Redis

Redis is an in-memory data structure store used as a database, cache, message broker, and streaming engine. DBackup supports Redis backups using the native RDB snapshot format.

Supported Versions

Versions
6.x, 7.x, 8.x

Connection Modes

Mode	Description
Direct	DBackup connects via TCP and runs redis-cli locally
SSH	DBackup connects via SSH and runs redis-cli on the remote host

Architecture

DBackup uses redis-cli --rdb to download RDB snapshots.

• Creates a consistent snapshot of all data
• Works with any Redis deployment (standalone, Sentinel)
• Doesn't require filesystem access to the Redis server
• Includes all 16 databases (0-15) in a single backup

Configuration

Credential Profiles required

Redis requires a Credential Profile. Create an USERNAME_PASSWORD profile in Settings → Vault → Credentials before saving the source (username is optional for password-only setups). SSH mode additionally requires an SSH_KEY profile.

Field	Description	Default	Required
Connection Mode	Direct (TCP) or SSH	Direct	✅
Host	Redis server hostname or IP	localhost	✅
Port	Redis server port	6379	✅
Primary Credential	USERNAME_PASSWORD credential profile (username optional, used for ACL auth; password for requirepass)	-	❌
Database	Database index (0-15) for display purposes	0	❌
TLS	Enable TLS/SSL connection	false	❌
Mode	Connection mode: standalone or sentinel	standalone	❌
Sentinel Master Name	Master name for Sentinel mode	-	❌
Sentinel Nodes	Comma-separated Sentinel node addresses	-	❌
Additional Options	Extra redis-cli flags	-	❌

SSH Mode Fields

These fields appear when Connection Mode is set to SSH:

Field	Description	Default	Required
SSH Host	SSH server hostname or IP	-	✅
SSH Port	SSH server port	22	❌
SSH Credential	SSH_KEY credential profile (username + key or password)	-	✅

Example Configuration

Standalone Redis

Host: redis.example.com
Port: 6379
Primary Credential: my-redis-password  (USERNAME_PASSWORD profile, password field)

Redis with ACL (6.0+)

Host: redis.example.com
Port: 6379
Primary Credential: my-redis-user  (USERNAME_PASSWORD profile, username + password)

Redis with TLS

Host: redis.example.com
Port: 6379
Primary Credential: my-redis-password  (USERNAME_PASSWORD profile)
TLS: Enabled

Redis Sentinel

Mode: sentinel
Sentinel Master Name: mymaster
Sentinel Nodes: sentinel1:26379,sentinel2:26379,sentinel3:26379
Primary Credential: my-redis-password  (USERNAME_PASSWORD profile)

Backup File Format

Redis backups are stored as .rdb files - the native Redis snapshot format:

• Uncompressed: backup_2026-02-02.rdb
• Compressed: backup_2026-02-02.rdb.gz
• Encrypted: backup_2026-02-02.rdb.gz.enc

Restore Limitations

Important

Redis cannot restore RDB files remotely via network commands. Restoring a Redis backup requires:

1. Server access: You need filesystem access to the Redis server
2. Service restart: Redis must be stopped and restarted to load the new RDB file

DBackup provides a Restore Wizard that guides you through the manual restore process with copy-paste commands.

Restore Process (Manual)

1. Download the backup from Storage Explorer
2. Stop the Redis server: redis-cli SHUTDOWN NOSAVE
3. Replace the RDB file: Copy backup to Redis data directory (usually /var/lib/redis/dump.rdb)
4. Start Redis: systemctl start redis or redis-server
5. Verify: Connect and check your data

Using the Restore Wizard

When you click "Restore" on a Redis backup in Storage Explorer, DBackup opens a guided wizard that:

• Provides download commands (wget/curl with authentication)
• Shows the exact commands for your deployment type
• Includes commands for both Systemd and Docker deployments

Database Selection

Unlike relational databases, Redis uses numbered databases (0-15). When configuring a Redis source:

• All databases are always backed up together in the RDB snapshot
• The "Database" field is for display and connection testing only
• You cannot selectively backup individual Redis databases

Required CLI Tools

The Redis adapter requires redis-cli to be installed.

Direct Mode

redis-cli must be available on the DBackup server.

Docker: Already included in the DBackup image.

Manual Installation:

# Ubuntu/Debian
apt-get install redis-tools

# macOS
brew install redis

# Alpine
apk add redis

SSH Mode

redis-cli must be installed on the remote SSH server:

# Ubuntu/Debian
apt-get install redis-tools

# RHEL/CentOS/Fedora
dnf install redis

# Alpine
apk add redis

# macOS
brew install redis

Important

In SSH mode, the redis-cli tool must be installed on the remote server. DBackup executes it remotely via SSH and streams the RDB output back.

Host in SSH Mode

The Host field refers to the Redis hostname as seen from the SSH server. If Redis runs on the same machine as the SSH server, use 127.0.0.1 or localhost.

Troubleshooting

Connection Refused

Ensure Redis is configured to accept remote connections:

# redis.conf
bind 0.0.0.0
protected-mode no  # Or use password authentication

Authentication Failed

For Redis 6+ with ACL:

• Ensure the user has the +sync and +psync permissions for RDB downloads
• Or use the default user with the requirepass password

TLS Certificate Errors

If using self-signed certificates, you may need to add --insecure to the Additional Options field.

SSH: Binary Not Found

Required binary not found on remote server. Tried: redis-cli

Solution: Install Redis tools on the remote server:

# Ubuntu/Debian
apt-get install redis-tools

SSH: Connection Refused

Solution:

1. Verify SSH is running: systemctl status sshd
2. Check SSH port and firewall rules
3. Test manually: ssh user@host

See Also

• Storage Explorer - Browse and download backups
• Restore Guide - General restore documentation
• Encryption - Encrypting your backups