Move data from Redis to Valkey

Take it out

1. 1

   Step 1

   Read the version before you copy a file

   Valkey's migration guide says RDB and AOF files from Redis OSS 7.2 and earlier are compatible, and that files from Redis Community Edition 7.4 and later are not. Redis 8 is in that later line. If INFO shows 7.4 or newer, do not follow the snapshot steps below. The guide says that move is not documented.

2. 2

   Step 2

   On 7.2 or earlier, know which file you would copy

   The guide's physical migration checks dir and dbfilename, then runs SAVE after clients are disconnected. It also documents replication with REPLICAOF, and MIGRATE for a few keys. This guide did not run those commands. Treat the Valkey page as the procedure, not this summary.

Put it in

1. 1

   Step 1

   Start Valkey on the compatible snapshot

   For a 7.2 dataset, the guide says to copy the RDB to the Valkey data directory and start Valkey. If AOF is enabled on that first start, the guide says the copied RDB will not load. Turn AOF off for that boot. Then compare INFO KEYSPACE with the count you recorded on Redis.

2. 2

   Step 2

   Or replicate, then promote

   The guide's lower-downtime path sets Valkey as a replica of the Redis primary with REPLICAOF, waits for master_link_status:up, points the app at Valkey, stops Redis, and runs REPLICAOF NO ONE. The INFO fields still say master and slave. Valkey's page explains that those words are the protocol, not the project's preferred names.

3. 3

   Step 3

   Point clients at the new port

   The guide says existing Redis client libraries connect without code changes, and that redis-cli can talk to Valkey. Test the commands you actually use, especially anything added after 7.2.

What you lose

• Redis 8 dumps

  A file copy from Redis 8, or from Community Edition 7.4 through 7.8, is outside the documented path. JSON, time series, and the query engine that Redis 8 bundles are not Valkey's feature set.

• The license you are leaving

  Redis 8 is AGPLv3 or the source-available RSALv2 and SSPLv1 terms. Valkey is BSD-3-Clause. Moving is a license choice as much as a data move. Staying on Redis 8 is reasonable if AGPL is acceptable.

• Cluster cutovers

  The guide also shows adding Valkey nodes into a Redis cluster and failing over. That is a different project from a single SAVE. Do not treat the standalone steps as a cluster plan.