Redis
TAS Score: S3/3 — D2/5 · A2 / T1 (T1 not T2: RSALv2 and SSPLv1 are NOT OSI-approved licenses — license changed from BSD in 2024. D2: license change ⚠️, governance ⚠️, trajectory closing.)
Why the score changed
Redis was BSD-3-Clause (A3/T2, opening) until March 2024 when Redis Ltd. changed the license to RSALv2 / SSPLv1 — neither of which is OSI-approved. This is a textbook trajectory event: a project that was in Lux (A3/T2) moved to Vigil/Stella zone overnight. The community responded with Valkey (Linux Foundation fork, BSD-3-Clause).
Brief Description
In-memory data structure store. Used as cache, message broker, and session store. Extremely fast. Redis is no longer open source as of March 2024. Valkey is the community fork that preserved the open-source license.
Architectural Role
Storage layer. In-memory cache and message broker. Used by many applications for session storage, rate limiting, pub/sub. Often a dependency rather than a standalone service.
Technical Autonomy
- Works without internet
- Stores data locally (optional persistence)
- Does not require external accounts
- Allows data export (RDB snapshot, AOF log)
- Provides offline updates
Philosophical Assessment (whose.world criteria)
| Criterion | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Pause | ✅ | Clean stop; optional persistence |
| Exit | ✅ | RDB/AOF export; Valkey is wire-compatible |
| Recoverability | ✅ | RDB snapshot backup |
| Visibility | ⚠️ | Source available but not OSI-approved license |
| External Dependencies | ✅ | Runs fully self-contained |
Autonomous Alternatives
| Alternative | Autonomy | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Valkey | A3 / T2 | Linux Foundation fork; BSD-3-Clause; wire-compatible drop-in |
| KeyDB | A3 / T2 | BSD-3-Clause fork; multithreaded |
Trajectory
Direction: closing
Redis Ltd. changed the license from BSD-3-Clause to RSALv2/SSPLv1 in March 2024 — restricting commercial use of Redis as a managed service. This is not OSI-approved open source. The Linux Foundation immediately forked Redis as Valkey. For new deployments, Valkey is recommended over Redis.
Signal assessment:
| Signal | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| License | ⚠️ | BSD-3-Clause → RSALv2/SSPLv1 in March 2024; not OSI-approved |
| Feature gating | ⚠️ | Redis Stack features (search, JSON) commercial-first |
| Self-hosting | ✅ | Self-hosting still works; license change affects service providers |
| Governance | ⚠️ | Redis Ltd. controls direction; community forked to Valkey in response |
Sources
- Website: https://redis.io
- Documentation: https://redis.io/docs
- Repository: https://github.com/redis/redis
- Docker image: redis
- Valkey fork: https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey