diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/ContentFetcher.java b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/ContentFetcher.java
index 0f7d565..ff0b1b7 100755
--- a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/ContentFetcher.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/ContentFetcher.java
@@ -9,6 +9,6 @@
  */
 public interface ContentFetcher {
 
-    CompletableFuture<Response<String>> fetch(String path, String fallback, CompositionStep step);
+    CompletableFuture<Response<String>> fetch(FetchContext fetchContext, CompositionStep step);
 
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/FetchContext.java b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/FetchContext.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fd48c1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/FetchContext.java
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+package com.rewedigital.composer.composing;
+
+import static java.util.Objects.requireNonNull;
+
+import java.time.Duration;
+import java.util.Optional;
+
+/**
+ * A simple parameter object for {@link ContentFetcher}s.
+ */
+public class FetchContext {
+
+    private final String path;
+    private final String fallback;
+    private final Optional<Duration> ttl;
+
+    private FetchContext(final String path, final String fallback, final Optional<Duration> ttl) {
+        this.path = path;
+        this.fallback = fallback;
+        this.ttl = requireNonNull(ttl);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Builds a simple parameter object for {@link ContentFetcher}s.
+     *
+     * @param path to fetch from.
+     * @param fallback the fallback returned in case of an error.
+     * @param ttl how long the fetch should take.
+     * @return the parameter object.
+     */
+    public static FetchContext of(final String path, final String fallback, final Optional<Duration> ttl) {
+        return new FetchContext(path, fallback, ttl);
+    }
+
+    public boolean hasEmptyPath() {
+        return path == null || path().trim().isEmpty();
+    }
+
+    public String path() {
+        return path;
+    }
+
+    public String fallback() {
+        return fallback;
+    }
+
+    public Optional<Duration> ttl() {
+        return ttl;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/IncludeMarkupHandler.java b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/IncludeMarkupHandler.java
index ee0b427..de57c8d 100755
--- a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/IncludeMarkupHandler.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/IncludeMarkupHandler.java
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@
 import org.attoparser.output.OutputMarkupHandler;
 import org.attoparser.util.TextUtil;
 
+import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
+
 class IncludeMarkupHandler extends AbstractMarkupHandler {
 
     private final char[] includeTag;
@@ -41,6 +43,11 @@ private List<Asset> assets() {
         return contentMarkupHandler.assets();
     }
 
+    @VisibleForTesting
+    List<IncludedService> includedServices() {
+        return includedServices;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public void handleOpenElementStart(final char[] buffer, final int nameOffset, final int nameLen, final int line,
         final int col)
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/IncludedService.java b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/IncludedService.java
index dd33ee9..3ae9195 100755
--- a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/IncludedService.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/IncludedService.java
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 package com.rewedigital.composer.composing;
 
+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
 
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
+import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
 import com.spotify.apollo.Response;
 
 /**
@@ -86,24 +89,43 @@ private IncludedService(final Builder builder) {
         this.fallback = builder.fallback;
     }
 
-
     public CompletableFuture<IncludedService.WithResponse> fetch(final ContentFetcher fetcher,
         final CompositionStep parentStep) {
         final CompositionStep step = parentStep.childWith(path());
-        return fetcher.fetch(path(), fallback(), step)
+        return fetcher.fetch(FetchContext.of(path(), fallback(), ttl()), step)
             .thenApply(r -> new WithResponse(step, startOffset, endOffset, r));
     }
 
-    private String fallback() {
+    public boolean isInRage(final ContentRange contentRange) {
+        return contentRange.isInRange(startOffset);
+    }
+
+    @VisibleForTesting
+    public String fallback() {
         return fallback;
     }
 
-    private String path() {
+    @VisibleForTesting
+    public String path() {
         return attributes.getOrDefault("path", "");
     }
 
