How to install Redis with auto restart on CentOS 6 and 7?

Updated: 11 October 2026 · Applies to: Ubuntu 24.04, Debian 12, AlmaLinux 9 and Rocky Linux 9

CentOS 6/7 are end of life. The Redis packages on Ubuntu 24.04, Debian 12, AlmaLinux 9 and Rocky Linux 9 include a systemd service, so Redis starts at boot and can restart itself after a crash, without compiling or writing init scripts.

Install

# AlmaLinux / Rocky 9: Redis 7.2 (module stream) or Valkey 8
dnf module enable redis:7 && dnf install redis
#   or: dnf install valkey
# Ubuntu 24.04 / Debian 12
apt install redis-server
#   or on Ubuntu 24.04: apt install valkey-server

Valkey is the community-maintained fork of Redis (after Redis changed its licence in 2024). It works as a drop-in replacement: same commands, same port 6379, same client libraries.

Start and test

systemctl enable --now redis     # redis-server on Ubuntu/Debian, valkey for Valkey
redis-cli ping                   # answers PONG (valkey-cli for Valkey)

Restart automatically after a crash

Add a systemd override: systemctl edit redis (or redis-server / valkey), then enter:

[Service]
Restart=always
RestartSec=3

Save, then check with systemctl show redis -p Restart. Test it by killing the process (kill -9 $(pidof redis-server)): after 3 seconds systemctl status redis shows it running again.

Secure it

• Redis listens only on 127.0.0.1 by default. Keep it that way unless another server must connect; never open port 6379 to the internet.
• If you do open it on a private network, set a password in the configuration (requirepass, or better, ACL users) and allow the port only from those servers.
• The configuration file is /etc/redis/redis.conf (Ubuntu/Debian), /etc/redis/redis.conf or /etc/redis.conf (AlmaLinux/Rocky), or /etc/valkey/valkey.conf.

Memory limit

For a cache, limit memory and let Redis remove old keys: set maxmemory 256mb and maxmemory-policy allkeys-lru, then restart.