Redis is a powerful, in-memory data structure store used as a database, cache, and message broker. It’s often used in web applications for high-performance caching and session management. Installing Redis on Ubuntu is easy and quick, especially using Snap, which simplifies installation and management. In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps to install Redis on Ubuntu using Snap.

What is Snap?

Snap is a package management system that allows you to install software packages (called “snaps”) in a secure and isolated environment. It ensures that you always have the latest version of the software, as snaps are automatically updated. Snap is supported on many Linux distributions, including Ubuntu.

Steps to Install Redis on Ubuntu with Snap

  1. Update Your System

    Before installing any software, it’s always a good idea to update your system’s package list to ensure you’re getting the latest available versions of packages. Open your terminal and run the following command:

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    sudo apt update

    If there are any available updates for your system, you can install them with:

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    sudo apt upgrade

  2. Install Snap (if not installed)

    Most recent versions of Ubuntu come with Snap pre-installed. However, if for any reason Snap is not installed on your system, you can install it by running:

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    sudo apt install snapd

    After installing Snap, you may need to log out and log back in, or restart your system, for the Snap commands to work properly.

  3. Install Redis via Snap

    With Snap installed, you can now install Redis. Snap makes this process incredibly simple. To install the official Redis snap package, run the following command:

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    sudo snap install redis

    This command will automatically download and install the latest stable version of Redis. The snap package contains everything Redis needs to run, so you won’t need to worry about dependencies or configuration issues.

  4. Check Redis Installation

    Once the installation is complete, you can check if Redis is running by executing the following command:

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    snap info redis

    This should return the version of Redis that was installed.

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    $ snap info redis
    name:      redis
    summary:   Redis is used as a database, cache and message broker.
    publisher: Redis (redislabs)
    store-url: https://snapcraft.io/redis
    contact:   redis@redis.io
    license:   unset
    description: |
      Redis is an open source (BSD licensed), in-memory data structure store, used as a database, cache
      and message broker. |
      It supports data structures such as strings, hashes, lists, sets, sorted sets with range queries,
      bitmaps, hyperloglogs, geospatial indexes with radius queries and streams. |
      Redis has built-in replication, Lua scripting, LRU eviction, transactions and different levels of
      on-disk persistence, and provides high availability via Redis Sentinel and automatic partitioning
      with Redis Cluster. |
      |
      Check out https://redis.io/ for more information.
    commands:
      - redis.benchmark
      - redis.check-aof
      - redis.check-rdb
      - redis.cli
      - redis.sentinel
    services:
      redis.server: simple, enabled, active
    snap-id:      hHi3Iys64CUmQLvb3OG1cOfj7fyffvwD
    tracking:     latest/stable
    refresh-date: today at 17:04 CST
    channels:
      latest/stable:    7.4.1       2024-10-02 (1572) 10MB -
      latest/candidate: ↑                                  
      latest/beta:      ↑                                  
      latest/edge:      255.255.255 2024-03-10 (1566) 10MB -
    **installed:          7.4.1                  (1572) 10MB -**

  5. Start and Enable Redis

    Redis installed via Snap should start automatically after installation. However, if it doesn’t, you can start it manually by running:

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    sudo snap start redis

    To ensure Redis starts automatically on boot, run:

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    sudo snap enable redis

  6. Access the Redis CLI

    After starting Redis, you can access the Redis command-line interface (CLI) to interact with your Redis instance. Run the following command:

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    redis.cli

    You should see the Redis prompt (127.0.0.1:6379>), where you can run Redis commands like PING to test the connection:

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    PING

    Redis should respond with PONG.

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    $ redis.cli
    127.0.0.1:6379> PING
    PONG
    127.0.0.1:6379>

  7. Configuring Redis (Optional)

    Redis configuration files are typically located in /var/snap/redis/current/redis.conf when installed via Snap. You can modify these configuration files to suit your needs, such as changing the port or enabling authentication.

    To edit the configuration file, use a text editor like nano:

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    sudo nano /var/snap/redis/current/redis.conf

    After making changes, remember to restart Redis for the changes to take effect:

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    sudo snap restart redis

  8. Uninstall Redis (if needed)

    If you ever need to uninstall Redis, you can easily do so with Snap by running:

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    sudo snap remove redis

    This will completely remove Redis from your system.

Conclusion

Installing Redis on Ubuntu using Snap is a fast, easy, and reliable method. With Snap, Redis is kept up to date automatically, and the installation process is streamlined, requiring minimal effort from the user. By following the steps above, you’ll have Redis up and running in no time, ready for use in your web applications or as a caching solution.