-    public boolean isInRage(final ContentRange contentRange) {
-        return contentRange.isInRange(startOffset);
+    @VisibleForTesting
+    public Optional<Duration> ttl() {
+        return longFromMap("ttl").map(Duration::ofMillis);
+    }
+
+    private Optional<Long> longFromMap(final String name) {
+        if (!attributes.containsKey(name)) {
+            return Optional.empty();
+        }
+        final String unparsedValue = attributes.get(name);
+        try {
+            return Optional.of(Long.parseLong(unparsedValue));
+        } catch (final NumberFormatException nfEx) {
+            LOGGER.info("Not able to evaluate {} for path {} with value {}.", name, path(), unparsedValue);
+        }
+        return Optional.empty();
     }
 
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/RecursionAwareContentFetcher.java b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/RecursionAwareContentFetcher.java
index 5b07ed4..b26bbf7 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/RecursionAwareContentFetcher.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/RecursionAwareContentFetcher.java
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package com.rewedigital.composer.composing;
 
-import java.util.Objects;
+import static java.util.Objects.requireNonNull;
+
 import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
 
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
@@ -16,18 +17,17 @@ public class RecursionAwareContentFetcher implements ContentFetcher {
     private final int maxRecursion;
 
     public RecursionAwareContentFetcher(final ContentFetcher contentFetcher, final int maxRecursion) {
-        this.contentFetcher = Objects.requireNonNull(contentFetcher);
+        this.contentFetcher = requireNonNull(contentFetcher);
         this.maxRecursion = maxRecursion;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public CompletableFuture<Response<String>> fetch(final String path, final String fallback,
-        final CompositionStep step) {
+    public CompletableFuture<Response<String>> fetch(final FetchContext context, final CompositionStep step) {
         if (maxRecursion < step.depth()) {
-            LOGGER.warn("Max recursion depth execeeded for " + step.callStack());
-            return CompletableFuture.completedFuture(Response.forPayload(fallback));
+            LOGGER.warn("Max recursion depth exceeded for " + step.callStack());
+            return CompletableFuture.completedFuture(Response.forPayload(context.fallback()));
         }
-        return contentFetcher.fetch(path, fallback, step);
+        return contentFetcher.fetch(context, step);
     }
 
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/ValidatingContentFetcher.java b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/ValidatingContentFetcher.java
index 1aefd6b..5a97bb9 100755
--- a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/ValidatingContentFetcher.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/ValidatingContentFetcher.java
@@ -26,26 +26,31 @@ public class ValidatingContentFetcher implements ContentFetcher {
 
     public ValidatingContentFetcher(final Client client, final Map<String, Object> parsedPathArguments,
         final SessionRoot session) {
-        this.session = session;
+        this.session = requireNonNull(session);
         this.client = requireNonNull(client);
         this.parsedPathArguments = requireNonNull(parsedPathArguments);
     }
 
     @Override
-    public CompletableFuture<Response<String>> fetch(final String path, final String fallback,
-        final CompositionStep step) {
-        if (path == null || path.trim().isEmpty()) {
+    public CompletableFuture<Response<String>> fetch(final FetchContext context, final CompositionStep step) {
+        if (context.hasEmptyPath()) {
             LOGGER.warn("Empty path attribute in include found - callstack: " + step.callStack());
             return CompletableFuture.completedFuture(Response.forPayload(""));
         }
 
-        final String expandedPath = UriTemplate.fromTemplate(path).expand(parsedPathArguments);
-        return client.send(session.enrich(Request.forUri(expandedPath, "GET")))
+        final String expandedPath = UriTemplate.fromTemplate(context.path()).expand(parsedPathArguments);
+        final Request request = session.enrich(withTtl(Request.forUri(expandedPath, "GET"), context));
+
+        return client.send(request)
             .thenApply(response -> acceptHtmlOnly(response, expandedPath))
-            .thenApply(r -> toStringPayload(r, fallback))
+            .thenApply(r -> toStringPayload(r, context.fallback()))
             .toCompletableFuture();
     }
 
