Finding Your Redis Credentials: Host, Port, and Password

Here is how to hunt down your Redis credentials in seconds.

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1. The Host: Where is Redis living?

In 90% of local development scenarios (including WSL), Redis lives right on your machine.

• Standard Local Host: 127.0.0.1 or localhost

• Remote Server: If you're connecting to a staging or production server, you will need that server's specific IP address or domain name (e.g., redis.example.com).

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2. The Port: Which door is open?

The default port for Redis is 6379. However, if you're running multiple instances, it might be different.

To confirm exactly which port your instance is listening on, run:

redis-cli CONFIG GET port

Alternatively, you can ask your system which process is "squatting" on the network:

sudo ss -tlnp | grep redis

If you see 0.0.0.0:6379, you're using the default.

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3. The Password: Is the gate locked?

By default, a fresh Redis installation has no password. In a local environment, this is common, but in production, it's a huge security risk.

To check if a password is required, run this command:

redis-cli CONFIG GET requirepass

• If you see 2) "": There is no password. You can leave your password field blank.

• If you see a string of text: That is your REDIS_PASSWORD.

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4. The "Source of Truth": The Config File

If the commands above aren't giving you what you need, you can look directly at the brain of Redis: the redis.conf file. Use this "super-command" to filter out the noise and see only the active settings:

Bash

sudo cat /etc/redis/redis.conf | grep -E "^(port|bind|requirepass)" | grep -v "^#"

This filters out all the comments (#) and shows you the binding address, port, and password all at once.

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Summary: Mapping to your .env file

Once you have the info, your environment file should look something like this:

# Typical Local Setup

REDIS_HOST=127.0.0.1
REDIS_PORT=6379
REDIS_PASSWORD=

# Dockerized Setup
# Note: Host is usually 'localhost' if port-mapped, 
# or the service name if using Docker Compose.
REDIS_HOST=localhost
REDIS_PORT=6379 

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Special Case: Redis in Docker 🐳

If you are running Redis via Docker, remember that your Host and Port depend on your docker-compose.yaml or docker run command:

• Host: Use localhost if you mapped the port to your machine.

• Port: Check your mapping (e.g., -p 6380:6379 means your app should connect to port 6380).

• Password: Usually defined via an environment variable like REDIS_PASSWORD in your container settings.