Redis lists

Introduction to Redis lists

List command summary (view reference, 22 commands)

Redis lists are linked lists of string values. Redis lists are frequently used to:

  • Implement stacks and queues.
  • Build queue management for background worker systems.

Examples

  • Treat a list like a queue (first in, first out):

    Queue pattern: Use LPUSH to add items and RPOP to remove them in FIFO order when you need to process items in the order they were added
    LPUSH bikes:repairs bike:1 LPUSH bikes:repairs bike:2 RPOP bikes:repairs RPOP bikes:repairs
    res1 = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1")
    print(res1)  # >>> 1
    
    res2 = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2")
    print(res2)  # >>> 2
    
    res3 = r.rpop("bikes:repairs")
    print(res3)  # >>> bike:1
    
    res4 = r.rpop("bikes:repairs")
    print(res4)  # >>> bike:2
    
    const res1 = await client.lPush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1');
    console.log(res1);  // 1
    
    const res2 = await client.lPush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:2');
    console.log(res2);  // 2
    
    const res3 = await client.rPop('bikes:repairs');
    console.log(res3);  // bike:1
    
    const res4 = await client.rPop('bikes:repairs');
    console.log(res4);  // bike:2
    
            long res1 = jedis.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1");
            System.out.println(res1);  // >>> 1
    
            long res2 = jedis.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2");
            System.out.println(res2);  // >>> 2
    
            String res3 = jedis.rpop("bikes:repairs");
            System.out.println(res3);  // >>> bike:1
    
            String res4 = jedis.rpop("bikes:repairs");
            System.out.println(res4); // >>> bike:2
    
                CompletableFuture<Void> queue = asyncCommands.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1").thenCompose(res1 -> {
                    System.out.println(res1); // >>> 1
    
                    return asyncCommands.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2");
                }).thenCompose(res2 -> {
                    System.out.println(res2); // >>> 2
    
                    return asyncCommands.rpop("bikes:repairs");
                }).thenCompose(res3 -> {
                    System.out.println(res3); // >>> bike:1
    
                    return asyncCommands.rpop("bikes:repairs");
                })
                        .thenAccept(System.out::println) // >>> bike:2
                        .toCompletableFuture();
    
    	res1, err := rdb.LPush(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bike:1").Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res1) // >>> 1
    
    	res2, err := rdb.LPush(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bike:2").Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res2) // >>> 2
    
    	res3, err := rdb.RPop(ctx, "bikes:repairs").Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res3) // >>> bike:1
    
    	res4, err := rdb.RPop(ctx, "bikes:repairs").Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res4) // >>> bike:2
    
            long res1 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1");
            Console.WriteLine(res1);    // >>> 1
    
            long res2 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2");
            Console.WriteLine(res2);    // >>> 2
    
            RedisValue res3 = db.ListRightPop("bikes:repairs");
            Console.WriteLine(res3);    // >>> "bike:1"
    
            RedisValue res4 = db.ListRightPop("bikes:repairs");
            Console.WriteLine(res4); // >>> "bike:2"
    
            long res1 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1");
            Console.WriteLine(res1);    // >>> 1
    
            long res2 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2");
            Console.WriteLine(res2);    // >>> 2
    
            RedisValue res3 = db.ListRightPop("bikes:repairs");
            Console.WriteLine(res3);    // >>> "bike:1"
    
            RedisValue res4 = db.ListRightPop("bikes:repairs");
            Console.WriteLine(res4); // >>> "bike:2"
    
            $res1 = $r->lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1');
            echo $res1 . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> 1
    
            $res2 = $r->lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:2');
            echo $res2 . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> 2
    
            $res3 = $r->rpop('bikes:repairs');
            echo $res3 . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> bike:1
    
            $res4 = $r->rpop('bikes:repairs');
            echo $res4 . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> bike:2
    
    res1 = r.lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1')
    puts res1 # 1
    
    res2 = r.lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:2')
    puts res2 # 2
    
    res3 = r.rpop('bikes:repairs')
    puts res3 # bike:1
    
    res4 = r.rpop('bikes:repairs')
    puts res4 # bike:2
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1") {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 1
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2") {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 2
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.rpop("bikes:repairs", None) {
                let res: Option<String> = res;
                print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> bike:1
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.rpop("bikes:repairs", None) {
                let res: Option<String> = res;
                print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> bike:2
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1").await {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 1
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2").await {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 2
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.rpop("bikes:repairs", None).await {
                let res: Option<String> = res;
                print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> bike:1
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.rpop("bikes:repairs", None).await {
                let res: Option<String> = res;
                print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> bike:2
            }
    

  • Treat a list like a stack (first in, last out):

    Stack pattern: Use LPUSH to add items and LPOP to remove them in LIFO order when you need to process items in reverse order
    LPUSH bikes:repairs bike:1 LPUSH bikes:repairs bike:2 LPOP bikes:repairs LPOP bikes:repairs
    res5 = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1")
    print(res5)  # >>> 1
    
    res6 = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2")
    print(res6)  # >>> 2
    
    res7 = r.lpop("bikes:repairs")
    print(res7)  # >>> bike:2
    
    res8 = r.lpop("bikes:repairs")
    print(res8)  # >>> bike:1
    
    const res5 = await client.lPush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1');
    console.log(res5);  // 1
    
    const res6 = await client.lPush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:2');
    console.log(res6); // 2
    
    const res7 = await client.lPop('bikes:repairs');
    console.log(res7);  // bike:2
    
    const res8 = await client.lPop('bikes:repairs');
    console.log(res8);  // bike:1
    
            long res5 = jedis.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1");
            System.out.println(res5);  // >>> 1
    
            long res6 = jedis.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2");
            System.out.println(res6);  // >>> 2
    
            String res7 = jedis.lpop("bikes:repairs");
            System.out.println(res7);  // >>> bike:2
    
            String res8 = jedis.lpop("bikes:repairs");
            System.out.println(res8);  // >>> bike:1
    
                CompletableFuture<Void> stack = asyncCommands.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1").thenCompose(res4 -> {
                    System.out.println(res4); // >>> 1
    
                    return asyncCommands.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2");
                }).thenCompose(res5 -> {
                    System.out.println(res5); // >>> 2
    
                    return asyncCommands.lpop("bikes:repairs");
                }).thenCompose(res6 -> {
                    System.out.println(res6); // >>> bike:2
    
                    return asyncCommands.lpop("bikes:repairs");
                })
                        .thenAccept(System.out::println) // >>> bike:1
                        .toCompletableFuture();
    
    	res5, err := rdb.LPush(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bike:1").Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res5) // >>> 1
    
    	res6, err := rdb.LPush(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bike:2").Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res6) // >>> 2
    
    	res7, err := rdb.LPop(ctx, "bikes:repairs").Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res7) // >>> bike:2
    
    	res8, err := rdb.LPop(ctx, "bikes:repairs").Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res8) // >>> bike:1
    
            long res5 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1");
            Console.WriteLine(res5);    // >>> 1
    
            long res6 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2");
            Console.WriteLine(res6);    // >>> 2
    