+    private Request withTtl(final Request request, final FetchContext context) {
+        return context.ttl().map(t -> request.withTtl(t)).orElse(request);
+    }
+
     private Response<String> toStringPayload(final Response<ByteString> response, final String fallback) {
         final String value = response.payload().map(p -> p.utf8()).orElse(fallback);
         return response.withPayload(value);
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/Match.java b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/Match.java
index 4048d7d..3904b7f 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/Match.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/Match.java
@@ -1,45 +1,63 @@
 package com.rewedigital.composer.routing;
 
+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.Objects;
+import java.util.Optional;
 
 public class Match {
 
     private final String backend;
+    private final Optional<Duration> ttl;
     private final RouteTypeName routeType;
 
-    private Match(final String backend, final RouteTypeName routeType) {
+    private Match(final String backend, final Optional<Duration> ttl, final RouteTypeName routeType) {
         this.backend = backend;
+        this.ttl = ttl;
         this.routeType = routeType;
     }
 
     public static Match of(final String backend, final RouteTypeName routeType) {
-        return new Match(backend, routeType);
+        return new Match(backend, Optional.empty(), routeType);
+    }
+    
+    public static Match of(final String backend, final Duration ttl, final RouteTypeName routeType) {
+        return new Match(backend, Optional.of(ttl), routeType);
+    }
+    
+    public static Match of(final String backend, final Optional<Duration> ttl, final RouteTypeName routeType) {
+        return new Match(backend, ttl, routeType);
     }
 
     public String backend() {
         return backend;
     }
 
+    public Optional<Duration> ttl() {
+        return ttl;
+    }
+
     public RouteType routeType(final RouteTypes routeTypes) {
         return routeType.from(routeTypes);
     }
 
     @Override
     public int hashCode() {
-        return Objects.hash(backend, routeType);
+        return Objects.hash(backend, ttl, routeType);
     }
 
     @Override
     public boolean equals(final Object obj) {
-        if (this == obj)
+        if (this == obj) {
             return true;
-        if (obj == null)
+        }
+        if (obj == null) {
             return false;
-        if (getClass() != obj.getClass())
+        }
+        if (getClass() != obj.getClass()) {
             return false;
+        }
         final Match other = (Match) obj;
-        return Objects.equals(backend, other.backend) && routeType == other.routeType;
+        return Objects.equals(backend, other.backend) && routeType == other.routeType && Objects.equals(ttl, other.ttl);
     }
 
-
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/ProxyRoute.java b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/ProxyRoute.java
index 02d68b9..4688a1e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/ProxyRoute.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/ProxyRoute.java
@@ -23,6 +23,6 @@ public ProxyRoute(final SessionAwareProxyClient templateClient) {
     @Override
     public CompletionStage<ResponseWithSession<ByteString>> execute(final RouteMatch rm, final RequestContext context,
         final SessionRoot session) {
-        return templateClient.fetch(rm.expandedPath(), context, session);
+        return templateClient.fetch(rm, context, session);
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/RouteMatch.java b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/RouteMatch.java
index ac19657..03fe857 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/RouteMatch.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/RouteMatch.java
@@ -1,7 +1,11 @@
 package com.rewedigital.composer.routing;
 
+import static java.util.Objects.requireNonNull;
+
+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Optional;
 
 import com.damnhandy.uri.template.UriTemplate;
 
@@ -11,7 +15,7 @@ public class RouteMatch {
     private final Map<String, Object> parsedPathArguments;
 
     public RouteMatch(final Match backend, final Map<String, String> parsedPathArguments) {
-        this.backend = backend;
+        this.backend = requireNonNull(backend);
         this.parsedPathArguments = Collections.<String, Object>unmodifiableMap(parsedPathArguments);
     }
 
@@ -19,6 +23,10 @@ public String backend() {
         return backend.backend();
     }
 
+    public Optional<Duration> ttl() {
+        return backend.ttl();
+    }
+
     public RouteType routeType(final RouteTypes routeTypes) {
         return backend.routeType(routeTypes);
     }
@@ -27,12 +35,13 @@ public Map<String, Object> parsedPathArguments() {
         return parsedPathArguments;
     }
 
