How to use Redis in Docker Con­tain­ers

Redis is among the most popular Docker images and is often used as a lightning-fast in-memory database, func­tion­ing as a cache, session store, or message broker. In this article, we show you step-by-step how to use Redis with Docker and connect it with other Docker con­tain­ers or external ap­plic­a­tions.

Ad­vant­ages of running Redis in Docker

• Fast de­ploy­ment thanks to pre-con­figured images
• Port­ab­il­ity across different en­vir­on­ments
• Easy scaling and auto­ma­tion with Docker Compose or Kuber­netes
• Good isolation for de­vel­op­ment, testing, and pro­duc­tion en­vir­on­ments
• Easy in­teg­ra­tion into mi­croservice ar­chi­tec­tures

Pre­requis­ites

To use Redis in Docker, you need:

• A Linux server with Docker in­stall­a­tion (e.g., Ubuntu 24.04, Debian 12, or AlmaLinux 9)
• Basic knowledge of using the command line
• Optional: Access without sudo, by mem­ber­ship in the Docker group

Step 1: Start Redis Docker Container

Use the following command to start a basic Redis Docker container that stores its data per­sist­ently:

sudo docker run --name my-redis-container -d redis

The official Redis image from Docker Hub uses port 6379 by default and is ready to use im­me­di­ately.

Step 2: Connect Redis Docker instance container to container

Use a custom network to connect your Docker Redis server instance with other con­tain­ers:

docker network create redis-net
docker run --name my-redis-container --network redis-net -d redis
docker run --name my-redis-client --network redis-net -it redis redis-cli -h my-redis-container

This allows Redis to be seam­lessly in­teg­rated with backend services, mi­croservices, or admin tools without using the outdated –link option.

Step 3: Allow external access to Redis Docker Container

If you want to use Redis not only in­tern­ally but also ex­tern­ally (e.g., via a remote server), enable port for­ward­ing:

docker run --name my-redis-container -p 7001:6379 -d redis

Access from the client:

redis-cli -h [host-IP or domain] -p 7001

Step 4: Use custom redis.conf in the container

You can provide your own con­fig­ur­a­tion for the Docker Redis server:

docker run --name my-redis-container \
    -v /data/myredis/redis.conf:/usr/local/etc/redis/redis.conf \
    redis redis-server /usr/local/etc/redis/redis.conf

This allows for custom settings such as au­then­tic­a­tion (requirepass), memory limits, or rep­lic­a­tion.

Redis Docker setup with Docker Compose

For larger projects, it is re­com­men­ded to use Docker Compose:

version: '3'
services:
    redis:
        image: redis
        ports:
            - "6379:6379"
        volumes:
            - redis-data:/data
volumes:
    redis-data:

Start your en­vir­on­ment with:

docker compose up -d

Best practices for Redis Docker server

• Enable re­quire­pass to secure your Redis instance
• Use TLS/SSL for encrypted com­mu­nic­a­tion
• Store data in Docker volumes for per­sist­ent storage
• Monitor con­tain­ers with docker logs, Redis CLI, or mon­it­or­ing tools
• Keep Redis and Docker images regularly updated

Con­clu­sion

A Redis Docker container can be set up in a matter of minutes and is ideal for local de­vel­op­ment and pro­duc­tion in­fra­struc­tures. Thanks to the official Redis image, clear net­work­ing concepts, and easy con­fig­ur­a­tion, Redis can quickly connect with other Docker con­tain­ers and operate securely. With Docker Compose, your own redis.conf, and best practices, you can get the most out of your setup.