redis-cli Command Reference: Flags, Usage & CI Examples

redis-cli is the command-line client for a Redis server.

redis-cli connects to a Redis server and runs commands interactively or as one-shot arguments. In CI it seeds keys, flushes state, and provides a readiness healthcheck.

Common flags and usage

• -h <host> / -p <port>: server host and port (default 6379)
• -a <password>: authenticate (or set REDISCLI_AUTH)
• -n <db>: select a logical database number
• ping: returns PONG when the server is up
• -u redis://...: connect with a single URI
• --scan: iterate keys without blocking like KEYS

Example

until [ "$(redis-cli -h localhost -p 6379 ping)" = "PONG" ]; do
  echo "waiting for redis..."; sleep 1
done
redis-cli -u "${REDIS_URL}" set warmed 1

In CI

redis-cli ping is the standard healthcheck: loop until it returns PONG before tests connect. Pass auth via REDISCLI_AUTH rather than -a on the command line to keep the password out of the process list.

Key takeaways

• redis-cli runs Redis commands as one-shot args or interactively.
• A ping that returns PONG is the canonical readiness healthcheck.
• Prefer REDISCLI_AUTH over -a to hide the password from ps.

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