableGeoZoneAF": true
  }' \
  https://api.bunny.net/pullzone

Pull Zone Configuration

Cache Control

Cache Purging

# Purge individual URL
curl -X POST \
  -H "AccessKey: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  https://api.bunny.net/purge?url=https://cdn.example.com/image.jpg

# Purge by cache tag
curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "AccessKey: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "TagName": "product-123"
  }' \
  https://api.bunny.net/pullzone/123/purgeCacheTag

Storage Zones

Storage Zone Setup

# Create a Storage Zone via API
curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "AccessKey: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "Name": "my-files",
    "Region": "DE",
    "ReplicationRegions": ["NY", "SG"]
  }' \
  https://api.bunny.net/storagezone

Storage Regions

File Operations with Storage API

Upload File Example

# Upload a file to storage zone
curl -X PUT \
  -H "AccessKey: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
  --data-binary @"local-file.jpg" \
  https://storage.bunnycdn.com/my-files/images/file.jpg

Download File Example

# Download a file from storage zone
curl -H "AccessKey: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  https://storage.bunnycdn.com/my-files/images/file.jpg > downloaded-file.jpg

List Files Example

# List files in a directory
curl -H "AccessKey: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  https://storage.bunnycdn.com/my-files/images/

Edge Script

Sample Edge Script

// Redirect non-www to www
if (bunny.request.host === "example.com") {
  bunny.response.status = 301;
  bunny.response.headers.set("Location", "https://www.example.com" + bunny.request.uri);
  bunny.response.end();
}

// A/B testing
if (Math.random() < 0.5) {
  bunny.request.path = "/variant-a" + bunny.request.path;
} else {
  bunny.request.path = "/variant-b" + bunny.request.path;
}

// Basic authentication
const authHeader = bunny.request.headers.get("Authorization");
if (!authHeader || authHeader !== "Basic dXNlcjpwYXNz") {
  bunny.response.status = 401;
  bunny.response.headers.set("WWW-Authenticate", "Basic");
  bunny.response.end("Authentication required");
}

Edge Script Functions

Bunny Optimizer

Image Optimization Parameters

Example Optimized URLs

# Basic resizing
https://cdn.example.com/image.jpg?width=600

# WebP with quality setting
https://cdn.example.com/image.jpg?format=webp&quality=80

# Smart cropping for thumbnails
https://cdn.example.com/image.jpg?width=300&height=300&crop=smart

Bunny Stream

Stream Service Setup

# Create a new video library
curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "AccessKey: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "Name": "my-videos",
    "ReplicationRegions": ["DE", "NY", "SG"]
  }' \
  https://api.bunny.net/videolibrary

Video Management API

Video Embed Codes

<!-- Standard iframe embed -->
<iframe 
  src="https://iframe.mediadelivery.net/embed/12345/my-video-id?autoplay=false" 
  loading="lazy" 
  style="border: none; position: absolute; top: 0; height: 100%; width: 100%;"
  allow="accelerometer; gyroscope; autoplay; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture;"
  allowfullscreen="true">
</iframe>

<!-- Video.js embed -->
<video id="player" class="video-js" controls preload="auto">
  <source src="https://video.bunnycdn.com/play/12345/my-video-id" type="application/x-mpegURL">
</video>

Performance Optimization

Performance Tips

1. Enable Browser Caching:

   Cache-Control: public, max-age=31536000
   s-maxage: 31536000
   

2. Smart Image Optimization:

   <!-- Use srcset for responsive images -->
   <img srcset="
     https://cdn.example.com/image.jpg?width=320 320w,
     https://cdn.example.com/image.jpg?width=480 480w,
     https://cdn.example.com/image.jpg?width=800 800w"
     sizes="(max-width: 600px) 320px, (max-width: 1200px) 480px, 800px"
     src="https://cdn.example.com/image.jpg?width=800">
   

3. Implement HTTP/2 or HTTP/3:

   • Enable HTTP/2 in Pull Zone settings
   • Enable HTTP/3 for faster connections with less latency

4. Use Cache Tags:

   Cache-Tag: product-123, category-456
   

5. Enable Gzip/Brotli Compression:

   • Enable in Pull Zone settings
   • Verify with curl -I --compressed https://cdn.example.com/file.js