            RedisValue res7 = db.ListLeftPop("bikes:repairs");
            Console.WriteLine(res7);    // >>> "bike:2"
    
            RedisValue res8 = db.ListLeftPop("bikes:repairs");
            Console.WriteLine(res8);    // >>> "bike:1"
    
            long res5 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1");
            Console.WriteLine(res5);    // >>> 1
    
            long res6 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2");
            Console.WriteLine(res6);    // >>> 2
    
            RedisValue res7 = db.ListLeftPop("bikes:repairs");
            Console.WriteLine(res7);    // >>> "bike:2"
    
            RedisValue res8 = db.ListLeftPop("bikes:repairs");
            Console.WriteLine(res8);    // >>> "bike:1"
    
            $res5 = $r->lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1');
            echo $res5 . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> 1
    
            $res6 = $r->lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:2');
            echo $res6 . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> 2
    
            $res7 = $r->lpop('bikes:repairs');
            echo $res7 . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> bike:2
    
            $res8 = $r->lpop('bikes:repairs');
            echo $res8 . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> bike:1
    
    res5 = r.lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1')
    puts res5 # 1
    
    res6 = r.lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:2')
    puts res6 # 2
    
    res7 = r.lpop('bikes:repairs')
    puts res7 # bike:2
    
    res8 = r.lpop('bikes:repairs')
    puts res8 # bike:1
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1") {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 1
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2") {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 2
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpop("bikes:repairs", None) {
                let res: Option<String> = res;
                print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> bike:2
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpop("bikes:repairs", None) {
                let res: Option<String> = res;
                print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> bike:1
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1").await {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 1
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2").await {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 2
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpop("bikes:repairs", None).await {
                let res: Option<String> = res;
                print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> bike:2
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpop("bikes:repairs", None).await {
                let res: Option<String> = res;
                print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> bike:1
            }
    

  • Check the length of a list:

    Foundational: Get the number of elements in a list using LLEN to check list size
    LLEN bikes:repairs
    res9 = r.llen("bikes:repairs")
    print(res9)  # >>> 0
    
    const res9 = await client.lLen('bikes:repairs');
    console.log(res9); // 0
    
            long res9 = jedis.llen("bikes:repairs");
            System.out.println(res9);  // >>> 0
    
                CompletableFuture<Void> llen = asyncCommands.llen("bikes:repairs")
                        .thenAccept(System.out::println) // >>> 0
                        .toCompletableFuture();
    
    	res9, err := rdb.LLen(ctx, "bikes:repairs").Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res9) // >>> 0
    
            long res9 = db.ListLength("bikes:repairs");
            Console.WriteLine(res9);    // >>> 0
    
            long res9 = db.ListLength("bikes:repairs");
            Console.WriteLine(res9);    // >>> 0
    
            $res9 = $r->llen('bikes:repairs');
            echo $res9 . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> 0
    
    res9 = r.llen('bikes:repairs')
    puts res9 # 0
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.llen("bikes:repairs") {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 0
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.llen("bikes:repairs").await {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 0
            }
    

  • Atomically pop an element from one list and push to another:

    Atomic transfer: Use LMOVE to move elements between lists in a single operation when you need to transfer items without race conditions
    LPUSH bikes:repairs bike:1 LPUSH bikes:repairs bike:2 LMOVE bikes:repairs bikes:finished LEFT LEFT LRANGE bikes:repairs 0 -1 LRANGE bikes:finished 0 -1
    res10 = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1")
    print(res10)  # >>> 1
    
    res11 = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2")
    print(res11)  # >>> 2
    
    res12 = r.lmove("bikes:repairs", "bikes:finished", "LEFT", "LEFT")
    print(res12)  # >>> 'bike:2'
    
    res13 = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1)
    print(res13)  # >>> ['bike:1']
    
    res14 = r.lrange("bikes:finished", 0, -1)
    print(res14)  # >>> ['bike:2']
    
    const res10 = await client.lPush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1');
    console.log(res10);  // 1
    
    const res11 = await client.lPush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:2');
    console.log(res11);  // 2
    
    const res12 = await client.lMove('bikes:repairs', 'bikes:finished', 'LEFT', 'LEFT');
    console.log(res12);  // 'bike:2'
    
    const res13 = await client.lRange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1);
    console.log(res13);  // ['bike:1']
    
    const res14 = await client.lRange('bikes:finished', 0, -1);
    console.log(res14);  // ['bike:2']
    
            long res10 = jedis.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1");
            System.out.println(res10);  // >>> 1
    
            long res11 = jedis.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2");
            System.out.println(res11);  // >>> 2
    
            String res12 = jedis.lmove("bikes:repairs", "bikes:finished", ListDirection.LEFT, ListDirection.LEFT);
            System.out.println(res12);  // >>> bike:2
    
            List<String> res13 = jedis.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
            System.out.println(res13);  // >>> [bike:1]
    
            List<String> res14 = jedis.lrange("bikes:finished", 0, -1);
            System.out.println(res14);  // >>> [bike:2]
    
                CompletableFuture<Void> lmovelrange = asyncCommands.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1").thenCompose(res7 -> {
                    System.out.println(res7); // >>> 1
    
                    return asyncCommands.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2");
                }).thenCompose(res8 -> {
                    System.out.println(res8); // >>> 2
    
                    return asyncCommands.lmove("bikes:repairs", "bikes:finished", LMoveArgs.Builder.leftLeft());
                }).thenCompose(res9 -> {
                    System.out.println(res9); // >>> bike:2
    
                    return asyncCommands.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
                }).thenCompose(res10 -> {
                    System.out.println(res10); // >>> [bike:1]
    
                    return asyncCommands.lrange("bikes:finished", 0, -1);
                })
                        .thenAccept(System.out::println) // >>> [bike:2]
                        .toCompletableFuture();
    
    	res10, err := rdb.LPush(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bike:1").Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res10) // >>> 1
    
    	res11, err := rdb.LPush(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bike:2").Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res11) // >>> 2
    
    	res12, err := rdb.LMove(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bikes:finished", "LEFT", "LEFT").Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res12) // >>> bike:2
    
    	res13, err := rdb.LRange(ctx, "bikes:repairs", 0, -1).Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res13) // >>> [bike:1]
    
    	res14, err := rdb.LRange(ctx, "bikes:finished", 0, -1).Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res14) // >>> [bike:2]
    
            long res10 = db.ListLeftPush("{bikes}:repairs", "bike:1");
            Console.WriteLine(res10);   // >>> 1
    
            long res11 = db.ListLeftPush("{bikes}:repairs", "bike:2");
            Console.WriteLine(res11);   // >>> 2
    