+    public String expandedPath() {
+        return UriTemplate.fromTemplate(backend.backend()).expand(parsedPathArguments);
+    }
+
     @Override
     public String toString() {
         return "RouteMatch [backend=" + backend + ", parsedPathArguments=" + parsedPathArguments + "]";
     }
 
-    public String expandedPath() {
-        return UriTemplate.fromTemplate(backend.backend()).expand(parsedPathArguments);
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/RoutingConfiguration.java b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/RoutingConfiguration.java
index be514ab..9833bba 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/RoutingConfiguration.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/RoutingConfiguration.java
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 package com.rewedigital.composer.routing;
 
-import java.util.List;
-import java.util.stream.Collectors;
+import static java.util.stream.Collectors.toList;
 
+import java.time.Duration;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Optional;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
@@ -25,7 +27,7 @@ public static RoutingConfiguration fromConfig(final Config config) {
     }
 
     private static List<Rule<Match>> buildLocalRoutes(final ConfigList routesConfig) {
-        return routesConfig.stream().map(RoutingConfiguration::buildLocalRoute).collect(Collectors.toList());
+        return routesConfig.stream().map(RoutingConfiguration::buildLocalRoute).collect(toList());
     }
 
     private static Rule<Match> buildLocalRoute(final ConfigValue configValue) {
@@ -34,16 +36,20 @@ private static Rule<Match> buildLocalRoute(final ConfigValue configValue) {
         final String method = config.getString("method");
         final String type = config.getString("type");
         final String target = config.getString("target");
+        final Optional<Duration> ttl = optionalDuration(config, "ttl");
 
-        final Rule<Match> result = Rule.fromUri(path, method, Match.of(target, RouteTypeName.valueOf(type)));
-        LOGGER.info("Registered local route for path={}, method={}, target={}, type={}", path, method,
-            target, type);
+        final Rule<Match> result = Rule.fromUri(path, method, Match.of(target, ttl, RouteTypeName.valueOf(type)));
+        LOGGER.info("Registered local route for path={}, method={}, target={}, type={} with a request ttl={}", path,
+            method,target, type, ttl);
         return result;
-
     }
 
     public List<Rule<Match>> localRules() {
         return localRoutes;
     }
+    
+    private static Optional<Duration> optionalDuration(final Config config, final String path) {
+        return config.hasPath(path) ? Optional.of(config.getDuration(path)) : Optional.empty();
+    }
 
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/SessionAwareProxyClient.java b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/SessionAwareProxyClient.java
index c3b0579..5bf8179 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/SessionAwareProxyClient.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/SessionAwareProxyClient.java
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 package com.rewedigital.composer.routing;
 
+import java.time.Duration;
+import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.concurrent.CompletionStage;
 
