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Redis Cloud

Redis Cloud is a fully managed Redis service that provides database-as-a-service with enterprise-grade reliability, security, and performance. It enables you to create, manage, and scale Redis databases across AWS, GCP, and Azure without managing infrastructure.

Authentication Types

Redis Cloud supports 1 authentication method:

  • API Keys - Uses Account API Key and Secret Key for programmatic access to the Redis Cloud REST API. Ideal for infrastructure automation and management.
    • Pros: Simple setup, suitable for server-side automation, no user interaction required
    • Cons: Keys have account-level access, must be stored securely

Setting up API Keys

API Keys provide programmatic access to manage your Redis Cloud resources including subscriptions, databases, backups, and access controls.

Creating API Keys

  1. Log in to your Redis Cloud account at https://app.redislabs.com

  2. Navigate to Access ManagementAPI Keys (in the left sidebar)

  3. Click + Add API Key

  4. Enter a name for your API key (e.g., "Webrix MCP Integration")

  5. (Optional) Set an expiration date for enhanced security

  6. Click Generate API Key

  7. Important: Copy both keys immediately:

    • Account Key - Your primary API key (starts with x-api-key)
    • Secret Key - Your secret key (shown only once)
warning

Store your Secret Key securely - it will only be shown once. If you lose it, you'll need to generate a new API key pair.

Configuring in Webrix

  1. In the Webrix connector settings, select API Key as the authentication method

  2. Paste the Account Key in the API Key field

  3. Paste the Secret Key in the Secret Key field

  4. Click Save Changes

tip

Redis Cloud API keys are account-wide and provide access to all subscriptions and databases within the account. For production use, consider creating separate API keys for different applications and rotate them regularly.

Available Tools

The Redis Cloud connector provides 29 management tools organized into categories:

Account Management (3 tools)

  • Get account information and ownership details
  • List payment methods and billing configuration
  • Retrieve account usage statistics and resource consumption

Subscription Management (6 tools)

  • List all subscriptions (Pro and Essentials)
  • Create new subscriptions on AWS, GCP, or Azure
  • Update subscription configurations
  • Delete subscriptions and associated resources
  • Retrieve subscription details and settings
  • Get subscription CIDR whitelist for network security

Database Management (7 tools)

  • List databases within subscriptions
  • Create Redis databases with custom configurations
  • Update database memory, throughput, and settings
  • Delete databases permanently
  • Get detailed database information
  • Retrieve database performance metrics
  • Create manual database backups

Backup & Import (3 tools)

  • List available database backups
  • Import data from backups or external sources
  • Export database data to external storage (S3, Azure Blob, GCS, FTP)

Access Control (4 tools)

  • List Access Control Lists (ACLs) and security rules
  • Create ACL rules with Redis 6.0+ syntax
  • Update ACL configurations
  • Manage database access permissions

Cloud Accounts (3 tools)

  • List cloud provider account integrations (AWS)
  • Create bring-your-own-cloud (BYOC) deployments
  • Delete cloud account connections

User Management (3 tools)

  • List account users and their roles
  • Invite new users to the account
  • Update user roles and permissions

Tasks & Operations (2 tools)

  • Check status of long-running operations
  • List recent tasks and activity history

Common Use Cases

Database Provisioning

"Create a new Redis database with 2GB memory in AWS us-east-1" "List all databases in subscription 12345" "Update database memory to 4GB"

Backup and Recovery

"Create a backup of database 67890" "List all available backups for database 67890" "Import data from backup to database"

Performance Monitoring

"Get operations-per-second metrics for database 67890" "Show me memory usage for the last 24 hours" "Get connected clients count for database"

Access Control

"List all ACL rules in subscription 12345" "Create a read-only ACL rule with pattern +@read ~*" "Update ACL permissions for database access"

Infrastructure Management

"List all Redis Cloud subscriptions" "Get subscription details including region and plan" "Create a new Pro subscription in GCP us-central1"

Task Monitoring

"Check status of task abc-123-def" "List all recent tasks and their completion status" "Show me failed operations from the last 7 days"

Troubleshooting

"Authentication Failed" or "401 Unauthorized" Error

Cause: Invalid or expired API keys.

Solution:

  • Verify both the Account Key and Secret Key are correct
  • Check that you copied the complete keys without extra spaces or line breaks
  • Ensure the API keys haven't expired (check expiration date in Access Management)
  • If keys are lost or compromised, generate new ones and update the connector

"429 Rate Limit Exceeded" Error

Cause: Too many API requests in a short time period.

Solution:

  • Redis Cloud API has a rate limit of 400 requests per minute per Account API key
  • Wait at least 60 seconds before retrying
  • Implement exponential backoff for retries
  • Consider reducing the frequency of operations
  • Cache frequently accessed data like subscription and database lists

"403 Forbidden" Error

Cause: API keys lack required permissions for the operation.

