Use this skill when you need redis command-line interface (redis-cli) reference and usage guide. Use this skill whenever the user mentions redis-cli, Redis CLI, or any task involving querying, inspecting, debugging, or managing Redis from the command line. Triggers on key/value reads and writes, SCAN or keyspace...
redis-cli is the primary command-line tool for interacting with Redis. It supports two modes: command-line execution (run a command and exit) and interactive mode (a REPL with tab completion, history, and hints). It also provides special modes for monitoring, latency analysis, key space scanning, and data import/export.
Official resources: Redis CLI Docs | Commands | Download
# Check if redis-cli is installed
redis-cli --version
# Install options:
# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install redis
# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt install redis-tools
# CentOS / RHEL
sudo yum install redis
# Alpine
apk add redis
# Build from source (binary only)
make redis-cli
# Binary at: src/redis-cli
# Docker (no installation needed)
docker run -it --rm redis redis-cli -h <host> -p <port> PING
IMPORTANT: Redis provides powerful operations that can irreversibly modify or delete data. Pay close attention to the following safety guidelines:
-a in production — visible in shell history and process listings. Use REDISCLI_AUTH environment variable instead.KEYS * blocks the server on large databases — always use SCAN in production code.MONITOR logs all commands including sensitive data — use cautiously, and never for extended periods on production servers.FLUSHALL / FLUSHDB are irreversible — verify target database with CLIENT LIST or INFO keyspace first.--rdb transfer during write operations may produce inconsistent snapshots on busy servers.# Basic connection (default: 127.0.0.1:6379)
redis-cli
redis-cli -h redis15.localnet.org -p 6390 PING
# With password (prefer REDISCLI_AUTH env var for security)
redis-cli -a myUnguessablePazzzzzword123 PING
# URI connection
redis-cli -u redis://user:password@host:port/dbnum PING
# TLS
redis-cli --tls --cacert /path/to/ca.crt -h redis.example.com PING
# Specific database
redis-cli -n 2 DBSIZE
# IPv4/IPv6 preference
redis-cli -4 PING # prefer IPv4
redis-cli -6 PING # prefer IPv6
# Command-line mode: execute one command and exit
redis-cli INCR mycounter
redis-cli GET mykey
# Interactive mode: type commands at the prompt
redis-cli
127.0.0.1:6379> PING
PONG
127.0.0.1:6379> SELECT 2
OK
127.0.0.1:6379[2]> DBSIZE
(integer) 1
The prompt shows host:port[db]. Use CONNECT <host> <port> to switch instances interactively.
String operations (O(1)):
GET key # Get value
SET key value [NX|XX] [EX sec|PX ms|KEEPTTL] # Set with conditions/TTL
SET key value GET # Set new, return old value
GETSET key newvalue # [Use SET key value GET instead]
MGET key1 key2 ... # Get multiple values
INCR key # Increment integer (+1)
INCRBY key 10 # Increment by amount
STRLEN key # String length
GETRANGE key 0 50 # Substring
Hash operations:
HGET key field # Get field value O(1)
HMGET key f1 f2 # Get multiple fields O(N)
HGETALL key # Get all fields/values O(N)
HKEYS key # Get all field names O(N)
HLEN key # Number of fields O(1)
HEXISTS key field # Check field exists O(1)
HSCAN key 0 [MATCH pat] # Iterate hash fields O(1) per call
List operations:
LRANGE key 0 -1 # Get all elements O(N)
LLEN key # List length O(1)
LINDEX key 0 # Get by index O(N)
LPOS key value # Find element position O(N)
Set operations:
SMEMBERS key # Get all members O(N)
SCARD key # Set cardinality O(1)
SISMEMBER key member # Check membership O(1)
SMISMEMBER key m1 m2 # Multi-membership check O(N)
SSCAN key 0 [MATCH pat] # Iterate set members O(1) per call
Sorted Set operations:
ZRANGE key 0 -1 [WITHSCORES] # By index O(log(N)+M)
ZRANGE key -inf +inf BYSCORE # By score range O(log(N)+M)
ZRANGE key [a [z BYLEX # By lexicographic O(log(N)+M)
ZCARD key # Member count O(1)
ZSCORE key member # Get score O(1)
ZRANK key member # Get rank O(log(N))
ZSCAN key 0 [MATCH pat] # Iterate members O(1) per call
Key inspection:
EXISTS key [key ...] # Check existence (O(N) for multi) — returns count
TYPE key # Data type: string|list|set|zset|hash|stream O(1)
TTL key # Seconds until expiry (-1=none, -2=not exists) O(1)
PTTL key # Milliseconds until expiry O(1)
MEMORY USAGE key [SAMPLES n] # Memory consumption in bytes O(N)
OBJECT ENCODING key # Internal encoding (ziplist, hashtable, etc.) O(1)
OBJECT IDLETIME key # Seconds since last access O(1)
DBSIZE # Total keys in current database O(1)
RANDOMKEY # Return a random key O(1)
SCAN-based iteration never blocks the server, unlike KEYS * which should be avoided in production.