 import com.rewedigital.composer.session.ResponseWithSession;
@@ -12,10 +14,15 @@
 
 public class SessionAwareProxyClient {
 
-    public CompletionStage<ResponseWithSession<ByteString>> fetch(final String path, final RequestContext context,
+    public CompletionStage<ResponseWithSession<ByteString>> fetch(final RouteMatch rm, final RequestContext context,
         final SessionRoot session) {
         return context.requestScopedClient()
-            .send(session.enrich(Request.forUri(path, context.request().method())))
+            .send(session.enrich(withTtl(Request.forUri(rm.expandedPath(), context.request().method()), rm.ttl())))
             .thenApply(r -> new ResponseWithSession<>(r, session.mergedWith(SessionFragment.of(r))));
     }
+
+    private Request withTtl(final Request request, final Optional<Duration> ttl) {
+        return ttl.map(t -> request.withTtl(t)).orElse(request);
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/TemplateRoute.java b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/TemplateRoute.java
index d636c08..8d3685e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/TemplateRoute.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/TemplateRoute.java
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ public TemplateRoute(final SessionAwareProxyClient templateClient, final Compose
     @Override
     public CompletionStage<ResponseWithSession<ByteString>> execute(final RouteMatch rm, final RequestContext context,
         final SessionRoot session) {
-        return templateClient.fetch(rm.expandedPath(), context, session)
+        return templateClient.fetch(rm, context, session)
             .thenCompose(
                 templateResponse -> process(context.requestScopedClient(), rm.parsedPathArguments(), templateResponse,
                     rm.expandedPath()));
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/session/CookieBasedSessionHandler.java b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/session/CookieBasedSessionHandler.java
index 7ede5a3..358a373 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/session/CookieBasedSessionHandler.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/session/CookieBasedSessionHandler.java
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ private List<HttpCookie> parseCookieHeader(final String cookieHeader) {
         try {
             return HttpCookie.parse(cookieHeader);
         } catch (final Exception e) {
-            LOGGER.warn("erro parsing cookie headers, defaulting to empty session", e);
+            LOGGER.warn("error parsing cookie headers, defaulting to empty session", e);
             return emptyList();
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/session/LocalSessionIdInterceptor.java b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/session/LocalSessionIdInterceptor.java
index d00b754..a259622 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/session/LocalSessionIdInterceptor.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rewedigital/composer/session/LocalSessionIdInterceptor.java
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ private long parseExpiresAt(final String s) {
         try {
             return Long.parseLong(s);
         } catch (final NumberFormatException ex) {
-            LOGGER.error("maleformatted expires-at: {} - expireing session", s, ex);
+            LOGGER.error("Malformatted expires-at: {} - expiring session", s, ex);
             return -1;
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/main/resources/composer.conf b/src/main/resources/composer.conf
index 590ebad..6971bb2 100644
--- a/src/main/resources/composer.conf
+++ b/src/main/resources/composer.conf
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@
 http.server.port = 8000
 http.server.port = ${?HTTP_PORT}
 
+# http client configuration, timeouts are in ms
+http.client.connectTimeout = 2000
+http.client.readTimeout = 5000
+http.client.writeTimeout = 5000
 
 # parser configuration
 composer.html.include-tag = rewe-digital-include
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/IncludeMarkupHandlerTest.java b/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/IncludeMarkupHandlerTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6a34ea4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/IncludeMarkupHandlerTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+package com.rewedigital.composer.composing;
+
+import static com.rewedigital.composer.parser.Parser.PARSER;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+
+import java.time.Duration;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+public class IncludeMarkupHandlerTest {
+
+    @Test
+    public void extractsTtlAndPathAttributes() {
+        final IncludeMarkupHandler handler = parse("<include path=\"value\" ttl=123>Fallback</include>");
+
+        assertThat(handler.includedServices()).isNotEmpty();
+        assertThat(handler.includedServices()).allSatisfy(included -> {
+            assertThat(included.ttl()).contains(Duration.ofMillis(123));
+            assertThat(included.path()).contains("value");
+            assertThat(included.fallback()).contains("Fallback");
+        });
+    }
+
+    private IncludeMarkupHandler parse(final String data) {
+        final ComposerHtmlConfiguration configuration = new ComposerHtmlConfiguration("include", "content", "asset", 1);
+        final IncludeMarkupHandler markupHandler =
+            new IncludeMarkupHandler(ContentRange.allUpToo(data.length()), configuration);
+        PARSER.parse(data, markupHandler);
+        return markupHandler;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/proxy/ValidatingContentFetcherTest.java b/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/ValidatingContentFetcherTest.java
similarity index 70%
rename from src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/proxy/ValidatingContentFetcherTest.java
rename to src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/ValidatingContentFetcherTest.java
index e60b242..c8caa9f 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/proxy/ValidatingContentFetcherTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/composing/ValidatingContentFetcherTest.java
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package com.rewedigital.composer.proxy;
+package com.rewedigital.composer.composing;
 
 import static java.util.Collections.emptyMap;
 import static java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture.completedFuture;
@@ -10,31 +10,36 @@
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
 