            RedisValue res12 = db.ListMove("{bikes}:repairs", "{bikes}:finished", ListSide.Left, ListSide.Left);
            Console.Write(res12);   // >>> "bike:2"
    
            RedisValue[] res13 = db.ListRange("{bikes}:repairs", 0, -1);
            Console.WriteLine(string.Join(", ", res13));    // >>> "bike:1"
    
            RedisValue[] res14 = db.ListRange("{bikes}:finished", 0, -1);
            Console.WriteLine(string.Join(", ", res14));    // >>> "bike:2"
    
            long res10 = db.ListLeftPush("{bikes}:repairs", "bike:1");
            Console.WriteLine(res10);   // >>> 1
    
            long res11 = db.ListLeftPush("{bikes}:repairs", "bike:2");
            Console.WriteLine(res11);   // >>> 2
    
            RedisValue res12 = db.ListMove("{bikes}:repairs", "{bikes}:finished", ListSide.Left, ListSide.Left);
            Console.Write(res12);   // >>> "bike:2"
    
            RedisValue[] res13 = db.ListRange("{bikes}:repairs", 0, -1);
            Console.WriteLine(string.Join(", ", res13));    // >>> "bike:1"
    
            RedisValue[] res14 = db.ListRange("{bikes}:finished", 0, -1);
            Console.WriteLine(string.Join(", ", res14));    // >>> "bike:2"
    
            $res10 = $r->lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1');
            echo $res10 . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> 1
    
            $res11 = $r->lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:2');
            echo $res11 . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> 2
    
            $res12 = $r->lmove('bikes:repairs', 'bikes:finished', 'LEFT', 'LEFT');
            echo $res12 . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> 'bike:2'
    
            $res13 = $r->lrange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1);
            echo json_encode($res13) . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> ['bike:1']
    
            $res14 = $r->lrange('bikes:finished', 0, -1);
            echo json_encode($res14) . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> ['bike:2']
    
    res10 = r.lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1')
    puts res10 # 1
    
    res11 = r.lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:2')
    puts res11 # 2
    
    res12 = r.lmove('bikes:repairs', 'bikes:finished', 'LEFT', 'LEFT')
    puts res12 # bike:2
    
    res13 = r.lrange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1)
    puts res13.inspect # ["bike:1"]
    
    res14 = r.lrange('bikes:finished', 0, -1)
    puts res14.inspect # ["bike:2"]
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1") {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 1
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2") {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 2
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lmove(
                "bikes:repairs",
                "bikes:finished",
                Direction::Left,
                Direction::Left,
            ) {
                let res: String = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> bike:2
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1) {
                let res: Vec<String> = res;
                println!("{res:?}"); // >>> ["bike:1"]
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lrange("bikes:finished", 0, -1) {
                let res: Vec<String> = res;
                println!("{res:?}"); // >>> ["bike:2"]
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1").await {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 1
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2").await {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 2
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r
                .lmove(
                    "bikes:repairs",
                    "bikes:finished",
                    Direction::Left,
                    Direction::Left,
                )
                .await
            {
                let res: String = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> bike:2
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1).await {
                let res: Vec<String> = res;
                println!("{res:?}"); // >>> ["bike:1"]
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lrange("bikes:finished", 0, -1).await {
                let res: Vec<String> = res;
                println!("{res:?}"); // >>> ["bike:2"]
            }
    

  • To limit the length of a list you can call LTRIM:

    Capped lists: Use LTRIM to keep only a specific range of elements when you need to maintain a fixed-size list
    DEL bikes:repairs RPUSH bikes:repairs bike:1 bike:2 bike:3 bike:4 bike:5 LTRIM bikes:repairs 0 2 LRANGE bikes:repairs 0 -1
    r.delete("bikes:repairs")
    
    res48 = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5")
    print(res48)  # >>> 5
    
    res49 = r.ltrim("bikes:repairs", 0, 2)
    print(res49)  # >>> True
    
    res50 = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1)
    print(res50)  # >>> ['bike:5', 'bike:4', 'bike:3']
    
    await client.del('bikes:repairs');
    
    const res48 = await client.lPush(
      'bikes:repairs', ['bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3', 'bike:4', 'bike:5']
    );
    console.log(res48);  // 5
    
    const res49 = await client.lTrim('bikes:repairs', 0, 2);
    console.log(res49);  // 'OK'
    
    const res50 = await client.lRange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1);
    console.log(res50);  // ['bike:5', 'bike:4', 'bike:3']
    
            jedis.del("bikes:repairs");
    
            long res48 = jedis.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5");
            System.out.println(res48);  // >>> 5
    
            String res49 = jedis.ltrim("bikes:repairs", 0, 2);
            System.out.println(res49);  // >>> OK
    
            List<String> res50 = jedis.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
            System.out.println(res50);  // >>> [bike:5, bike:4, bike:3]
    
                CompletableFuture<Void> ltrim1 = asyncCommands
                        .lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5").thenCompose(res37 -> {
                            System.out.println(res37); // >>> 5
    
                            return asyncCommands.ltrim("bikes:repairs", 0, 2);
                        }).thenCompose(res38 -> {
                            System.out.println(res38); // >>> OK
    
                            return asyncCommands.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
                        })
                        .thenAccept(System.out::println) // >>> [bike:5, bike:4, bike:3]
                        .toCompletableFuture();
    
    	rdb.Del(ctx, "bikes:repairs")
    
    	res51, err := rdb.LPush(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5").Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res51) // >>> 5
    
    	res52, err := rdb.LTrim(ctx, "bikes:repairs", 0, 2).Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res52) // >>> OK
    
    	res53, err := rdb.LRange(ctx, "bikes:repairs", 0, -1).Result()
    
    	if err != nil {
    		panic(err)
    	}
    
    	fmt.Println(res53) // >>> [bike:5 bike:4 bike:3]
    
            long res49 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5"]);
            Console.WriteLine(res49);   // >>> 5
    
            db.ListTrim("bikes:repairs", 0, 2);
            RedisValue[] res50 = db.ListRange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
            Console.WriteLine(string.Join(", ", res50));    // >>> "bike:5, bike:4, bike:3"
    
            db.KeyDelete("bikes:repairs");
    
            long res49 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5"]);
            Console.WriteLine(res49);   // >>> 5
    
            db.ListTrim("bikes:repairs", 0, 2);
            RedisValue[] res50 = db.ListRange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
            Console.WriteLine(string.Join(", ", res50));    // >>> "bike:5, bike:4, bike:3"
    
            $res48 = $r->lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3', 'bike:4', 'bike:5');
            echo $res48 . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> 5
    
            $res49 = $r->ltrim('bikes:repairs', 0, 2);
            echo $res49 . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> True
    