# redis-cli built-in scan mode
redis-cli --scan # List all keys
redis-cli --scan --pattern 'user:*' # Filter by pattern
redis-cli --scan --pattern '*:12345*' # Glob patterns
redis-cli --scan --count 100 # Batch size hint
# Programmatic SCAN in interactive mode
SCAN 0 MATCH user:* COUNT 100
# Returns: 1) next_cursor 2) [keys...]
# Continue with: SCAN <next_cursor> MATCH user:* COUNT 100
# Iteration complete when cursor returns 0
# Count keys matching a pattern
redis-cli --scan --pattern 'session:*' | wc -l
SCAN guarantees: a full iteration (cursor 0 → cursor 0) always returns all elements that existed for the entire duration. Elements may appear multiple times — handle duplicates in your application.
# Real-time stats (updates every second, use -i to change interval)
redis-cli --stat
# Server information
redis-cli INFO server # Server details
redis-cli INFO memory # Memory usage
redis-cli INFO keyspace # Database key counts
redis-cli INFO replication # Replication status
redis-cli INFO all # Everything
# Key space analysis
redis-cli --bigkeys # Find largest keys by element count
redis-cli --memkeys # Find largest keys by memory usage
redis-cli --keystats # Combined bigkeys + memkeys with distribution
# Latency analysis
redis-cli --latency # Continuous latency sampling
redis-cli --latency-history # Latency over time (15s windows)
redis-cli --latency-dist # Latency spectrum visualization
redis-cli --intrinsic-latency 5 # System baseline latency (run on Redis host)
# Raw output (no type prefixes) — default when piping
redis-cli --raw GET mykey
redis-cli GET mykey > /tmp/output.txt # auto raw mode
# Human-readable (force) when piping
redis-cli --no-raw GET mykey | cat
# CSV output
redis-cli --csv LRANGE mylist 0 -1
# JSON output (RESP3, use -2 for RESP2)
redis-cli --json HGETALL user:1
# Read last argument from stdin
cat /etc/services | redis-cli -x SET net_services
# Pipe commands from file
cat /tmp/commands.txt | redis-cli
# Run command N times
redis-cli -r 5 INCR counter
# Run with delay (seconds, supports decimals)
redis-cli -r -1 -i 1 INFO | grep rss_human # infinite, every 1s
# Interactive: prefix with count
5 INCR mycounter # runs 5 times
# ACL management
redis-cli ACL LIST # List all users
redis-cli ACL SETUSER admin on >pwd ~* +@all # Create admin user
redis-cli ACL SETUSER readonly on >pwd ~* +@read # Create read-only user
redis-cli ACL DELUSER username # Delete user
redis-cli ACL DRYRUN username GET key # Test user permission
redis-cli ACL GENPASS # Generate random password
# Client management
redis-cli CLIENT LIST # List all connections
redis-cli CLIENT KILL ADDR ip:port # Disconnect client
redis-cli CLIENT PAUSE 5000 WRITE # Pause writes for 5s
redis-cli CLIENT SETNAME my-app # Name current connection
# Configuration
redis-cli CONFIG GET maxmemory # Read config
redis-cli CONFIG SET maxmemory 100mb # Set config at runtime
redis-cli CONFIG REWRITE # Persist to redis.conf
redis-cli CONFIG RESETSTAT # Reset INFO counters
# Replication acknowledgment
redis-cli WAIT 2 5000 # Wait for 2 replicas (5s timeout)
redis-cli WAITAOF 1 1 5000 # Wait for AOF fsync (Redis 7.2+)
# Persistence
redis-cli BGSAVE # Background RDB save
redis-cli BGREWRITEAOF # Background AOF rewrite
redis-cli LASTSAVE # Last save timestamp
# Replication
redis-cli REPLICAOF host port # Become replica
redis-cli REPLICAOF NO ONE # Promote to master
# Server lifecycle
redis-cli SHUTDOWN SAVE # Save and stop
redis-cli SHUTDOWN NOSAVE # Stop without saving
# Slow log
redis-cli SLOWLOG GET 10 # Recent slow commands
redis-cli SLOWLOG LEN # Entry count
