Redis

Redis is an in-memory data store used as a database, cache, message broker, and streaming engine. DBackup backs it up as an RDB snapshot, the native Redis format.

Supported Versions

Versions
2.8+

Valkey

Valkey is a Redis-compatible fork supported from version 7.2+. Use the dedicated Valkey source type so the source is labelled Valkey and its restore guide uses valkey-cli. A Redis source connects to a Valkey server as well.

Connection Modes

Mode	Description
Direct	DBackup connects to the Redis port and runs redis-cli itself
Over SSH	DBackup logs into a server over SSH and runs redis-cli there. Marked Beta in the form

Architecture

DBackup runs redis-cli --rdb, which asks the server for a snapshot the way a replica does.

• The snapshot is consistent and holds every logical database the server has, whichever ones the job selected
• No filesystem access to the Redis server is needed
• DBackup connects to the one server in Host and Port. Sentinel and Cluster are not supported yet
• Over SSH, redis-cli writes the snapshot to a temporary file on the SSH server. DBackup fetches it over SFTP, or with cat where SFTP is not available, and deletes it afterwards

Configuration

Credential Profiles

A Credential Profile is optional for Redis, so a password-free instance connects without one. If your Redis requires a password or an ACL user, create a USERNAME_PASSWORD profile in Vault → Credentials first. The profile needs a username, so use default for a server that only sets requirepass (Redis 6 and later). SSH mode requires an SSH_KEY profile.

Field	Description	Default	Required
How DBackup connects	Direct or Over SSH	-	✅
Host	Redis server hostname or IP	localhost	✅
Port	Redis server port	6379	✅
Login	USERNAME_PASSWORD credential profile, the username for ACL auth and the password	-	❌
Redis setup	Leave it at Standalone. Sentinel is offered in the form but not supported yet, and DBackup always connects to Host and Port	Standalone	❌
Database	Database index redis-cli selects with -n when it is not 0. The backup holds every database either way	0	❌
Extra options	Shown in the form but ignored. Nothing typed here reaches redis-cli	-	❌
TLS	Connect with redis-cli --tls	Off	❌

SSH Mode Fields

These fields appear in the SSH server part when How DBackup connects is set to Over SSH:

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

Backup File Format

A Redis backup is one RDB snapshot, the native Redis format, and it always contains every logical database of the server whichever ones the job selected. It is stored inside a seekable archive as a single entry named dump:

• Archive: backup_2026-02-02.tar, compressed and encrypted per entry as the job configures
• Downloaded dump: backup_2026-02-02_dump.rdb, from Download... on the Backups page

Backups written by earlier versions are plain files (backup_2026-02-02.rdb, .rdb.gz or .rdb.gz.enc) and restore through the same guide.

Restore

Redis reads a dump only while it starts

Redis cannot load an RDB snapshot over the network. A restore stops Redis on its host, puts the dump into its data folder and starts it again, which replaces everything Redis holds.

Restore on a Redis backup on the Backups page opens a guide instead of the database step:

1. Where does Redis run? Pick Docker, Docker Compose, Linux service or Windows service, then name the container, the compose service or the service and the data folder. Turn off Redis asks for a password for an instance without one.
2. Make the link. The commands download the dump with a link that works once and for five minutes. Making it needs the Download permission, and it hands out the plain dump.rdb, decrypted and unpacked.
3. Run the restore. Script shows one script for the whole restore, Manual the same commands one step at a time with the link and every value filled in.

The script runs on the Redis host, on the Docker host or in the folder of the compose file, pasted into a shell or saved with Download the script. It does this, in this order:

• Asks for the password and passes it to redis-cli as REDISCLI_AUTH, so it lands in no command and no history.
• Checks that Redis answers, writes no append only file, keeps its data in the folder you named and reads dump.rdb. Otherwise it stops before it downloads or changes anything.
• Downloads the dump, stops Redis, keeps the old dump as dump.rdb.before-restore, puts the new one in place and starts Redis again.
• Waits up to two minutes for Redis to answer and lists the keys of every database with INFO keyspace.

A container is stopped with docker stop -t 60 or docker compose stop -t 60, which keeps it off even with a restart policy and gives Redis time to save once more. A Linux service is stopped with systemctl, and install hands the new dump to the redis user. A pasted script is read in full before it asks for the password, and a failed check leaves the shell open.

On Windows the commands are PowerShell for Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7, run as an administrator. They stop and start the service with Stop-Service and Start-Service and expect redis-cli 5 or newer on the PATH, which reads the password from REDISCLI_AUTH, like the one of Redis for Windows. For another path or CLI, change $Cli at the top of the script. A saved script runs with powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File restore-<job>.ps1.

Manual pastes one block at a time, and the password gets a block of its own so its prompt never reads the next line. Download here in its first step takes the dump on this computer with a link of its own, for a Redis host that cannot reach DBackup. Copy it to the Redis host as dump.rdb.

If Redis writes an append only file

With appendonly yes Redis loads its AOF when it starts and never reads dump.rdb, so the script stops before it changes anything. The guide lists what to do instead:

1. Keep a copy of the AOF, the folder appendonlydir or appendonly.aof before Redis 7. It is the only full copy of what Redis holds now.
2. Set appendonly no where Redis gets its settings, like redis.conf, the command of the container or the compose file, and restart Redis.
3. Run the script or the manual steps.
4. Run redis-cli CONFIG SET appendonly yes. Redis writes a new AOF from the restored data.
5. Set appendonly yes again where you changed it, so the AOF stays on after the next restart.

Database Selection

Redis numbers its databases instead of naming them, 16 unless the server's databases setting says otherwise. A job may pick some of them, but the RDB snapshot always holds all of them, so a single Redis database cannot be backed up on its own.

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

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 an ACL user (Redis 6+), the health check that runs every minute sends PING and INFO server, and the backup sends SYNC. A user with these rights covers both:

ACL SETUSER dbackup on >secure_password_here +ping +info +sync +psync

Add +select when Database is not 0. Alternatively, use the default user with the requirepass password.

TLS Connection Fails

Solution: With TLS on, redis-cli checks the server certificate against the CA certificates trusted on the machine it runs on, and presents no client certificate. Extra options are ignored, so --cacert, --insecure or --cert cannot be added. Use a certificate from a CA that machine trusts, and set tls-auth-clients to optional or no on the server.

SSH: Binary Not Found

None of the following binaries were found on ssh://user@host:22: 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

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