            $res50 = $r->lrange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1);
            echo json_encode($res50) . PHP_EOL;
            // >>> ['bike:5', 'bike:4', 'bike:3']
    
    r.del('bikes:repairs')
    
    res15 = r.rpush('bikes:repairs', ['bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3', 'bike:4', 'bike:5'])
    puts res15 # 5
    
    res16 = r.ltrim('bikes:repairs', 0, 2)
    puts res16 # OK
    
    res17 = r.lrange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1)
    puts res17.inspect # ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.del("bikes:repairs") {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 1
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", &["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5"]) {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 5
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.ltrim("bikes:repairs", 0, 2) {
                let res: () = res;
                let _ = res;
                println!("OK"); // >>> OK
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1) {
                let res: Vec<String> = res;
                println!("{res:?}"); // >>> ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.del("bikes:repairs").await {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 1
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r
                .rpush(
                    "bikes:repairs",
                    &["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5"],
                )
                .await
            {
                let res: usize = res;
                println!("{res}"); // >>> 5
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.ltrim("bikes:repairs", 0, 2).await {
                let res: () = res;
                let _ = res;
                println!("OK"); // >>> OK
            }
    
            if let Ok(res) = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1).await {
                let res: Vec<String> = res;
                println!("{res:?}"); // >>> ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]
            }
    

What are Lists?

To explain the List data type it's better to start with a little bit of theory, as the term List is often used in an improper way by information technology folks. For instance "Python Lists" are not what the name may suggest (Linked Lists), but rather Arrays (the same data type is called Array in Ruby actually).

From a very general point of view a List is just a sequence of ordered elements: 10,20,1,2,3 is a list. But the properties of a List implemented using an Array are very different from the properties of a List implemented using a Linked List.

Redis lists are implemented via Linked Lists. This means that even if you have millions of elements inside a list, the operation of adding a new element in the head or in the tail of the list is performed in constant time. The speed of adding a new element with the LPUSH command to the head of a list with ten elements is the same as adding an element to the head of list with 10 million elements.

What's the downside? Accessing an element by index is very fast in lists implemented with an Array (constant time indexed access) and not so fast in lists implemented by linked lists (where the operation requires an amount of work proportional to the index of the accessed element).

Redis Lists are implemented with linked lists because for a database system it is crucial to be able to add elements to a very long list in a very fast way. Another strong advantage, as you'll see in a moment, is that Redis Lists can be taken at constant length in constant time.

When fast access to the middle of a large collection of elements is important, there is a different data structure that can be used, called sorted sets. Sorted sets are covered in the Sorted sets tutorial page.

First steps with Redis Lists

The LPUSH command adds a new element into a list, on the left (at the head), while the RPUSH command adds a new element into a list, on the right (at the tail). Finally the LRANGE command extracts ranges of elements from lists:

Foundational: Add elements to both ends of a list using LPUSH (left/head) and RPUSH (right/tail) to build ordered sequences
DEL bikes:repairs RPUSH bikes:repairs bike:1 RPUSH bikes:repairs bike:2 LPUSH bikes:repairs bike:important_bike LRANGE bikes:repairs 0 -1
r.delete("bikes:repairs")

res15 = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1")
print(res15)  # >>> 1

res16 = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2")
print(res16)  # >>> 2

res17 = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:important_bike")
print(res17)  # >>> 3

res18 = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1)
print(res18)  # >>> ['bike:important_bike', 'bike:1', 'bike:2']
await client.del('bikes:repairs');

const res15 = await client.rPush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1');
console.log(res15);  // 1

const res16 = await client.rPush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:2');
console.log(res16);  // 2

const res17 = await client.lPush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:important_bike');
console.log(res17);  // 3

const res18 = await client.lRange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1);
console.log(res18);  // ['bike:important_bike', 'bike:1', 'bike:2']
        jedis.del("bikes:repairs");

        long res15 = jedis.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1");
        System.out.println(res15);  // >>> 1

        long res16 = jedis.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2");
        System.out.println(res16);  // >>> 2

        long res17 = jedis.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:important_bike");
        System.out.println(res17);  // >>> 3

        List<String> res18 = jedis.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
        System.out.println(res18);  // >>> [bike:important_bike, bike:1, bike:2]
            CompletableFuture<Void> lpushrpush = asyncCommands.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1").thenCompose(res11 -> {
                System.out.println(res11); // >>> 1

                return asyncCommands.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2");
            }).thenCompose(res12 -> {
                System.out.println(res12); // >>> 2

                return asyncCommands.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:important_bike");
            }).thenCompose(res13 -> {
                System.out.println(res13); // >>> 3

                return asyncCommands.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
            })
                    .thenAccept(System.out::println)
                    // >>> [bike:important_bike, bike:1, bike:2]
                    .toCompletableFuture();
	rdb.Del(ctx, "bikes:repairs")

	res15, err := rdb.RPush(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bike:1").Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res15) // >>> 1

	res16, err := rdb.RPush(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bike:2").Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res16) // >>> 2

	res17, err := rdb.LPush(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bike:important_bike").Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res17) // >>> 3

	res18, err := rdb.LRange(ctx, "bikes:repairs", 0, -1).Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res18) // >>> [bike:important_bike bike:1 bike:2]
        long res15 = db.ListRightPush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1");
        Console.WriteLine(res15);   // >>> 1

        long res16 = db.ListRightPush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2");
        Console.WriteLine(res16);   // >>> 2

        long res17 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", "bike:important_bike");
        Console.WriteLine(res17);   // >>> 3

        RedisValue[] res18 = db.ListRange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
        Console.WriteLine(string.Join(", ", res18));    // >>> "bike:important_bike, bike:1, bike:2"
        db.KeyDelete("bikes:repairs");

        long res15 = db.ListRightPush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1");
        Console.WriteLine(res15);   // >>> 1

        long res16 = db.ListRightPush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2");
        Console.WriteLine(res16);   // >>> 2

        long res17 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", "bike:important_bike");
        Console.WriteLine(res17);   // >>> 3

        RedisValue[] res18 = db.ListRange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
        Console.WriteLine(string.Join(", ", res18));    // >>> "bike:important_bike, bike:1, bike:2"
        $r->del('bikes:repairs');
        
        $res15 = $r->rpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1');
        echo $res15 . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> 1

        $res16 = $r->rpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:2');
        echo $res16 . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> 2

        $res17 = $r->lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:important_bike');
        echo $res17 . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> 3

        $res18 = $r->lrange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1);
        echo json_encode($res18) . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> ['bike:important_bike', 'bike:1', 'bike:2']
r.del('bikes:repairs')

res18 = r.rpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1')
puts res18 # 1

res19 = r.rpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:2')
puts res19 # 2

res20 = r.lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:important_bike')
puts res20 # 3

res21 = r.lrange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1)
puts res21.inspect # ["bike:important_bike", "bike:1", "bike:2"]
        let _: usize = r.del("bikes:repairs").unwrap_or(0);

        if let Ok(res) = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1") {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 1
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2") {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 2
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:important_bike") {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 3
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1) {
            let res: Vec<String> = res;
            println!("{res:?}"); // >>> ["bike:important_bike", "bike:1", "bike:2"]
        }
        let _: usize = r.del("bikes:repairs").await.unwrap_or(0);

        if let Ok(res) = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1").await {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 1
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:2").await {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 2
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:important_bike").await {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 3
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1).await {
            let res: Vec<String> = res;
            println!("{res:?}"); // >>> ["bike:important_bike", "bike:1", "bike:2"]
        }

Note that LRANGE takes two indexes, the first and the last element of the range to return. Both the indexes can be negative, telling Redis to start counting from the end: so -1 is the last element, -2 is the penultimate element of the list, and so forth.