redis-cli SLOWLOG RESET # Clear entries
# Cluster management
redis-cli --cluster check host:port # Check cluster health
redis-cli --cluster reshard host:port # Move slots between nodes
redis-cli -c -h cluster-node PING # Cluster-aware connection
| File | Content | When to read |
|---|---|---|
references/connection-and-options.md |
Full connection options, CLI flags, SSL/TLS, environment variables, interactive mode features (completion, history, preferences), RESP protocol versions | Configuring connections, setting up TLS, customizing CLI behavior |
references/data-query-commands.md |
Core data type commands: Strings, Hashes, Lists, Sets, Sorted Sets, Streams, Bitmaps, HyperLogLog, Geospatial, plus Key Operations, Database Operations, and Transactions | Looking up core command syntax, understanding command options and return values |
references/module-data-types.md |
Module data types: JSON (RedisJSON), Vector Sets (Redis 8.0+), Bloom Filter, Cuckoo Filter, Top-K, Count-Min Sketch, T-Digest, TimeSeries (TS.), Full-Text Search / RediSearch (FT.) — with full command syntax and behavioral notes | Working with Redis module data types, similarity search, probabilistic data structures, time series data, full-text search |
references/key-management.md |
SCAN family details (SCAN/SSCAN/HSCAN/ZSCAN), big keys analysis (--bigkeys, --memkeys, --keystats), key expiration (EXPIRE, TTL, PERSIST), key space patterns, mass insertion | Scanning databases, analyzing key distribution, managing key lifecycles |
references/inspection-and-monitoring.md |
INFO sections, MONITOR, --stat mode, latency tools (--latency, --latency-history, --latency-dist, --intrinsic-latency), RDB backup, replica mode, LRU simulation | Monitoring Redis instances, debugging performance, creating backups |
references/advanced-features.md |
Lua scripting (--eval, --ldb), Pub/Sub mode, pipe mode, CSV/JSON output, string quoting and escaping, get input from stdin, remote RDB transfer, Cluster management (--cluster subcommands, cluster commands) | Running scripts, subscribing to channels, bulk data operations, managing Redis Cluster |
references/server-administration.md |
ACL management (ACL SETUSER/DELUSER/LIST/CAT/GENPASS), client management (CLIENT LIST/KILL/PAUSE/TRACKING), configuration (CONFIG GET/SET/REWRITE), replication acknowledgment (WAIT/WAITAOF), persistence (SAVE/BGSAVE/BGREWRITEAOF), replication setup (REPLICAOF), server lifecycle (SHUTDOWN/FAILOVER) | Managing users and permissions, controlling client connections, runtime configuration, ensuring write durability, persistence management, replication setup |
# Step 1: Basic stats
redis-cli INFO keyspace
redis-cli DBSIZE
# Step 2: Find big keys and memory usage
redis-cli --bigkeys
redis-cli --memkeys
# Step 3: Sample keys and inspect types
redis-cli --scan | head -20
redis-cli TYPE <key>
redis-cli TTL <key>
# Step 4: Read data based on type
redis-cli HGETALL <hash_key>
redis-cli LRANGE <list_key> 0 -1
redis-cli ZRANGE <zset_key> 0 -1 WITHSCORES
# Live server stats
redis-cli --stat -i 2
# Watch memory specifically
redis-cli -r -1 -i 5 INFO memory | grep used_memory_human
# Monitor all commands (caution: high overhead)
redis-cli MONITOR
# Continuous latency
redis-cli --latency-history -i 5
# Count keys by pattern
redis-cli --scan --pattern 'session:*' | wc -l
# Find and inspect hash keys
redis-cli --scan --pattern 'user:*' | while read key; do
echo "=== $key ==="
redis-cli HGETALL "$key"
done
# Check TTL of matching keys
redis-cli --scan --pattern 'cache:*' | while read key; do
redis-cli TTL "$key"
done