Valkey

The BSD-licensed open-source Redis fork — same speed, same API, no licensing drama.

Database #cache#nosql#key-value#redis-compatible

Valkey is a community-driven, fully open-source fork of Redis 7.2 created in March 2024 after Redis Ltd. moved away from the BSD license. Maintained by the Linux Foundation, it's API-compatible with Redis, ships in major Linux distros, and is the default Redis-alike for projects that need strict OSS licensing.

Deploy with Pier

1 Open the Pier dashboard and click Add service.
2 Pick Valkey from the template list.
3 Choose the version, set a service name, and Pier provisions the container, storage, and ports automatically.
4 Attach a domain if you want HTTPS. Traefik auto-provisions the Let's Encrypt certificate.

What is Valkey?

Valkey is what Redis was before March 2024. When Redis Ltd. relicensed Redis under the source-available SSPL / RSALv2, the Linux Foundation immediately forked the last BSD-licensed commit (Redis 7.2.4) and named it Valkey. The maintainer team includes engineers from AWS, Google, Oracle, Snap, Ericsson, Alibaba, and the original Redis contributors who left Redis Ltd.

For end users, it’s Redis with a different name and a stable open-source license. The RESP wire protocol is identical. Commands are identical. Client libraries don’t need to change. Most production deployments switch by editing one line in their Docker Compose file.

How Pier deploys it

Pier uses the official valkey/valkey Docker image, mounting /data as the persistent volume. The default version is latest (Valkey 8.x); 7-alpine and 8-alpine are pinned variants. Pier auto-generates a strong password (VALKEY_PASSWORD env var, exposed in the connection string).

The connection string uses the redis:// scheme — redis://:password@host:6379 — because Redis clients don’t know there’s a different name on the server side. Pier’s backup, restart, and password-rotation actions all work the same as on the Redis template.

When NOT to use Valkey

If you specifically need Redis Stack modules (RediSearch, RedisJSON, RedisGraph) — those are Redis Ltd. extensions and ship only on the Redis template. Valkey core doesn’t have them today. Otherwise Valkey is a strict upgrade-in-licensing-terms over Redis.

Key features

Drop-in Redis compatibility

Same RESP protocol, same commands, same clients. Existing Redis-based applications work unchanged — just point at Valkey instead.

Fully BSD-3-Clause licensed

No SSPL, no RSALv2, no source-available restrictions. Use it in commercial SaaS, sell it as a managed service — anything BSD allows.

Backed by the Linux Foundation

Governed independently with major maintainers from AWS, Google, Oracle, Snap, Ericsson, and the original Redis contributor team that left Redis Ltd.

Multi-threaded I/O

Multi-threaded I/O for high-throughput workloads. Faster than single-threaded Redis on modern multi-core hardware.

Same data structures

Strings, lists, sets, sorted sets, hashes, streams, pub/sub, bitmaps, HyperLogLog, geospatial indexes — bit-for-bit compatible with Redis 7.2.

Active development

Multiple major releases since the fork; ongoing performance improvements, new commands, and bug fixes — independent of any single vendor's roadmap.

Use cases

Drop-in Redis replacement

Switch existing Redis deployments to Valkey by changing the Docker image. Most apps notice nothing.

Open-source-strict environments

Government, regulated industries, OSS-purist organizations that need a guaranteed BSD-licensed key-value store.

Application cache

Reduce primary database load by caching expensive query results, computed views, rendered templates with sub-millisecond reads.

Session store

Move user sessions out of cookies and out of the SQL database. Automatic per-key TTL, shared across multiple app servers.

Background job broker

Sidekiq, Celery, Bull, RQ — all the Redis-based job queues work with Valkey unchanged.

Code examples

Basic SET/GET (same as Redis) bash

valkey-cli SET session:abc123 "user_id=42" EX 3600
valkey-cli GET session:abc123

Atomic counter bash

valkey-cli INCR pageviews:home
valkey-cli INCRBY downloads:installer 5

Pub/Sub bash

# Subscriber
valkey-cli SUBSCRIBE events

# Publisher (separate session)
valkey-cli PUBLISH events '{"type":"signup","user":42}'

Connecting from Node.js (ioredis works unchanged) javascript

import Redis from "ioredis";

const valkey = new Redis(
  "redis://default:password@host:6379"
);
await valkey.set("hello", "world", "EX", 60);

How it compares

vs Redis	Same API, same RESP wire protocol — but Valkey stays BSD-licensed forever. Redis 7.4+ is source-available (SSPL or RSALv2) which restricts SaaS resale. Pick Valkey if license matters to you.
vs KeyDB	Both are Redis forks with multi-threaded I/O. Valkey has stronger industry backing (Linux Foundation, AWS, Google) and faster iteration. KeyDB is Snap-owned and less actively maintained since the Valkey fork.
vs DragonflyDB	Dragonfly is a from-scratch reimplementation with novel data structures; Valkey is a Redis 7.2 fork. Dragonfly may be faster for specific workloads; Valkey is closer to "Redis but BSD".
vs Memcached	Memcached is simpler and slimmer but limited to strings — no persistence, lists, sets, pub/sub, or streams. Valkey covers Memcached's use case plus everything Redis does.

Frequently asked questions

How is Valkey different from Redis at the API level?

It isn't — at the protocol level Valkey is bit-for-bit compatible with Redis 7.2. Apps, drivers, ORMs, and admin tools written for Redis work against Valkey unchanged.

Why did Valkey fork from Redis?

In March 2024, Redis Ltd. moved Redis from the BSD license to a dual SSPL / RSALv2 source-available license. The Linux Foundation immediately created Valkey from the last BSD-licensed Redis (7.2.4) with Amazon, Google, Oracle, Snap, and the original Redis maintainer team backing it.

Which version does Pier deploy?

Default is `latest` (Valkey 8.x). Versions 7-alpine and 8-alpine are pinned variants.

Default port and connection?

6379/tcp — same as Redis. The connection string uses the redis:// scheme too — `redis://:password@host:6379`. The Pier service page shows it.

Should I pick Redis or Valkey for a new project?

If you're starting fresh and want to avoid any future license risk — pick Valkey. If you need a specific Redis 8+ feature (Redis Stack modules) — pick Redis. For pure cache / queue use cases, they're indistinguishable.

Are backups automatic?

Yes — Pier captures Valkey's RDB snapshots + AOF file on schedule and can ship to S3. Same backup mechanism as the Redis template.

Do popular Redis libraries work?

Yes — every Redis driver (jedis, ioredis, redis-py, redis-rs, go-redis, lettuce, StackExchange.Redis) works against Valkey unchanged. The protocol is identical.

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