As you can see RPUSH appended the elements on the right of the list, while the final LPUSH appended the element on the left.

Both commands are variadic commands, meaning that you are free to push multiple elements into a list in a single call:

Variadic operations: Add multiple elements in a single command using LPUSH or RPUSH when you need to reduce round trips to the server
DEL bikes:repairs RPUSH bikes:repairs bike:1 bike:2 bike:3 LPUSH bikes:repairs bike:important_bike bike:very_important_bike LRANGE bikes:repairs 0 -1
r.delete("bikes:repairs")

res19 = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3")
print(res19)  # >>> 3

res20 = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:important_bike", "bike:very_important_bike")
print(res20)  # >>> 5

res21 = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1)
print(
    res21
)  # >>> ['bike:very_important_bike', 'bike:important_bike', 'bike:1', ...
await client.del('bikes:repairs');

const res19 = await client.rPush('bikes:repairs', ['bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3']);
console.log(res19);  // 3

const res20 = await client.lPush(
  'bikes:repairs', ['bike:important_bike', 'bike:very_important_bike']
);
console.log(res20);  // 5

const res21 = await client.lRange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1);
console.log(res21);  // ['bike:very_important_bike', 'bike:important_bike', 'bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3']
        jedis.del("bikes:repairs");
        
        long res19 = jedis.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3");
        System.out.println(res19);  // >>> 3

        long res20 = jedis.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:important_bike", "bike:very_important_bike");
        System.out.println(res20);  // >>> 5

        List<String> res21 = jedis.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
        System.out.println(res21);  // >>> [bike:very_important_bike, bike:important_bike, bike:1, bike:2, bike:3]
            CompletableFuture<Void> variadic = asyncCommands.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3")
                    .thenCompose(res14 -> {
                        System.out.println(res14); // >>> 3

                        return asyncCommands.lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:important_bike", "bike:very_important_bike");
                    }).thenCompose(res15 -> {
                        System.out.println(res15); // >>> 5

                        return asyncCommands.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
                    })
                    .thenAccept(System.out::println)
                    // >>> [bike:very_important_bike, bike:important_bike, bike:1, bike:2, bike:3]
                    .toCompletableFuture();
	rdb.Del(ctx, "bikes:repairs")

	res19, err := rdb.RPush(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3").Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res19) // >>> 3

	res20, err := rdb.LPush(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bike:important_bike", "bike:very_important_bike").Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res20) // >>> 5

	res21, err := rdb.LRange(ctx, "bikes:repairs", 0, -1).Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res21) // >>> [bike:very_important_bike bike:important_bike bike:1 bike:2 bike:3]
        long res19 = db.ListRightPush("bikes:repairs", ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]);
        Console.WriteLine(res19);   // >>> 3

        long res20 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", ["bike:important_bike", "bike:very_important_bike"]);
        Console.WriteLine(res20);   // >>> 5

        RedisValue[] res21 = db.ListRange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
        Console.WriteLine(string.Join(", ", res21));
        // >>> "bike:very_important_bike, bike:important_bike, bike:1, bike:2, bike:3"
        db.KeyDelete("bikes:repairs");
        
        long res19 = db.ListRightPush("bikes:repairs", ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]);
        Console.WriteLine(res19);   // >>> 3

        long res20 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", ["bike:important_bike", "bike:very_important_bike"]);
        Console.WriteLine(res20);   // >>> 5

        RedisValue[] res21 = db.ListRange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
        Console.WriteLine(string.Join(", ", res21));
        // >>> "bike:very_important_bike, bike:important_bike, bike:1, bike:2, bike:3"
        $r->del('bikes:repairs');

        $res19 = $r->rpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3');
        echo $res19 . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> 3

        $res20 = $r->lpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:important_bike', 'bike:very_important_bike');
        echo $res20 . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> 5

        $res21 = $r->lrange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1);
        echo json_encode($res21) . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> ['bike:very_important_bike', 'bike:important_bike', 'bike:1', ...
r.del('bikes:repairs')

res22 = r.rpush('bikes:repairs', ['bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3'])
puts res22 # 3

res23 = r.lpush('bikes:repairs', ['bike:important_bike', 'bike:very_important_bike'])
puts res23 # 5

res24 = r.lrange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1)
puts res24.inspect
# ["bike:very_important_bike", "bike:important_bike", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]
        let _: usize = r.del("bikes:repairs").unwrap_or(0);

        if let Ok(res) = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", &["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]) {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 3
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.lpush("bikes:repairs", &["bike:important_bike", "bike:very_important_bike"]) {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 5
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1) {
            let res: Vec<String> = res;
            println!("{res:?}");
            // >>> ["bike:very_important_bike", "bike:important_bike", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]
        }
        let _: usize = r.del("bikes:repairs").await.unwrap_or(0);

        if let Ok(res) = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", &["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]).await {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 3
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r
            .lpush("bikes:repairs", &["bike:important_bike", "bike:very_important_bike"])
            .await
        {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 5
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1).await {
            let res: Vec<String> = res;
            println!("{res:?}");
            // >>> ["bike:very_important_bike", "bike:important_bike", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]
        }

An important operation defined on Redis lists is the ability to pop elements. Popping elements is the operation of both retrieving the element from the list, and eliminating it from the list, at the same time. You can pop elements from left and right, similarly to how you can push elements in both sides of the list. We'll add three elements and pop three elements, so at the end of this sequence of commands the list is empty and there are no more elements to pop:

