Redis 8 Is Here: Back to Open Source?
Redis 8 has officially launched — and it’s not just faster, more scalable, and packed with new data structures.
Perhaps the biggest surprise? It’s (kind of) open source again.
After years of licensing controversy, Redis is now offering Redis 8 under the AGPLv3 license, a move that brings it back into the realm of OSI-approved open source software — at least partially.
But Redis 8 isn’t just about licensing. It includes more than 30 performance optimizations.
Whether you’re building high-speed AI search, managing time series data from sensors, or just need better caching, Redis 8 is shaping up to be a compelling upgrade. But is it truly “open source” again? That depends on how you define it.
Let’s unpack what’s new — and what it really means for developers, open-source advocates, and companies betting on Redis.
⚖️ A Note on Licensing
Redis 8 is now available under three licenses:
RSALv2 (Redis Source Available License) — suitable for most use cases, except when building a competing Redis service.
SSPLv1 (Server Side Public License) — commonly used by companies offering Redis as a managed service.
AGPLv3 (GNU Affero General Public License v3) — newly added in Redis 8, this is an OSI-approved open source license that ensures strong copyleft protection. It’s ideal for organizations that require OSI compliance and want to use Redis in cloud-based or internal environments without worrying about license ambiguity.
The addition of AGPLv3 gives developers more flexibility and may simplify adoption for teams with strict open-source policy requirements.
Redis 8 is free to use under any of these licenses — just choose the one that fits your legal and business needs.
TL;DR: What’s New in Redis 8?
Up to 87% lower latency on many commands
2x higher throughput with new I/O threading
8 new data structures, including vector search (beta), JSON, and time series
A revamped Redis Query Engine that handles search and AI workloads
Redis Stack is now merged into Redis Open Source
New AGPLv3 license option alongside RSALv2 and SSPLv1
Let’s unpack why this matters.
Redis 8: Not Just Faster — Smarter
Redis has always been about speed, but Redis 8 shows that it’s also about staying current with how data is used today — whether that’s streaming in from IoT sensors or powering GenAI queries.
🚀 Speed Gains Across the Board
Redis 8 includes more than 30 performance optimizations, many of them based on real-world usage data. Highlights include:
Latency drops of up to 87% across 90 common commands
A new multithreaded I/O model that doubles throughput in some workloads
A replication mechanism that’s 18% faster and uses 35% less memory during sync
Query engine scaling that delivers up to 16x more query power, supporting 1B+ vector embeddings in real time
Whether you’re running Redis on a single core or scaling across machines, these changes will be felt.
Redis Gets New Brains: Vector, JSON, Time Series, and More
🧠 Vector Set (Beta)
Inspired by Redis’ own sorted set, the new vector set structure is purpose-built for similarity search on high-dimensional embeddings. It’s ideal for semantic search, recommendations, and GenAI applications. The API is still in beta.
📦 JSON Support
Redis 8 now treats JSON as a first-class citizen. You can store structured documents and update them atomically using JSONPath — no need to fetch and rewrite whole objects. It’s a win for session management and hierarchical data modeling.
📈 Time Series
Time series data, like telemetry and market prices, is now easier to store and query. Efficient compression and automatic downsampling make this ideal for long-running applications.
🎲 Probabilistic Structures
In addition to HyperLogLog, Redis 8 now bundles five more lightweight, fast-but-approximate structures:
Bloom/Cuckoo filters — Has this been seen before?
Count-min sketch — How often has X appeared?
Top-k — What are the most frequent items?
t-digest — What percentile does this value fall in?
These are especially useful for large-scale streaming data.
Redis Stack Becomes Redis Open Source
In the past, Redis Stack and Redis modules created some friction — version mismatches, installation confusion, and fragmentation in the community. Redis 8 aims to fix that.
Now, there’s just one Redis Open Source distribution. It includes all the previously modular features in one place, with unified versioning. No more guesswork on compatibility.
Better Search with Redis Query Engine
Redis 8’s updated query engine brings capabilities that feel more like a full-text search engine or lightweight vector DB:
Create secondary indexes on hashes and JSON
Perform semantic searches on vector embeddings
Support for fuzzy matching, synonyms, and stemming
Now scales horizontally (across nodes) and vertically (on more powerful machines)
If you’re building anything AI-driven, this upgrade is crucial.
Security and Access Control
Redis 8 continues to ship secure by default but now supports more granular ACLs. New command categories cover all the newly added structures, helping teams control who can do what more precisely.
Licensing: Now with AGPL
While Redis moved to a dual license last year, Redis 8 introduces a third option: AGPLv3, an OSI-approved license that might be simpler for organizations navigating open source compliance.
Developer Tools and Client Support
Redis 8 is compatible with all major open-source Redis clients:
Java: Jedis, Lettuce
Python: redis-py
Node.js: node-redis
Go: go-redis
C#: NRedisStack
You’ll also find solid support for object mapping (via Redis OM) and tools like Redis Insight and Redis for VS Code for visual data exploration.
What About GenAI?
If you’re building AI-driven apps, Redis 8 integrates with the Redis Vector Library (RedisVL), which helps with:
Vector search
Semantic caching
Routing queries intelligently to LLMs
It’s a serious alternative to standalone vector databases.
Should You Upgrade?
If you’re still running Redis 6 or 7, the case for upgrading is strong. Redis 8 offers:
More speed for less hardware
Cleaner architecture via Redis Open Source
Better support for AI and modern app patterns
Note: Support for Redis Stack 6.2, 7.2, and 7.4 ends on September 15, 2025.
Getting Redis 8
Redis 8 is now available as Redis Open Source. You can grab it via:
Docker Hub (Alpine, Debian images)
Snapcraft
Homebrew
RPM/DEB packages
More install instructions: redis.io