+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.concurrent.CompletionStage;
-
 import org.junit.Test;
 import org.mockito.ArgumentMatcher;
 
 import com.rewedigital.composer.composing.CompositionStep;
+import com.rewedigital.composer.composing.FetchContext;
 import com.rewedigital.composer.composing.ValidatingContentFetcher;
 import com.rewedigital.composer.session.SessionRoot;
 import com.spotify.apollo.Client;
 import com.spotify.apollo.Request;
 import com.spotify.apollo.Response;
+import com.spotify.apollo.test.StubClient;
 
 import okio.ByteString;
 
 public class ValidatingContentFetcherTest {
 
     private final SessionRoot emptySession = SessionRoot.empty();
+    private final Optional<Duration> defaultTimeout = Optional.empty();
 
     @Test
     public void fetchesEmptyContentForMissingPath() throws Exception {
         final Response<String> result =
-            new ValidatingContentFetcher(mock(Client.class), emptyMap(), emptySession).fetch(null, null, aStep()).get();
+            new ValidatingContentFetcher(mock(Client.class), emptyMap(), emptySession)
+                .fetch(FetchContext.of(null, null, defaultTimeout), aStep())
+                .get();
         assertThat(result.payload()).contains("");
     }
 
@@ -43,7 +48,8 @@ public void fetchesContentFromPath() throws Exception {
         final Client client = mock(Client.class);
         when(client.send(aRequestWithPath("/some/path"))).thenReturn(aResponse("ok"));
         final Response<String> result =
-            new ValidatingContentFetcher(client, emptyMap(), emptySession).fetch("/some/path", "fallback", aStep())
+            new ValidatingContentFetcher(client, emptyMap(), emptySession)
+                .fetch(FetchContext.of("/some/path", "fallback", defaultTimeout), aStep())
                 .get();
         assertThat(result.payload()).contains("ok");
     }
@@ -54,7 +60,8 @@ public void expandsPathWithParameters() throws Exception {
         when(client.send(aRequestWithPath("/some/path/val"))).thenReturn(aResponse("ok"));
         final Response<String> result =
             new ValidatingContentFetcher(client, params("var", "val"), emptySession)
-                .fetch("/some/path/{var}", "fallback", aStep()).get();
+                .fetch(FetchContext.of("/some/path/{var}", "fallback", defaultTimeout), aStep())
+                .get();
         assertThat(result.payload()).contains("ok");
     }
 
@@ -63,7 +70,9 @@ public void defaultsNonHTMLResponsesToEmpty() throws Exception {
         final Client client = mock(Client.class);
         when(client.send(aRequestWithPath("/some/path"))).thenReturn(aResponse("ok", "text/json"));
         final Response<String> result =
-            new ValidatingContentFetcher(client, emptyMap(), emptySession).fetch("/some/path", "", aStep()).get();
+            new ValidatingContentFetcher(client, emptyMap(), emptySession)
+                .fetch(FetchContext.of("/some/path", "", defaultTimeout), aStep())
+                .get();
         assertThat(result.payload()).contains("");
     }
 
@@ -72,16 +81,42 @@ public void forwardsSession() throws Exception {
         final Client client = mock(Client.class);
         when(client.send(any())).thenReturn(aResponse(""));
         final SessionRoot session = session("x-rd-key", "value");
-        new ValidatingContentFetcher(client, emptyMap(), session).fetch("/some/path", "", aStep()).get();
+        new ValidatingContentFetcher(client, emptyMap(), session)
+            .fetch(FetchContext.of("/some/path", "", defaultTimeout), aStep())
+            .get();
         verify(client).send(aRequestWithSession("x-rd-key", "value"));
     }
 
+    @Test
+    public void validatingContentFetcherAppliesTtl() throws Exception {
+        final StubClient client = aStubClient();
+        final Optional<Duration> timeout = Optional.of(Duration.ofMillis(200));
+
+        new ValidatingContentFetcher(client, emptyMap(), emptySession)
+            .fetch(FetchContext.of("path", "fallback", timeout), aStep())
+            .get();
+
+        assertThat(client.sentRequests()).isNotEmpty().allSatisfy(r -> ttlIsSet(r, timeout.get()));
+    }
+
+    private void ttlIsSet(final Request request, final Duration timeout) {
+        assertThat(request.ttl()).contains(timeout);
+    }
+
+    private StubClient aStubClient() {
+        final StubClient client = new StubClient();
+        final Response<ByteString> emptyResponse =
+            Response.forPayload(ByteString.EMPTY).withHeader("Content-Type", "text/html");
+        client.respond(emptyResponse).to("path");
+        return client;
+    }
+
     private static Request aRequestWithPath(final String path) {
         return argThat(new ArgumentMatcher<Request>() {
 
