Valkey: Open Source In-Memory DB for Modern Apps
Valkey: A Redis OSS 7.2 fork. Delivers high-performance in-memory storage for caching, analytics, and messaging in modern applications.
Roberto Luna Rojas
Amazon Employee
Published Apr 1, 2025
Last Modified Apr 2, 2025
In the ever-evolving landscape of database technologies, Valkey has emerged as a significant player in the open source in-memory database space. Valkey is a fork of Redis OSS 7.2 that launched in early 2024, created to preserve and advance the open source ethos that many developers valued in Redis OSS before its licensing changes. Valkey is an project under the Linux Foundation as Valkey Community launched on March 28th, 2024.
At its core, Valkey is an in-memory data structure store that can be used as a database, cache, message broker, and streaming engine. Like its Redis OSS ancestor, it supports various data structures such as strings, hashes, lists, sets, sorted sets with range queries, bitmaps, hyperloglogs, geospatial indexes, and streams.
What sets Valkey apart is its commitment to remaining truly open source under the BSD 3-Clause license, ensuring that the technology remains accessible, modifiable, and freely usable by all developers and organizations without the licensing complications that have affected some other in-memory database options.
Valkey shines in scenarios where speed is paramount. With data stored primarily in memory, Valkey operations occur in microseconds rather than the milliseconds or seconds typical of disk-based databases. This makes it ideal for:
- Caching: Reduce database load and speed up applications by storing frequently accessed data in memory.
- Real-time analytics: Process streaming data on the fly for immediate insights.
- Session stores: Manage user sessions efficiently across distributed systems.
- Leaderboards and counting: Track rankings and statistics with minimal latency.
- Message brokers: Enable communication between different parts of your application.
- Rate limiting: Control API usage and prevent abuse.
- Geospatial applications: Store and query location-based data efficiently.
Consider Valkey when your application requires sub-millisecond response times, when you need to reduce load on your primary database, or when working with real-time data that doesn't fit traditional database paradigms.
Valkey emerged as a valuable addition to the database ecosystem, addressing several key market needs. As a response to Redis Inc. shift to a different license (Redis Source Available License) for the original Redis OSS project. Valkey provides organizations with a robust option for in-memory data storage while embracing community-driven development and maintaining broad compatibility with existing systems.
Performance is a crucial factor driving Valkey's adoption. Modern applications increasingly demand real-time responsiveness, and traditional databases often struggle to match the raw speed of in-memory solutions. In scenarios where milliseconds matter—such as gaming, financial trading, ad tech, or real-time analytics—Valkey delivers the essential performance edge.
Architectural simplicity sets Valkey apart from many complex database systems. Its straightforward command structure, clear data models, and uncomplicated scaling options significantly reduce cognitive overhead for developers while still offering powerful capabilities. This simplicity accelerates development cycles and eases maintenance burdens.
Finally, Valkey's community governance model, overseen by the Linux Foundation, ensures that the project evolves with the interests of users and contributors at the forefront. This collaborative approach fosters innovation, transparency, and long-term sustainability for the project, while enabling rapid response to emerging technology needs and community feedback.
Getting started with Valkey is straightforward, especially for those familiar with Redis OSS. Here's a quick guide:
On Ubuntu/Debian:
On macOS with Homebrew:
Using Docker:
Connect to Valkey using the CLI:
Set and retrieve a simple key-value pair:
Work with more complex data structures like hashes:
Implement a simple rate limiter:
Valkey is compatible with Redis OSS 7.2.4 and below, all Data Types, Commands, Configuration, and Protocol remain the same. The most common used Data Types are: Strings, Lists, Sets, Sorted Sets and Hashes.
Valkey offers multiple persistence mechanisms:
RDB snapshots: Point-in-time snapshots of your dataset
AOF (Append Only File): Logs every write operation
RDB + AOF: Combined approach for better durability
For larger deployments, consider:
Replication: Set up primary-replica configurations
Clustering: Distribute data across multiple nodes
Sentinel: Automated failover for high availability
Valkey's importance extends across multiple roles in the technology ecosystem. For developers, it's a powerful tool that simplifies database interactions, allowing more time for feature development. Its Redis OSS compatible API ensures existing skills transfer seamlessly, while its performance characteristics enable new classes of applications.
DevOps and SRE teams will appreciate Valkey as a high-performance, low-maintenance infrastructure component. Its small footprint, predictable behavior, and straightforward scaling simplify management, while its open source nature eliminates surprise licensing costs and compliance issues.
System architects need to understand Valkey's capabilities and limitations to make informed decisions. Knowing when to leverage Valkey as a cache, primary database, message broker, or streaming solution can significantly impact system performance and complexity.
Open source advocates will find Valkey an interesting case study in community-driven development, demonstrating how open source values can be preserved even under commercial pressures.
Database administrators (DBAs) should familiarize themselves with Valkey to understand how it complements traditional databases. Using it as a cache or for specific high-performance needs can dramatically reduce load on primary databases, extending their useful life and improving overall system performance.
In essence, Valkey is a versatile tool that can benefit various technology professionals, from developers and operations teams to system architects and database administrators, while also serving as an example of successful open source development.
The success of Valkey illuminates important developments in open source databases, particularly how the community responds when commercial and user interests diverge. When Redis OSS altered its licensing approach, the community created Valkey - following a well-established pattern seen with other successful forks like MariaDB from MySQL , OpenTofu from Terraform, and OpenSearch from Elasticsearch. These forks serve as crucial mechanisms for preserving user choice and project continuity.
Operating under the Linux Foundation's umbrella, Valkey exemplifies effective community governance through transparent decision-making and diverse stakeholder participation.
Valkey's strategic decision to maintain Redis OSS compatibility demonstrates practical wisdom - users can migrate without modifying application code, while existing tools and libraries continue functioning seamlessly. This approach honors past investments while providing a clear path forward. The project's growing adoption also highlights the increasing importance of in-memory databases in modern architecture. As organizations grapple with expanding data volumes and demanding performance requirements, traditional disk-based solutions often fall short. In-memory databases like Valkey fill this critical gap, enabling new classes of applications that meet today's speed and scale demands.
Valkey represents more than just another database option—it's a statement about the enduring value of open source software and community-driven development. By providing a truly open alternative in the in-memory database space, Valkey ensures that developers and organizations can continue to build on a foundation of software freedom.
Whether you're building a high-scale web application, implementing a caching layer, or designing a real-time analytics pipeline, Valkey offers the performance, flexibility, and community support needed to succeed. And as an open source project, it invites not just use but contribution—a chance to help shape the future of in-memory data storage.
As data needs continue to evolve, having truly open tools like Valkey in our collective toolkit ensures that innovation remains accessible to all, not just those who can afford expensive proprietary solutions or navigate complex licensing restrictions.
- In-memory databases like Valkey provide essential performance advantages for modern applications requiring real-time responses.
- True open source licensing ensures long-term viability and avoids vendor lock-in.
- Community governance models create more sustainable projects by balancing diverse stakeholder needs.
- Compatibility with existing ecosystems reduces adoption friction and preserves investments.
For those interested in exploring Valkey further, consider:
- Deploying a test instance to benchmark against your current solution.
- Joining the Valkey community forums to learn best practices
- Exploring the documentation to understand advanced features
- Contributing to the GitHub project if you identify improvements or extensions.
The future of open source in-memory databases looks bright with Valkey leading the way, proving that community-driven development can produce world-class technology accessible to all.
P.S. Valkey is available in AWS Fully Managed Database Services like Amazon ElastiCache (Serverless included) and Amazon MemoryDB.
Any opinions in this post are those of the individual author and may not reflect the opinions of AWS.