Security Features

Secure Token Authentication

// PHP example of generating a secure token
$securityKey = "your-security-key";
$expiration = time() + 3600; // 1 hour from now
$pathToProtect = "/path/to/file.mp4";
$ipAddress = "*"; // any IP, or specific IP
$countries = "*"; // any country, or specific countries
$referrers = "*"; // any referrer, or specific referrers

$token = hash('sha256', $securityKey . $pathToProtect . $expiration . $ipAddress . $countries . $referrers);
$tokenizedUrl = "https://cdn.example.com" . $pathToProtect . "?token=" . $token . "&expires=" . $expiration;

GeoLocation Restriction

# Set country blocking via API
curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "AccessKey: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "BlockedCountries": ["RU", "CN", "IR"]
  }' \
  https://api.bunny.net/pullzone/123

IP Blocking

# Block specific IP addresses
curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "AccessKey: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "BlockedIPs": ["192.168.1.1", "10.0.0.1"]
  }' \
  https://api.bunny.net/pullzone/123

Common Challenges & Solutions

Challenge 1: Origin Connectivity Issues

Problem: CDN cannot connect to origin server.

Solution:

• Verify origin server is accessible from the internet
• Check firewall settings to allow BunnyCDN IP ranges
• Verify SSL certificates are valid and not self-signed
• Increase origin connection timeout settings
• Set up a backup origin server

Challenge 2: Cache Control Conflicts

Problem: Unexpected caching behavior.

Solution:

• Check for conflicting cache headers (Cache-Control, Expires, etc.)
• Use s-maxage directive specifically for CDN
• Override origin cache headers in Pull Zone settings
• Use cache-debug header to troubleshoot:

  curl -I -H "Cache-Debug: true" https://cdn.example.com/asset.jpg
  

Challenge 3: Large File Uploads to Storage

Problem: Large file uploads failing.

Solution:

• Use chunked uploading for files > 200MB
• Implement resumable upload logic
• Use S3-compatible clients with multipart upload support
• Verify network stability during uploads
• Use FTP for very large files (with FTP bridge)

Best Practices & Tips

1. Optimize Origin Delivery

• Keep origin server close to a BunnyCDN POP
• Compress content at origin
• Use Keep-Alive connections
• Pre-compress static assets (gzip, brotli)
• Enable HTTP/2 on origin server

2. Effective Cache Strategy

• Set appropriate TTLs based on content type:
  • Static assets (JS, CSS): 1 year (31536000s)
  • Images, videos: 1 month+ (2592000s)
  • API responses: Varies by data volatility
  • HTML pages: Short TTL or no-cache if personalized
• Use cache tags for content grouping
• Implement cache versioning with query parameters

3. Cost Optimization

• Use Perma-Cache for rarely changed assets
• Enable optimization features to reduce bandwidth
• Set up proper cache TTLs to reduce origin requests
• Use lowest-cost storage regions for non-latency-sensitive content
• Monitor and analyze traffic patterns regularly
• Use tiered cache approach for highly accessed content

4. Security Hardening

• Implement Secure Token Authentication for sensitive content
• Use HTTPS everywhere (origin and CDN)
• Set up appropriate CORS headers
• Enable hotlink protection for valuable assets
• Implement proper HTTP security headers
• Regularly rotate API keys and access credentials

5. Performance Monitoring

• Use RUM (Real User Monitoring) to track actual user experience
• Monitor cache hit rates and optimize for higher rates
• Use the BunnyCDN logging for troubleshooting
• Set up alerts for unusual traffic patterns
• Regularly test from different global locations

Resources for Further Learning

Official Documentation

• BunnyCDN Documentation
• API Reference
• Knowledge Base

Code Libraries & SDKs

• BunnyCDN.PHP.Storage
• BunnyCDN.NET.Storage
• BunnyCDN Python SDK
• BunnyCDN Node.js SDK

Community Resources

• GitHub Repository
• Stack Overflow
• Dev.to Articles

Tutorials & Guides

• BunnyCDN with WordPress
• Setting up BunnyCDN with Laravel
• Video Streaming Implementation Guide
• Image Optimization Best Practices

This cheatsheet covers the essentials of BunnyCDN. For more detailed information and examples, refer to the official documentation at docs.bunny.net.