Tutorial

PHP and Redis

February 26, 20262 minute read

Ajeet Raina

TL;DR:

Install the PhpRedis extension via PECL (pecl install redis), create a Redis instance, call connect() with your host and port, then use methods like set(), get(), and del() to read and write data.

Redis is a high-performance, in-memory data store used for caching, session management, and real-time analytics. The PhpRedis extension gives your PHP applications direct access to Redis with minimal overhead.

#What you'll learn

How to install the PhpRedis extension with PECL
How to connect a PHP application to a Redis server
How to perform basic CRUD operations (set, get, delete)
How to add Redis caching to your PHP application

#Prerequisites

PHP 7.4 or later (PHP 8.x recommended)
PECL (included with most PHP installations; install pkg-php-tools on Debian/Ubuntu if needed)
A running Redis server (see the quick start guide)

#How do I install PhpRedis?

PhpRedis is a C-based PHP extension installed through PECL. If you don't have PECL available, install it first:

Then install the PhpRedis extension:

After installation, make sure the extension is enabled in your php.ini:

Restart your web server or PHP-FPM for the change to take effect.

#How do I connect to Redis from PHP?

Create a new Redis instance and call connect() with your Redis server's hostname and port:

Replace hostname, port, and password with the values for your Redis instance, then save the file as connect.php.

Run the script:

You should see PONG printed to the terminal. You can verify the connection on the server side with the MONITOR command:

#How do I perform CRUD operations with PhpRedis?

Once connected, use the built-in methods on the Redis object to store and retrieve data:

PhpRedis also supports hashes, lists, sets, sorted sets, and streams. See the PhpRedis documentation for the full API.

#How do I add Redis caching to a PHP application?

A common pattern is to check Redis for cached data before querying a slower data source:

You can also use Redis as a PHP session handler by adding the following to php.ini:

#What about Predis vs PhpRedis?

Predis is a pure-PHP Redis client that requires no compiled extension. PhpRedis is a C extension and is generally faster. Choose Predis if you cannot install C extensions in your environment; choose PhpRedis for best performance. Both support Redis Cluster and Sentinel.

#Next steps

PhpRedis GitHub repository -- full API reference and examples
Redis Cluster support for PhpRedis
Redis Sentinel support for PhpRedis
Predis GitHub repository -- pure-PHP alternative
Redis distributed locks in PHP
Getting Started with Redis & PHP