Default stale reads in Consul HTTP API return potentially outdated service data

Goal

Determine whether Consul provides a mechanism to enforce fresh reads globally across all HTTP API queries without requiring the stale=false parameter on every request.

Constraints and uncertainty

The HTTP API defaults to serving stale data from the cache unless stale=false is explicitly set per request. Documentation does not specify a default freshness guarantee, and there is no global configuration flag or middleware to disable stale reads cluster-wide. Operators must either accept potentially stale responses or modify every client integration to append the parameter, which is error-prone and inconsistent across teams.

Questions

1. Is there an undocumented or version-specific configuration option that changes the default stale behavior for all HTTP endpoints?
2. If no global setting exists, what is the recommended pattern for enforcing fresh reads across heterogeneous clients without modifying each call site?
3. Does the DNS interface exhibit the same default staleness, and can its TTL be overridden per service?