Foundational: Remove and retrieve elements from both ends of a list using LPOP (left/head) and RPOP (right/tail) to consume items
DEL bikes:repairs RPUSH bikes:repairs bike:1 bike:2 bike:3 RPOP bikes:repairs LPOP bikes:repairs RPOP bikes:repairs RPOP bikes:repairs
r.delete("bikes:repairs")

res22 = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3")
print(res22)  # >>> 3

res23 = r.rpop("bikes:repairs")
print(res23)  # >>> 'bike:3'

res24 = r.lpop("bikes:repairs")
print(res24)  # >>> 'bike:1'

res25 = r.rpop("bikes:repairs")
print(res25)  # >>> 'bike:2'

res26 = r.rpop("bikes:repairs")
print(res26)  # >>> None
await client.del('bikes:repairs');

const res22 = await client.rPush('bikes:repairs', ['bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3']);
console.log(res22);  // 3

const res23 = await client.rPop('bikes:repairs');
console.log(res23);  // 'bike:3'

const res24 = await client.lPop('bikes:repairs');
console.log(res24);  // 'bike:1'

const res25 = await client.rPop('bikes:repairs');
console.log(res25);  // 'bike:2'

const res26 = await client.rPop('bikes:repairs');
console.log(res26);  // null
        jedis.del("bikes:repairs");

        long res22 = jedis.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3");
        System.out.println(res22);  // >>> 3

        String res23 = jedis.rpop("bikes:repairs");
        System.out.println(res23);  // >>> bike:3

        String res24 = jedis.lpop("bikes:repairs");
        System.out.println(res24);  // >>> bike:1

        String res25 = jedis.rpop("bikes:repairs");
        System.out.println(res25);  // >>> bike:2

        String res26 = jedis.rpop("bikes:repairs");
        System.out.println(res26);  // >>> null
            CompletableFuture<Void> lpoprpop = asyncCommands.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3")
                    .thenCompose(res16 -> {
                        System.out.println(res16); // >>> 3

                        return asyncCommands.rpop("bikes:repairs");
                    }).thenCompose(res17 -> {
                        System.out.println(res17); // >>> bike:3

                        return asyncCommands.lpop("bikes:repairs");
                    }).thenCompose(res18 -> {
                        System.out.println(res18); // >>> bike:1

                        return asyncCommands.rpop("bikes:repairs");
                    }).thenCompose(res19 -> {
                        System.out.println(res19); // >>> bike:2

                        return asyncCommands.rpop("bikes:repairs");
                    })
                    .thenAccept(System.out::println) // >>> null
                    .toCompletableFuture();
	rdb.Del(ctx, "bikes:repairs")

	res22, err := rdb.RPush(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3").Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res22) // >>> 3

	res23, err := rdb.RPop(ctx, "bikes:repairs").Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res23) // >>> bike:3

	res24, err := rdb.LPop(ctx, "bikes:repairs").Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res24) // >>> bike:1

	res25, err := rdb.RPop(ctx, "bikes:repairs").Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res25) // >>> bike:2

	res26, err := rdb.RPop(ctx, "bikes:repairs").Result()

	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err) // >>> redis: nil
	}

	fmt.Println(res26) // >>> <empty string>

        long res22 = db.ListRightPush("bikes:repairs", ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]);
        Console.WriteLine(res22);   // >>> 3

        RedisValue res23 = db.ListRightPop("bikes:repairs");
        Console.WriteLine(res23);   // >>> "bike:3"

        RedisValue res24 = db.ListLeftPop("bikes:repairs");
        Console.WriteLine(res24);   // >>> "bike:1"

        RedisValue res25 = db.ListRightPop("bikes:repairs");
        Console.WriteLine(res25);   // >>> "bike:2"

        RedisValue res26 = db.ListRightPop("bikes:repairs");
        Console.WriteLine(res26);   // >>> <Empty string>
        db.KeyDelete("bikes:repairs");

        long res22 = db.ListRightPush("bikes:repairs", ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]);
        Console.WriteLine(res22);   // >>> 3

        RedisValue res23 = db.ListRightPop("bikes:repairs");
        Console.WriteLine(res23);   // >>> "bike:3"

        RedisValue res24 = db.ListLeftPop("bikes:repairs");
        Console.WriteLine(res24);   // >>> "bike:1"

        RedisValue res25 = db.ListRightPop("bikes:repairs");
        Console.WriteLine(res25);   // >>> "bike:2"

        RedisValue res26 = db.ListRightPop("bikes:repairs");
        Console.WriteLine(res26);   // >>> <Empty string>
        $r->del('bikes:repairs');
        
        $res22 = $r->rpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3');
        echo $res22 . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> 3

        $res23 = $r->rpop('bikes:repairs');
        echo $res23 . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> 'bike:3'

        $res24 = $r->lpop('bikes:repairs');
        echo $res24 . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> 'bike:1'

        $res25 = $r->rpop('bikes:repairs');
        echo $res25 . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> 'bike:2'

        $res26 = $r->rpop('bikes:repairs');
        echo $res26 . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> None
r.del('bikes:repairs')

res25 = r.rpush('bikes:repairs', ['bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3'])
puts res25 # 3

res26 = r.rpop('bikes:repairs')
puts res26 # bike:3

res27 = r.lpop('bikes:repairs')
puts res27 # bike:1

res28 = r.rpop('bikes:repairs')
puts res28 # bike:2

res29 = r.rpop('bikes:repairs')
puts res29.inspect # nil
        let _: usize = r.del("bikes:repairs").unwrap_or(0);

        if let Ok(res) = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", &["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]) {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 3
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.rpop("bikes:repairs", None) {
            let res: Option<String> = res;
            print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> bike:3
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.lpop("bikes:repairs", None) {
            let res: Option<String> = res;
            print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> bike:1
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.rpop("bikes:repairs", None) {
            let res: Option<String> = res;
            print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> bike:2
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.rpop("bikes:repairs", None) {
            let res: Option<String> = res;
            print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> (nil)
        }
        let _: usize = r.del("bikes:repairs").await.unwrap_or(0);

        if let Ok(res) = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", &["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]).await {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 3
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.rpop("bikes:repairs", None).await {
            let res: Option<String> = res;
            print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> bike:3
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.lpop("bikes:repairs", None).await {
            let res: Option<String> = res;
            print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> bike:1
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.rpop("bikes:repairs", None).await {
            let res: Option<String> = res;
            print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> bike:2
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.rpop("bikes:repairs", None).await {
            let res: Option<String> = res;
            print_optional_string(res.clone()); // >>> (nil)
        }

Redis returned a NULL value to signal that there are no elements in the list.

Common use cases for lists

Lists are useful for a number of tasks, two very representative use cases are the following:

  • Remember the latest updates posted by users into a social network.
  • Communication between processes, using a consumer-producer pattern where the producer pushes items into a list, and a consumer (usually a worker) consumes those items and executes actions. Redis has special list commands to make this use case both more reliable and efficient.

For example both the popular Ruby libraries resque and sidekiq use Redis lists under the hood in order to implement background jobs.

The popular Twitter social network takes the latest tweets posted by users into Redis lists.

To describe a common use case step by step, imagine your home page shows the latest photos published in a photo sharing social network and you want to speedup access.

  • Every time a user posts a new photo, we add its ID into a list with LPUSH.
  • When users visit the home page, we use LRANGE 0 9 in order to get the latest 10 posted items.

Capped lists

In many use cases we just want to use lists to store the latest items, whatever they are: social network updates, logs, or anything else.