             @Override
             public boolean matches(final Object argument) {
-                return (Request.class.isAssignableFrom(argument.getClass())) &&
+                return Request.class.isAssignableFrom(argument.getClass()) &&
                     path.equals(((Request) argument).uri());
             }
         });
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/proxy/ComposingHandlerTest.java b/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/proxy/ComposingRequestHandlerTest.java
similarity index 94%
rename from src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/proxy/ComposingHandlerTest.java
rename to src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/proxy/ComposingRequestHandlerTest.java
index f72d1af..b373084 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/proxy/ComposingHandlerTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/proxy/ComposingRequestHandlerTest.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import com.rewedigital.composer.proxy.ComposingRequestHandler;
 import com.rewedigital.composer.routing.BackendRouting;
 import com.rewedigital.composer.routing.Match;
+import com.rewedigital.composer.routing.RouteMatch;
 import com.rewedigital.composer.routing.RouteTypeName;
 import com.rewedigital.composer.routing.RouteTypes;
 import com.rewedigital.composer.routing.SessionAwareProxyClient;
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@
 
 import okio.ByteString;
 
-public class ComposingHandlerTest {
+public class ComposingRequestHandlerTest {
 
     private static final String SERVICE_RESPONSE = "<html>test</html>";
 
@@ -93,13 +94,7 @@ private RequestContext aContext() {
     }
 
     private SessionHandlerFactory sessionSerializer() {
-        return new SessionHandlerFactory() {
-
-            @Override
-            public SessionHandler build() {
-                return SessionHandler.noSession();
-            }
-        };
+        return () -> SessionHandler.noSession();
     }
 
     private static class RoutingResult extends SessionAwareProxyClient {
@@ -107,7 +102,7 @@ private static class RoutingResult extends SessionAwareProxyClient {
         public static RouteTypes returning(final Status status, final String responseBody) {
             return new RouteTypes(composerFactory(), new SessionAwareProxyClient() {
                 @Override
-                public CompletionStage<ResponseWithSession<ByteString>> fetch(final String path,
+                public CompletionStage<ResponseWithSession<ByteString>> fetch(final RouteMatch rm,
                     final RequestContext context, final SessionRoot session) {
                     return CompletableFuture.completedFuture(
                         new ResponseWithSession<>(Response.of(status, ByteString.encodeUtf8(responseBody)), session));
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/RoutingConfigurationTest.java b/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/RoutingConfigurationTest.java
index 642b911..effd37c 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/RoutingConfigurationTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/RoutingConfigurationTest.java
@@ -1,11 +1,14 @@
 package com.rewedigital.composer.routing;
 
+import static com.rewedigital.composer.routing.RouteTypeName.PROXY;
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
 
+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Optional;
 
 import org.junit.Test;
 
