5-minute quickstart

Pick one install method

Docker (fastest)

docker run -d --name valkey -p 6379:6379 valkey/valkey:9.1

For persistence:

docker run -d --name valkey \
  -p 6379:6379 \
  -v valkey-data:/data \
  valkey/valkey:9.1 \
  valkey-server --appendonly yes

Linux package managers

Debian / Ubuntu (24.04+):

sudo apt update && sudo apt install valkey-server valkey-tools
sudo systemctl enable --now valkey-server

Fedora / RHEL 9+:

sudo dnf install valkey
sudo systemctl enable --now valkey

On Debian/Ubuntu 24.04+ and Fedora 40+, the redis package is now a transitional package that pulls Valkey. You can install either name.

macOS

brew install valkey
brew services start valkey

From source

git clone https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey
cd valkey && git checkout 9.1
make BUILD_TLS=yes -j
sudo make install
valkey-server --daemonize yes

Ping it

valkey-cli ping
# PONG

Store and read a key:

valkey-cli SET hello world
valkey-cli GET hello
# "world"

Check what you actually got

valkey-cli INFO server | head -20

You will see something like:

# Server
redis_version:7.2.4
valkey_version:9.1.0
server_name:valkey
redis_mode:standalone
os:Linux 6.5.0 x86_64

redis_version stays pinned at 7.2.4 forever — that is on purpose, so older client libraries that probe redis_version to gate features keep working. The real version is in valkey_version and server_name.

Next steps

For beginners — concepts, when to reach for Valkey
Operations overview — production setup
Reference — commands, ports, config
Errors — Chinese version; the error names are the same

5-minute quickstart

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