Redis allows us to use lists as a capped collection, only remembering the latest N items and discarding all the oldest items using the LTRIM command.

The LTRIM command is similar to LRANGE, but instead of displaying the specified range of elements it sets this range as the new list value. All the elements outside the given range are removed.

For example, if you're adding bikes on the end of a list of repairs, but only want to worry about the 3 that have been on the list the longest:

Capped lists: Use LTRIM with positive indexes to keep a range of elements from the beginning when you need to maintain a fixed-size list
DEL bikes:repairs RPUSH bikes:repairs bike:1 bike:2 bike:3 bike:4 bike:5 LTRIM bikes:repairs 0 2 LRANGE bikes:repairs 0 -1
res27 = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5")
print(res27)  # >>> 5

res28 = r.ltrim("bikes:repairs", 0, 2)
print(res28)  # >>> True

res29 = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1)
print(res29)  # >>> ['bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3']
const res27 = await client.lPush(
  'bikes:repairs', ['bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3', 'bike:4', 'bike:5']
);
console.log(res27);  // 5

const res28 = await client.lTrim('bikes:repairs', 0, 2);
console.log(res28);  // OK

const res29 = await client.lRange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1);
console.log(res29);  // ['bike:5', 'bike:4', 'bike:3']
        long res27 = jedis.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5");
        System.out.println(res27);  // >>> 5

        String res28 = jedis.ltrim("bikes:repairs", 0, 2);
        System.out.println(res28);  // >>> OK

        List<String> res29 = jedis.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
        System.out.println(res29);  // >>> [bike:1, bike:2, bike:3]
            CompletableFuture<Void> ltrim = asyncCommands
                    .lpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5").thenCompose(res20 -> {
                        System.out.println(res20); // >>> 5

                        return asyncCommands.ltrim("bikes:repairs", 0, 2);
                    }).thenCompose(res21 -> {
                        System.out.println(res21); // >>> OK

                        return asyncCommands.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
                    })
                    .thenAccept(System.out::println)
                    // >>> [bike:5, bike:4, bike:3]
                    .toCompletableFuture();
	rdb.Del(ctx, "bikes:repairs")

	res27, err := rdb.RPush(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5").Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res27) // >>> 5

	res28, err := rdb.LTrim(ctx, "bikes:repairs", 0, 2).Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res28) // >>> OK

	res29, err := rdb.LRange(ctx, "bikes:repairs", 0, -1).Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res29) // >>> [bike:1 bike:2 bike:3]
        long res27 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5"]);
        Console.WriteLine(res27);   // >>> 5

        db.ListTrim("bikes:repairs", 0, 2);
        RedisValue[] res28 = db.ListRange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
        Console.WriteLine(string.Join(", ", res28));    // "bike:5, bike:4, bike:3"
        long res27 = db.ListLeftPush("bikes:repairs", ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5"]);
        Console.WriteLine(res27);   // >>> 5

        db.ListTrim("bikes:repairs", 0, 2);
        RedisValue[] res28 = db.ListRange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
        Console.WriteLine(string.Join(", ", res28));    // "bike:5, bike:4, bike:3"
        $res27 = $r->rpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3', 'bike:4', 'bike:5');
        echo $res27 . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> 5

        $res28 = $r->ltrim('bikes:repairs', 0, 2);
        echo $res28 . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> True

        $res29 = $r->lrange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1);
        echo json_encode($res29) . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> ['bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3']
r.del('bikes:repairs')

res30 = r.rpush('bikes:repairs', ['bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3', 'bike:4', 'bike:5'])
puts res30 # 5

res31 = r.ltrim('bikes:repairs', 0, 2)
puts res31 # OK

res32 = r.lrange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1)
puts res32.inspect # ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]
        if let Ok(res) = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", &["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5"]) {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 5
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.ltrim("bikes:repairs", 0, 2) {
            let res: () = res;
            let _ = res;
            println!("OK"); // >>> OK
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1) {
            let res: Vec<String> = res;
            println!("{res:?}"); // >>> ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]
        }
        if let Ok(res) = r
            .rpush(
                "bikes:repairs",
                &["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5"],
            )
            .await
        {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 5
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.ltrim("bikes:repairs", 0, 2).await {
            let res: () = res;
            let _ = res;
            println!("OK"); // >>> OK
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1).await {
            let res: Vec<String> = res;
            println!("{res:?}"); // >>> ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3"]
        }

The above LTRIM command tells Redis to keep just list elements from index 0 to 2, everything else will be discarded. This allows for a very simple but useful pattern: doing a List push operation + a List trim operation together to add a new element and discard elements exceeding a limit. Using LTRIM with negative indexes can then be used to keep only the 3 most recently added:

Capped lists with negative indexes: Use LTRIM with negative indexes to keep the most recent elements when you need to maintain a fixed-size list of latest items
DEL bikes:repairs RPUSH bikes:repairs bike:1 bike:2 bike:3 bike:4 bike:5 LTRIM bikes:repairs -3 -1 LRANGE bikes:repairs 0 -1
r.delete("bikes:repairs")

res27 = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5")
print(res27)  # >>> 5

res28 = r.ltrim("bikes:repairs", -3, -1)
print(res28)  # >>> True

res29 = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1)
print(res29)  # >>> ['bike:3', 'bike:4', 'bike:5']
await client.del('bikes:repairs');

const res27eol = await client.rPush(
  'bikes:repairs', ['bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3', 'bike:4', 'bike:5']
);
console.log(res27eol);  // 5

const res28eol = await client.lTrim('bikes:repairs', -3, -1);
console.log(res28eol);  // 'OK'

const res29eol = await client.lRange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1);
console.log(res29eol);  // ['bike:3', 'bike:4', 'bike:5']
        jedis.del("bikes:repairs");
        
        res27 = jedis.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5");
        System.out.println(res27);  // >>> 5

        res28 = jedis.ltrim("bikes:repairs", -3, -1);
        System.out.println(res2);  // >>> OK

        res29 = jedis.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
        System.out.println(res29);  // >>> [bike:3, bike:4, bike:5]
            CompletableFuture<Void> ltrimendoflist = asyncCommands
                    .rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5").thenCompose(res22 -> {
                        System.out.println(res22); // >>> 5

                        return asyncCommands.ltrim("bikes:repairs", -3, -1);
                    }).thenCompose(res23 -> {
                        System.out.println(res23); // >>> OK

                        return asyncCommands.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
                    })
                    .thenAccept(System.out::println)
                    // >>> [bike:3, bike:4, bike:5]
                    .toCompletableFuture();
	rdb.Del(ctx, "bikes:repairs")

	res30, err := rdb.RPush(ctx, "bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5").Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res30) // >>> 5

	res31, err := rdb.LTrim(ctx, "bikes:repairs", -3, -1).Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res31) // >>> OK

	res32, err := rdb.LRange(ctx, "bikes:repairs", 0, -1).Result()