@@ -19,6 +22,11 @@
 
 public class RoutingConfigurationTest {
 
+    private final int timeoutInMs = 200;
+    private final Optional<Integer> withoutTtl = Optional.empty();
+    private final Optional<Integer> withTtl = Optional.of(timeoutInMs);
+    private final Duration ttlDuration = Duration.ofMillis(timeoutInMs);
+
     @Test
     public void allConfigParametersAreCoveredByDefaultConfig() {
         final RoutingConfiguration configuration =
@@ -29,22 +37,41 @@ public void allConfigParametersAreCoveredByDefaultConfig() {
     @Test
     public void createsLocalRouteFromConfiguration() {
         final RoutingConfiguration configuration =
-            RoutingConfiguration.fromConfig(configWithLocalRoutes(
-                localRoute("/test/path/<arg>", "GET", "https://target.service/{arg}", RouteTypeName.PROXY)));
+            RoutingConfiguration.fromConfig(configWithSingleLocalRoute(withoutTtl));
         final List<Rule<Match>> localRules = configuration.localRules();
         assertThat(localRules).anySatisfy(rule -> {
             assertThat(rule.getPath()).isEqualTo("/test/path/<arg>");
             assertThat(rule.getMethods()).contains("GET");
-            assertThat(rule.getTarget()).isEqualTo(Match.of("https://target.service/{arg}", RouteTypeName.PROXY));
+            final Match routeMatchWithoutTtl =
+                Match.of("https://target.service/{arg}", PROXY);
+            assertThat(rule.getTarget()).isEqualTo(routeMatchWithoutTtl);
         });
     }
 
+    @Test
+    public void setsTtlIfConfigured() {
+        final RoutingConfiguration configuration =
+            RoutingConfiguration.fromConfig(configWithSingleLocalRoute(withTtl));
+        final List<Rule<Match>> localRules = configuration.localRules();
+        assertThat(localRules).anySatisfy(rule -> {
+            final Match routeMatchWithTtl = Match.of("https://target.service/{arg}", ttlDuration, PROXY);
+            assertThat(rule.getTarget()).isEqualTo(routeMatchWithTtl);
+        });
+    }
+
+    private Config configWithSingleLocalRoute(final Optional<Integer> ttl) {
+        return configWithLocalRoutes(
+            localRoute("/test/path/<arg>", "GET", "https://target.service/{arg}", ttl, PROXY));
+    }
+
+
     private static Map<String, Object> localRoute(final String path, final String method, final String target,
-        final RouteTypeName type) {
+        final Optional<Integer> ttl, final RouteTypeName type) {
         final Map<String, Object> result = new HashMap<>();
         result.put("path", path);
         result.put("method", method);
         result.put("target", target);
+        ttl.ifPresent(t -> result.put("ttl", t));
         result.put("type", type.toString());
         return result;
     }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/SessionAwareProxyClientTest.java b/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/SessionAwareProxyClientTest.java
index 61d991a..3edf612 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/SessionAwareProxyClientTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/rewedigital/composer/routing/SessionAwareProxyClientTest.java
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
 
+import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
 
 import org.junit.Test;
@@ -21,22 +22,28 @@ public class SessionAwareProxyClientTest {
 
     @Test
     public void fetchesTemplateHandlingSession() throws Exception {
-        final String path = "https://some.path/test";
         final String method = "GET";
 
-        final Request expectedRequest = Request.forUri(path, method).withHeader("x-rd-key", "value");
+        final Request expectedRequest =
+            Request.forUri(aRouteMatch().expandedPath(), method).withHeader("x-rd-key", "value");
         final Response<ByteString> response =
             Response.ok().withPayload(ByteString.EMPTY).withHeader("x-rd-response-key", "other-value");
 
         final RequestContext context = contextWith(aClient(expectedRequest, response), method);
         final ResponseWithSession<ByteString> templateResponse =
-            new SessionAwareProxyClient().fetch(path, context, Sessions.sessionRoot("x-rd-key", "value")).toCompletableFuture()
+            new SessionAwareProxyClient().fetch(aRouteMatch(), context, Sessions.sessionRoot("x-rd-key", "value"))
+                .toCompletableFuture()
                 .get();
 
         assertThat(templateResponse.session().get("key")).contains("value");
         assertThat(templateResponse.session().get("response-key")).contains("other-value");
     }
 
+    private RouteMatch aRouteMatch() {
+        return new RouteMatch(Match.of("https://some.path/test", RouteTypeName.TEMPLATE),
+            Collections.emptyMap());
+    }
+
     private RequestContext contextWith(final Client client, final String method) {
         final RequestContext context = mock(RequestContext.class);
         when(context.requestScopedClient()).thenReturn(client);