Solution:

  • Verify your account has the necessary permissions
  • Check that you're using the correct subscription ID or database ID
  • Ensure your account role has access to the requested resource
  • Contact your Redis Cloud account owner to grant appropriate permissions

"Task Still Processing" When Creating Resources

Cause: Database and subscription operations are asynchronous and take time to complete.

Solution:

  • Many operations (create database, delete subscription, backup, import) return a task ID
  • Use the Get Task Status tool to monitor operation progress
  • Wait for task status to change to "completed" before proceeding
  • Typical completion times:
    • Database creation: 2-5 minutes
    • Subscription creation: 5-15 minutes
    • Backups: 1-10 minutes depending on database size
    • Imports: Varies based on data size

"Database Unavailable" During Import/Backup

Cause: Database may be temporarily unavailable during data operations.

Solution:

  • Wait for the import or backup task to complete
  • Check task status using Get Task Status
  • Avoid running concurrent operations on the same database
  • Plan maintenance windows for large import operations

"Invalid Region" or "Unsupported Cloud Provider"

Cause: Region name is incorrect or not supported by the chosen cloud provider.

Solution:

  • Verify region names using cloud provider documentation:
    • AWS: Use region codes like us-east-1, eu-west-1, ap-southeast-1
    • GCP: Use region codes like us-central1, europe-west1, asia-east1
    • Azure: Use region codes like East-US, West-Europe, Southeast-Asia
  • Check Redis Cloud documentation for supported regions
  • Ensure the region is available for your subscription plan type (Pro vs Essentials)

"Insufficient Memory" When Creating Database

Cause: Subscription doesn't have enough available memory for the requested database size.

Solution:

  • Check subscription capacity and current memory usage
  • Reduce the database memory limit
  • Scale up your subscription to add more memory
  • Delete unused databases to free up capacity

ACL Rules Not Working as Expected

Cause: Incorrect Redis ACL syntax or rule precedence.

Solution:

  • Verify ACL syntax follows Redis 6.0+ format:
    • +@all ~* - Full access to all commands and keys
    • +@read ~* -@write - Read-only access
    • +@read ~user:* -@write - Read-only access to keys matching user:*
  • Test ACL rules in a development database first
  • Reference Redis ACL documentation: https://redis.io/docs/management/security/acl/
  • Rules apply to new connections - existing connections keep their permissions

Important Limitations

Management-Only Operations

This connector uses the Redis Cloud REST API for infrastructure management. It provides:

Supported:

  • Database and subscription management
  • Backup and import operations
  • Access control configuration
  • User and account management
  • Monitoring and metrics

Not Supported:

  • Data operations (GET, SET, HSET, etc.)
  • Direct Redis command execution
  • Pub/Sub messaging
  • Real-time data manipulation
info

For data operations, connect directly to your Redis database using:

  • Redis clients (redis-py, node-redis, ioredis, etc.)
  • RedisInsight GUI tool
  • Redis CLI

The connector provides database endpoints and credentials needed for these connections.

Async Operations

Many operations are asynchronous and return task IDs:

  • Creating databases and subscriptions
  • Deleting resources
  • Backup and import operations
  • Configuration changes that require restarts

Always use Get Task Status to monitor completion before proceeding with dependent operations.

Cloud Provider Support

  • Cloud Accounts tools currently support AWS only
  • Database creation works with AWS, GCP, and Azure
  • BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud) features are AWS-specific

Best Practices

Security

  • Rotate API keys regularly (every 90 days recommended)
  • Use separate API keys for different applications/environments
  • Set expiration dates on API keys when creating them
  • Never commit API keys to source control
  • Store keys in secure secret management systems (AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, etc.)
  • Implement IP whitelisting using CIDR rules when possible
  • Use ACLs to implement least-privilege access for database users

Cost Management

  • Monitor usage with Get Account Usage tool regularly
  • Delete unused databases and subscriptions to reduce costs
  • Use appropriate memory sizes - start small and scale up as needed
  • Consider Essentials tier for development/testing environments
  • Set up backups with appropriate retention policies
  • Use dry-run cost estimates before creating resources (if available)

Database Configuration

  • Enable replication for production databases (high availability)
  • Choose appropriate data persistence settings:
    • aof-every-1-second - Good balance of performance and durability
    • aof-every-write - Maximum durability, lower performance
    • snapshot-every-*-hours - Good for cache use cases
    • none - Maximum performance, no persistence (use for pure cache)
  • Configure throughput based on actual usage patterns
  • Enable Redis modules (RediSearch, RedisJSON, etc.) at creation time

Operations

  • Use Get Task Status to monitor async operations before proceeding
  • Create backups before making significant database changes
  • Test configuration changes in development environments first
  • Use descriptive names for databases and subscriptions
  • Tag resources consistently for easier management
  • Document ACL rules and their purposes
  • Monitor database metrics regularly to detect issues early

Automation

  • Implement retry logic with exponential backoff for rate limits
  • Cache subscription and database lists to reduce API calls
  • Group related operations to minimize task polling
  • Use task lists to track multiple concurrent operations
  • Implement proper error handling for all operations