Updated: 2026-07-07

On March 20, 2024, Redis Inc announced that Redis 7.4+ would move from BSD to a dual SSPL/RSAL licence, one that is not OSI-approved and carries specific restrictions for cloud providers that compete with Redis Inc. In response, Valkey[1] was forked on March 28 with backing from AWS, Google Cloud, Oracle, and the Linux Foundation. This article explains what the split means and how to decide today.

Key takeaways

  • Valkey is a direct fork of Redis 7.2.4 (the last BSD version), under the BSD 3-Clause licence.

  • 100% protocol-compatible with Redis 7.2: existing clients (redis-py, ioredis, go-redis, Jedis) work with no code changes.

  • AWS ElastiCache added Valkey support in October 2024, and GCP Memorystore reached preview that August.

  • Valkey 8.0 adds improved multi-threaded I/O and, in internal benchmarks, up to triples the throughput of Valkey 7.2.

  • The decision between Valkey and Redis ultimately comes down to licence and compliance, not performance.

What changed in Redis

Version Licence
Redis 7.2 and earlier BSD (OSI-approved open source)
Redis 7.4+ SSPL + RSAL (source-available, restricted)
Redis Enterprise Commercial, Redis Inc

SSPL restricts commercial use for anyone offering Redis-as-a-service that competes with Redis Inc. For most users who self-host for their own applications, nothing practically changes. For AWS ElastiCache and GCP Memorystore, the problem was immediate.

What Valkey is and who maintains it

A direct fork of Redis 7.2.4 under BSD 3-Clause, governed by the Linux Foundation[2]. The main contributors are AWS, Google Cloud, and Oracle, alongside several long-time Redis maintainers who moved over. Linux Foundation governance means no single vendor can unilaterally change the licence again: it is the lesson learned from the Redis case.

Compatibility and migration

Valkey 7.2 and 8.0 are 100% protocol-compatible with Redis 7.2:

  • redis.conf configuration works unchanged.

  • The redis-py, ioredis, go-redis, Jedis, lettuce, and redis-rs clients work with no code changes.

  • RDB and AOF files are directly compatible.

Migrating from Redis 7.2 to Valkey 7.2 is, in practice, changing the binary or the Docker image:

# Docker: swap the image
# Before: redis:7.2
# After: valkey/valkey:7.2

# Binary: install Valkey, stop Redis, start Valkey with the same conf
sudo apt install valkey-server
sudo systemctl stop redis-server
sudo systemctl start valkey-server

Migrating from Redis 7.4+ SSPL to Valkey is more involved if you rely on features introduced in 7.4. If not, it is just as trivial.

Adoption: faster than expected

Cloud-provider backing was immediate and broad:

  • AWS ElastiCache[3]: general support since October 2024.

  • GCP Memorystore[4]: preview in August 2024, general availability in April 2025.

  • Oracle Cloud (OCI Cache): initial support from April 2024, general availability in 2025.

  • Fedora 41 and RHEL/Enterprise Linux 10[5] replace Redis with Valkey in their official repositories; Debian and other distributions are evaluating the same move.

This pace of adoption reflects an ecosystem that was waiting for a clear BSD alternative to distance itself from licensing risk.

Valkey 8.0: improvements of its own

Since the fork, Valkey 8.0 adds:

  • Improved multi-threaded I/O[6]: in Valkey’s own benchmarks, 8.0 reaches 1.19 million RPS versus 360K RPS on 7.2 (+230%) on a 16-vCPU AWS Graviton3 instance.

  • Experimental RDMA support for ultra-low latency.

  • Improved native observability.

  • Replication optimisations.

Community benchmarks confirm the gains, especially on write-heavy workloads.

The module ecosystem

The licence change also hit Redis’s modules (RediSearch, RedisJSON, RedisTimeSeries). For Valkey, the compatible-module ecosystem is still catching up:

  • valkey-search[7]: a fork/rewrite of RediSearch.

  • OSS alternatives for JSON and time series are in development.

The module ecosystem takes longer to mature than the core, but the direction is clear.

Practical decision

Choose Valkey if:

  • You use AWS/GCP managed services (ElastiCache, Memorystore with Valkey).

  • You want a strict BSD licence for your organisation’s compliance.

  • You don’t need Redis features introduced after 7.4.

  • You contribute to OSS projects or require OSI-approved licences.

Keep Redis if:

  • You are on Redis Cloud (Redis Inc’s SaaS).

  • You need Redis Stack features (RediSearch, RedisJSON) in a fully integrated mode.

  • Redis Inc enterprise support is a requirement.

  • You self-host only, without commercial competition, so the licence change doesn’t affect you.

For most developers and mid-size companies, Valkey is the sensible choice: compatible, BSD, strong backing. The pattern repeats throughout open-source history: Elasticsearch → OpenSearch, Terraform → OpenTofu, Redis → Valkey.

Conclusion

Valkey is the natural successor to Redis BSD for anyone who values genuine open source. AWS and Google have put real weight behind the fork. For new projects, it’s the sensible default. For migrations from Redis 7.2, it’s trivial. The decision ultimately comes down to compliance and philosophy: Valkey guarantees a BSD future, while Redis continues with a commercial bet. Both will remain relevant, but Valkey has the OSS ecosystem’s momentum on its side.

Read the Spanish version too: Valkey: el fork abierto tras el cambio de licencia de Redis.

Sources

  1. Valkey
  2. Linux Foundation
  3. AWS ElastiCache
  4. GCP Memorystore
  5. Fedora 41 and RHEL/Enterprise Linux 10
  6. Improved multi-threaded I/O
  7. valkey-search
  8. Redis Adopts Dual Source-Available Licensing, Redis blog
  9. Linux Foundation Launches Open Source Valkey Community