redis-cli Quick Start

Verify a local PostRESP instance, run your first Redis commands, and peek at SQL storage.

Use redis-cli to verify a local PostRESP instance, exercise common commands, and inspect the same keys in Postgres.

Prerequisites

• redis-cli
• A local PostRESP instance from the Docker Quick Start or Postgres extensions
• A local port for RESP (examples use 6379)

Start PostRESP first

For the fastest local setup, start with Docker:

docker run -d --name pg_resp \
  -p 6379:6379 \
  -p 5432:5432 \
  -e POSTGRES_USER=redis \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=redis \
  -e POSTGRES_DB=pg_resp \
  -e USERNAME=redis \
  -e PASSWORD=redis \
  asamsig/pg_resp:latest

If you already have an instance running, skip ahead.

Connect and verify

redis-cli -p 6379 -a redis --no-auth-warning PING

Expected reply:

PONG

If you published RESP on another host port (for example -p 5762:6379):

redis-cli -p 5762 -a redis --no-auth-warning PING

Client auth is on by default. Pass -a / run AUTH, or start with REQUIRE_CLIENT_AUTH=false. See Authentication.

Your first commands

Strings, TTL, and a simple list:

redis-cli -p 6379 -a redis --no-auth-warning SET session:1 '{"user":"ada"}'
redis-cli -p 6379 -a redis --no-auth-warning GET session:1
# {"user":"ada"}

redis-cli -p 6379 -a redis --no-auth-warning EXPIRE session:1 60
redis-cli -p 6379 -a redis --no-auth-warning TTL session:1
# 60 (or slightly less)

redis-cli -p 6379 -a redis --no-auth-warning LPUSH jobs task-a
redis-cli -p 6379 -a redis --no-auth-warning LPUSH jobs task-b
redis-cli -p 6379 -a redis --no-auth-warning LRANGE jobs 0 -1
# 1) "task-b"
# 2) "task-a"

Interactive mode works the same way:

redis-cli -p 6379 -a redis --no-auth-warning

127.0.0.1:6379> SET foo bar
OK
127.0.0.1:6379> GET foo
"bar"
127.0.0.1:6379> DEL foo
(integer) 1

See Commands for the full support matrix.

Peek at SQL storage

The same keys live in schema pgresp. Values are bytea (shown hex-encoded in psql):

# Docker install
docker exec -it pg_resp \
  psql -U redis -d pg_resp -c "SELECT * FROM pgresp.strings;"

# Extension install (local psql)
psql -U redis -d pg_resp -c "SELECT * FROM pgresp.strings;"

You can also call SQL helpers directly — for example SELECT pgresp.get('session:1'); — when debugging from the Postgres side.

Point your app at it

Same URL shape as Redis:

REDIS_URL=redis://127.0.0.1:6379

Continue with Connect from your app for language examples.

Troubleshooting

If redis-cli does not connect on the first try:

• Confirm the container or Postgres host is up (docker ps, or check the postmaster).
• Inspect Docker startup with docker logs pg_resp.
• Confirm you are using the published host port, not only the container port, when ports are remapped.
• For extension installs, ensure pg_resp_gw_host is in shared_preload_libraries and the extensions were created in the configured database — see Postgres extensions.

Next steps