A new version of the in-memory key-value database Redis has been released. Redis 8.2 is now generally available and includes a range of performance improvements. The previous FOSS release, version 7.2, will reach end of life in February 2026.
About a year and a half ago, Redis switched from the permissive BSD-3-Clause license to a new dual-licensing system, MongoDB’s Server Side Public License (SSPL).
Shortly thereafter, Valkey appeared, forked from Redis 7.2.4. In June 2024, The Register reported that the project was gaining popularity. Nearly a year later, Redis released version 8.1, and the lead developers were busy planning version 9.
In May, the vendor released Redis 8 and relicensed it again, this time under the GNU AGPL. This is a restrictive license compared to the BSD licenses, but it is an official GNU Free Software license and approved by the Open Source Initiative.
The change of course at Redis came a few months after the original developer of Redis, Salvatore Sanfilippo, better known in FOSS circles as antirez, decided to return to the company he had left in 2020. The influence of this developer evangelist appears to be an important factor in the company’s renewed direction.
Impressive performance claims
Redis 8.2 introduces more than 14 new performance and efficiency improvements over Redis 8, including up to 35% faster commands, up to 49% higher throughput in operations per second, and a new internal implementation for storing keys and JSON that reduces memory usage by up to 67%.
Organizations still using Redis 7.2 face a migration choice: switch to Valkey, or stay with Redis but upgrade to a new major version. Redis 7.4 has about six months of support left, and Redis 7.8 will be supported until May 2027, but these versions are not strictly FOSS. For many users, it will likely depend on what their preferred Linux distribution offers. For example, RHEL 10 includes Valkey instead, while the recently released Debian 13 offers a choice: Redis 8.0.2 and Valkey 8.1.1.