Practice Now
docker-compose
redis
redis-cli
containerization
devops

Calling redis-cli in docker-compose setup

System Design practice on Codemia

Work through 120+ system design problems with detailed solutions, from rate limiters to multi-region storage.

Practice system design
Docker & ContainersDatabasesDevOps & Deployment

Introduction

When running Redis in a Docker Compose setup, you need to use docker compose exec to run redis-cli inside the Redis container. This lets you interact with the Redis instance for debugging, manual data manipulation, monitoring, and testing — without installing Redis on your host machine.

Basic Docker Compose Setup

yaml
1# docker-compose.yml
2services:
3  redis:
4    image: redis:7-alpine
5    ports:
6      - "6379:6379"
7    volumes:
8      - redis_data:/data
9
10volumes:
11  redis_data:

Start the service:

bash
docker compose up -d

Connecting with redis-cli

Interactive Mode

bash
1# Open an interactive redis-cli session
2docker compose exec redis redis-cli
3
4# You'll see the Redis prompt:
5# 127.0.0.1:6379>

Run a Single Command

bash
1# Ping the server
2docker compose exec redis redis-cli PING
3# PONG
4
5# Set a key
6docker compose exec redis redis-cli SET mykey "hello"
7# OK
8
9# Get a key
10docker compose exec redis redis-cli GET mykey
11# "hello"
12
13# Check server info
14docker compose exec redis redis-cli INFO server

Common redis-cli Commands

bash
1# Check connection
2docker compose exec redis redis-cli PING
3
4# Set and get key-value pairs
5docker compose exec redis redis-cli SET user:1 '{"name":"Alice","age":30}'
6docker compose exec redis redis-cli GET user:1
7
8# List all keys (use cautiously in production)
9docker compose exec redis redis-cli KEYS '*'
10
11# Delete a key
12docker compose exec redis redis-cli DEL mykey
13
14# Check key TTL
15docker compose exec redis redis-cli TTL mykey
16
17# Set key with expiration (60 seconds)
18docker compose exec redis redis-cli SETEX session:abc 60 "token123"
19
20# Monitor all commands in real-time
21docker compose exec redis redis-cli MONITOR
22
23# Get server stats
24docker compose exec redis redis-cli INFO memory
25docker compose exec redis redis-cli DBSIZE

Connecting from Another Container

If your application container needs to connect to Redis:

yaml
1# docker-compose.yml
2services:
3  redis:
4    image: redis:7-alpine
5    ports:
6      - "6379:6379"
7
8  app:
9    build: .
10    depends_on:
11      - redis
12    environment:
13      - REDIS_HOST=redis
14      - REDIS_PORT=6379

From the app container, use the service name redis as the hostname:

bash
1# Connect from the app container
2docker compose exec app redis-cli -h redis -p 6379
3
4# Or if redis-cli isn't in the app container:
5docker compose exec redis redis-cli

Redis with Authentication

yaml
1services:
2  redis:
3    image: redis:7-alpine
4    command: redis-server --requirepass mysecretpassword
5    ports:
6      - "6379:6379"

Connect with password:

bash
1# Method 1: -a flag
2docker compose exec redis redis-cli -a mysecretpassword
3
4# Method 2: AUTH command after connecting
5docker compose exec redis redis-cli
6# 127.0.0.1:6379> AUTH mysecretpassword
7# OK
8
9# Method 3: REDISCLI_AUTH environment variable
10docker compose exec -e REDISCLI_AUTH=mysecretpassword redis redis-cli

Custom Redis Configuration

yaml
1services:
2  redis:
3    image: redis:7-alpine
4    command: redis-server /usr/local/etc/redis/redis.conf
5    volumes:
6      - ./redis.conf:/usr/local/etc/redis/redis.conf
7      - redis_data:/data
8    ports:
9      - "6379:6379"
10
11volumes:
12  redis_data:

Example redis.conf:

conf
1# redis.conf
2maxmemory 256mb
3maxmemory-policy allkeys-lru
4appendonly yes
5requirepass mysecretpassword

Connecting from Host Machine

If you exposed port 6379, you can connect from the host (if redis-cli is installed locally):

bash
1# From host machine
2redis-cli -h localhost -p 6379
3
4# With password
5redis-cli -h localhost -p 6379 -a mysecretpassword

Or without installing redis-cli, run it in a temporary container:

bash
docker run --rm -it --network host redis:7-alpine redis-cli -h localhost -p 6379

Useful Debugging Commands

bash
1# Memory usage of a specific key
2docker compose exec redis redis-cli MEMORY USAGE mykey
3
4# Slow log — commands that took too long
5docker compose exec redis redis-cli SLOWLOG GET 10
6
7# Connected clients
8docker compose exec redis redis-cli CLIENT LIST
9
10# Flush all data (CAUTION)
11docker compose exec redis redis-cli FLUSHALL
12
13# Save snapshot
14docker compose exec redis redis-cli BGSAVE
15
16# Check persistence status
17docker compose exec redis redis-cli LASTSAVE

Health Check

Add a health check to your compose file:

yaml
1services:
2  redis:
3    image: redis:7-alpine
4    ports:
5      - "6379:6379"
6    healthcheck:
7      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
8      interval: 10s
9      timeout: 5s
10      retries: 3

Common Pitfalls

  • exec vs run: Use docker compose exec for running containers. docker compose run creates a new container, which may not be connected to the same network or data volume.
  • Service name matters: The first argument after exec is the service name from docker-compose.yml (e.g., redis), not the container name or image name.
  • Container not running: exec fails if the container is not running. Check with docker compose ps and start with docker compose up -d.
  • Port conflicts: If port 6379 is already in use on the host (local Redis installation), either stop the local Redis or change the host port mapping: "6380:6379".
  • Data persistence: Without a volume mount, Redis data is lost when the container is removed. Always use a named volume (redis_data:/data) or bind mount for production data.
  • KEYS command in production: KEYS * blocks Redis and scans all keys. Use SCAN for production: docker compose exec redis redis-cli --scan --pattern 'user:*'.

Summary

  • Use docker compose exec redis redis-cli to open an interactive Redis session
  • Use docker compose exec redis redis-cli COMMAND for single commands
  • Connect from other containers using the service name (redis) as the hostname
  • Add -a password or AUTH command when Redis requires authentication
  • Mount a volume for data persistence and a config file for custom settings
  • Use SCAN instead of KEYS in production to avoid blocking
Related reading
Course
Beginner
27 lessons
10 hours
System Design Fundamentals

Build a strong foundation in designing scalable, reliable distributed systems.

View the course
Track what you have practised

A free account saves your progress, solutions and study plan across every problem on Codemia.

System Design practice on Codemia

Work through 120+ system design problems with detailed solutions, from rate limiters to multi-region storage.

Practice system design
Codemia
© 2026 Codemia
Resources
Legal
Social
All Rights Reserved.