Redis

What is Redis?

Redis is an in-memory data store used as a cache, session store, and queue backend. It's the most common performance upgrade for PHP apps once file-based caching or array sessions stop being enough, and Laravel supports it natively.

Start Redis

docker compose up -d redis

Stop Redis

docker compose stop redis

This stops the container without deleting its data. To remove the container (data on disk is untouched, it lives under DATA_PATH_HOST): docker compose rm -f redis.

Configuration

redis/defaults.env holds the port, and the password lives in the main .env (uncomment/edit the line under the ### REDIS section). Either can be overridden in your own .env:

Variable	Default	What it does
REDIS_PORT	6379	Host-side port Redis is published on (host:container).
REDIS_PASSWORD	secret_redis	Passed to the container as --requirepass; set it empty to disable auth.

Use Redis from Laravel

1. In your Laravel .env, set REDIS_HOST=redis. If that variable isn't there, edit config/database.php instead and replace the default 127.0.0.1 with redis:

   'redis' => [
       'cluster' => false,
       'default' => [
           'host'     => 'redis',
           'port'     => 6379,
           'database' => 0,
       ],
   ],

2. To use Redis for cache and sessions, set CACHE_DRIVER=redis and SESSION_DRIVER=redis in .env.
3. Install the client:

   composer require predis/predis:^1.0

4. Test it from Laravel:

   \Cache::store('redis')->put('Laradock', 'Awesome', 10);

Use the redis-cli

docker compose exec redis bash
redis-cli

If REDIS_PASSWORD is set, authenticate first: redis-cli -a secret_redis.

Connect from your host machine

Inside Laradock, other containers reach Redis by container name: REDIS_HOST=redis. From your own machine, connect to localhost:6379 (or your custom REDIS_PORT) with a GUI like TablePlus or RedisInsight, using REDIS_PASSWORD if set.

Common issues

• NOAUTH Authentication required. REDIS_PASSWORD is set in .env but your client isn't sending it. Pass -a <password> to redis-cli, or set the password on your Laravel Redis connection config.
• App can't connect but the container is running. Confirm the app's .env uses REDIS_HOST=redis (the container name), not localhost or 127.0.0.1, those only work from your host machine, not from inside another container.
• Port already in use on your host. Another local Redis (or another Laradock project) is already bound to 6379. Change REDIS_PORT in .env and restart: docker compose up -d redis.
• Data disappears after docker compose down -v. Redis data lives under DATA_PATH_HOST/redis; -v removes named volumes and, depending on your setup, can wipe it. Use docker compose stop if you just want to pause the container.

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Need a GUI to browse keys? See Redis WebUI. Need a Redis-compatible alternative? See Valkey or Dragonfly, or a multi-node setup, Redis Cluster. New to Laradock? Start at Getting Started.