	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(res32) // >>> [bike:3 bike:4 bike:5]
        long res29 = db.ListRightPush("bikes:repairs", ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5"]);
        Console.WriteLine(res29);   // >>> 5

        db.ListTrim("bikes:repairs", -3, -1);
        RedisValue[] res30 = db.ListRange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
        Console.WriteLine(string.Join(", ", res30));    // >>> "bike:3, bike:4, bike:5"
        db.KeyDelete("bikes:repairs");

        long res29 = db.ListRightPush("bikes:repairs", ["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5"]);
        Console.WriteLine(res29);   // >>> 5

        db.ListTrim("bikes:repairs", -3, -1);
        RedisValue[] res30 = db.ListRange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1);
        Console.WriteLine(string.Join(", ", res30));    // >>> "bike:3, bike:4, bike:5"
        $r->del('bikes:repairs');

        $res27 = $r->rpush('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3', 'bike:4', 'bike:5');
        echo $res27 . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> 5

        $res28 = $r->ltrim('bikes:repairs', -3, -1);
        echo $res28 . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> True

        $res29 = $r->lrange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1);
        echo json_encode($res29) . PHP_EOL;
        // >>> ['bike:3', 'bike:4', 'bike:5']
r.del('bikes:repairs')

res33 = r.rpush('bikes:repairs', ['bike:1', 'bike:2', 'bike:3', 'bike:4', 'bike:5'])
puts res33 # 5

res34 = r.ltrim('bikes:repairs', -3, -1)
puts res34 # OK

res35 = r.lrange('bikes:repairs', 0, -1)
puts res35.inspect # ["bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5"]
        let _: usize = r.del("bikes:repairs").unwrap_or(0);

        if let Ok(res) = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", &["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5"]) {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 5
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.ltrim("bikes:repairs", -3, -1) {
            let res: () = res;
            let _ = res;
            println!("OK"); // >>> OK
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1) {
            let res: Vec<String> = res;
            println!("{res:?}"); // >>> ["bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5"]
        }
        let _: usize = r.del("bikes:repairs").await.unwrap_or(0);

        if let Ok(res) = r
            .rpush(
                "bikes:repairs",
                &["bike:1", "bike:2", "bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5"],
            )
            .await
        {
            let res: usize = res;
            println!("{res}"); // >>> 5
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.ltrim("bikes:repairs", -3, -1).await {
            let res: () = res;
            let _ = res;
            println!("OK"); // >>> OK
        }

        if let Ok(res) = r.lrange("bikes:repairs", 0, -1).await {
            let res: Vec<String> = res;
            println!("{res:?}"); // >>> ["bike:3", "bike:4", "bike:5"]
        }

The above combination adds new elements and keeps only the 3 newest elements into the list. With LRANGE you can access the top items without any need to remember very old data.

Note: while LRANGE is technically an O(N) command, accessing small ranges towards the head or the tail of the list is a constant time operation.

Blocking operations on lists

Lists have a special feature that make them suitable to implement queues, and in general as a building block for inter process communication systems: blocking operations.

Imagine you want to push items into a list with one process, and use a different process in order to actually do some kind of work with those items. This is the usual producer / consumer setup, and can be implemented in the following simple way:

  • To push items into the list, producers call LPUSH.
  • To extract / process items from the list, consumers call RPOP.

However it is possible that sometimes the list is empty and there is nothing to process, so RPOP just returns NULL. In this case a consumer is forced to wait some time and retry again with RPOP. This is called polling, and is not a good idea in this context because it has several drawbacks:

  1. Forces Redis and clients to process useless commands (all the requests when the list is empty will get no actual work done, they'll just return NULL).
  2. Adds a delay to the processing of items, since after a worker receives a NULL, it waits some time. To make the delay smaller, we could wait less between calls to RPOP, with the effect of amplifying problem number 1, i.e. more useless calls to Redis.

So Redis implements commands called BRPOP and BLPOP which are versions of RPOP and LPOP able to block if the list is empty: they'll return to the caller only when a new element is added to the list, or when a user-specified timeout is reached.

This is an example of a BRPOP call we could use in the worker:

Blocking operations: Use BRPOP to wait for elements with a timeout when you need to implement producer-consumer patterns without polling
> DEL bikes:repairs
(integer) 1
> RPUSH bikes:repairs bike:1 bike:2
(integer) 2
> BRPOP bikes:repairs 1
1) "bikes:repairs"
2) "bike:2"
> BRPOP bikes:repairs 1
1) "bikes:repairs"
2) "bike:1"
> BRPOP bikes:repairs 1
(nil)
(2.01s)
r.delete("bikes:repairs")

res31 = r.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2")
print(res31)  # >>> 2

res32 = r.brpop("bikes:repairs", timeout=1)
print(res32)  # >>> ('bikes:repairs', 'bike:2')

res33 = r.brpop("bikes:repairs", timeout=1)
print(res33)  # >>> ('bikes:repairs', 'bike:1')

res34 = r.brpop("bikes:repairs", timeout=1)
print(res34)  # >>> None
await client.del('bikes:repairs');

const res31 = await client.rPush('bikes:repairs', ['bike:1', 'bike:2']);
console.log(res31);  // 2

const res32 = await client.brPop('bikes:repairs', 1);
console.log(res32);  // { key: 'bikes:repairs', element: 'bike:2' }

const res33 = await client.brPop('bikes:repairs', 1);
console.log(res33);  // { key: 'bikes:repairs', element: 'bike:1' }

const res34 = await client.brPop('bikes:repairs', 1);
console.log(res34);  // null
        jedis.del("bikes:repairs");

        long res31 = jedis.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2");
        System.out.println(res31);  // >>> 2

        List<String> res32 = jedis.brpop(1, "bikes:repairs");
        System.out.println(res32);  // >>> (bikes:repairs, bike:2)

        List<String>  res33 = jedis.brpop(1,"bikes:repairs");
        System.out.println(res33);  // >>> (bikes:repairs, bike:1)

        List<String>  res34 = jedis.brpop(1,"bikes:repairs");
        System.out.println(res34);  // >>> null
            CompletableFuture<Void> brpop = asyncCommands.rpush("bikes:repairs", "bike:1", "bike:2").thenCompose(res24 -> {
                System.out.println(res24); // >>> 2

                return asyncCommands.brpop(1, "bikes:repairs");
            }).thenCompose(res25 -> {
                System.out.println(res25);
                // >>> KeyValue[bikes:repairs, bike:2]

                return asyncCommands.brpop(1, "bikes:repairs");
            }).thenCompose(res26 -> {
                System.out.println(res26);
                // >>> KeyValue[bikes:repairs, bike:1]

                return asyncCommands.brpop(1, "bikes:repairs");
            })
                    .thenAccept(System.out::println) // >>> null
                    .toCompletableFuture();