Redis on your VPS, with keys and memory in plain sight

Install Redis with your choice of port, password and memory limit, then run it from the panel: search keys with wildcards, edit them with TTL, tune the eviction policy and force disk saves whenever you want.

  • Key explorer
  • Memory policies
  • AOF persistence

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Here's what it looks like in the panel

Real screenshots of the ArduMaker panel, not mockups.

Redis: Redis in the panel
Redis in the panel. Status, port and key browser.

Redis with its own user and TLS

From Apps you install Redis with a user for your application and, if you want, reachable from outside safely.

  • It creates an app user that works with the data but can't administer the server.
  • Encrypted connection (rediss) on its own port: 6379 isn't exposed.
  • Only the IPs you allow get in.
  • The connection string is ready to copy.
  • You see live which IPs are connecting.

Before you install it

Use it when

  • You need a cache to avoid repeating expensive queries or computations.
  • You store sessions, rate limits or counters that must be very fast.
  • You use job queues (BullMQ, Celery, Sidekiq) or messages between processes.

It's not the right fit if

  • It's the main business data and you can't lose it: that goes in PostgreSQL or MySQL.
  • You need queries with relations, complex filters or reports.

How to check it's working

  1. Ping over TLS: redis-cli -u "rediss://user:password@db-123.arducloud.com:64877" ping — it should answer PONG. Note it's rediss, with a double s: that's the encrypted connection.
  2. Store and read a key: set test hello → OK. get test → "hello". del test → 1.
  3. Try an expiry: set temp 1 ex 10 and ten seconds later get temp returns (nil): that's how a cache behaves.

Tips

  • There is one Redis per server: all your applications in that VPS share the same instance. Prefix each one's keys (shop:session:…).
  • By default, when memory fills up the least used keys are evicted. That's right for a cache; don't keep there anything you can't regenerate.
  • The app user can't administer the server (CONFIG, FLUSHALL, ACL): that's on purpose.
  • Only allowed IPs get in from outside, and always over TLS.
  • From an app in the same VPS use the local connection.

Redis without redis-cli

What you use for caching, sessions and queues, on one screen.

  • Configurable install: Password, port (6379 by default) and memory limit (256 MB by default), with progress in the background.
  • Live status: Version, port, uptime, connected clients, memory used and system memory.
  • Key explorer: Search with wildcards (user:*, session:*), read value, type and TTL, create and edit with an optional TTL, and delete.
  • Configuration: maxmemory, maxmemory-policy, timeout, appendonly (AOF) and save rules, from the panel.
  • Eviction policies: allkeys-lru by default, plus the LFU variants, TTL-based, random and noeviction.
  • Persistence: Force a disk save (SAVE or BGSAVE) and see when the last one was.
  • Stats: Memory used, peak, RSS, limit, connections received and commands processed.
  • Service control: Start, stop, restart, change the password and flush one database or all of them. Every operation is logged.
  • 6379 is never published: Redis listens on the VPS, not on the internet. From another VPS of yours you go through an encrypted SSH tunnel; from outside, only through the optional external access: rediss (TLS) on its own port and only for the IPs you authorize.
  • Everything is logged: Starting, stopping, changing the password or flushing a database goes into the VPS history, with who and when.

Redis up and running in minutes

  1. Install Redis: With your password, port and memory.
  2. Connect your app: For caching, sessions or queues.
  3. Tune the memory: Pick the eviction policy that fits your case.
  4. Mind persistence: If the data matters, turn on AOF and force disk saves when you need to.

How it works under the hood, and what to watch for

What you should know before you start, no fine print.

  • Always set your own password at install time, at least 8 characters. A Redis with no password is the textbook security incident.
  • The default memory limit is 256 MB and the eviction policy is allkeys-lru: when it fills up, it evicts the least recently used keys. If Redis is your cache, that is what you want; if you are storing data you can't lose, switch it to noeviction and turn on AOF.
  • Redis is single-threaded for commands: one slow command blocks all the others. That is why the key explorer searches with narrow patterns instead of sweeping the whole database.
  • There are 16 logical databases, 0 through 15. They are not really separate databases: they share the same process and the same memory limit.
  • Some configuration changes need a Redis restart to take effect; the panel tells you when.
  • To reach it from another VPS you use an SSH tunnel: 6379 is not published to the internet.
  • Needs systemd and a Debian or Ubuntu base. Verified in production on Ubuntu 22.04 and compatible with 18.04, 20.04, 24.04 and 26.04.
  • It is not available on Ubuntu 16.04: it ships Redis 3.0 and the configuration that gets installed uses protected-mode, which only appears in 3.2.
  • Over SSH you have redis-cli and the full redis.conf, like on any server.
  • Real root over SSH: the panel is a shortcut, not a cage. Anything it does with a button, you can also do by hand.

Or just ask Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor

Everything you see in the panel, your AI agent can do through the ArduMaker MCP server: with your authorization, within the scope you grant, and with every action audited. See what the MCP does

Redis: frequently asked questions

How much memory does Redis use?

The default limit is 256 MB, and you can change it at install time or later.

What happens when the memory fills up?

It depends on the policy you picked; the default, allkeys-lru, evicts the least recently used keys.

Can I see and edit keys without redis-cli?

Yes. From the panel you search, read, create with a TTL and delete keys.

How do I make sure the data is saved?

By turning on AOF (appendonly) in the configuration and forcing disk saves whenever you want.

Is Redis exposed to the internet?

Not by default. It listens inside the VPS, and from another of your servers it goes over an encrypted SSH tunnel. An open Redis, with or without a password, is one of the most frequent incidents there is, so 6379 is never published: if you need access from outside, the optional external access uses TLS (rediss) on its own port and only for the IPs you authorize.

Can I use it for data I can't afford to lose?

You can, but you have to set it up deliberately: the default policy evicts keys when the memory fills up. For persistent data, set noeviction and turn on AOF.

What are the 16 logical databases for?

To separate namespaces inside the same Redis: sessions in 0 and cache in 1, for example. They are not independent databases: they share the process and the memory limit.

Does it work on any Ubuntu?

From 18.04 onwards, verified on 22.04. Not on 16.04, because it ships Redis 3.0 and the configuration that gets installed uses protected-mode, which is from 3.2.

Services that go well together

Everything runs on the same VPS and is managed from the same panel.

  • n8n: Automations with queue-mode workers, Postgres and Redis included, a custom domain with HTTPS, and updates with rollback.
  • PostgreSQL: Install PostgreSQL and manage databases, users and permissions without the command line.
  • SSH tunnels between VPSs: Connect private services between your VPSs (a database, Redis) over encrypted SSH, without exposing them to the internet.

Cache and queues on your own server Install Redis from the panel of any VPS. Not a separate product: it's in the panel of every ArduMaker VPS, right next to real root over SSH. See plans

How it works under the hood

The technical documentation for what this page covers: what each tool does, what changes, how to verify it and which MCP tools operate it.

  • Redis: Native Redis, one per VPS, with its own ACL user, RDB persistence, TLS and external access limited by an IP allowlist.

All the documentation

Compare it with other platforms

Comparisons built on public data and sources, which also say when the other option is the better fit.

See all comparisons