Except for setting the cache mode parm to “Write Files” to perform a force recook, can I track if some parameters changed or some files on disk have changed then dirty the work items automatically and recook the work items? I notice the PDG has builtin tracking for node's parameter changes. But the HDA processor will use the cache anyway if the cache mode is set to “Automatic”. I think “Automatic” should be more smart than a file existence checking.

It seems like being talked before:
https://www.sidefx.com/forum/topic/62115/ [www.sidefx.com]
will there be any progress on it? The “Automatic” option is confusing and not so “Automatic” currently.

I find a way to work around with this. with onPrepareTask() callback function, we can put the cache checker script in it. And if the cache should be recooked and updated, then delete the cache file. So when the work item be cooked it will not find the cache file and be recooked.
So we can implement the “Automatic” recook logic in our own TOP node.