GLOSSARY / DEFINITION
What is Valkey
Valkey is the open source fork of Redis created in 2024 after Redis moved to source available terms. For enterprises that ran Redis on the assumption it would stay open source, Valkey is the continued open path, and understanding what it is and where it came from is the first step in deciding whether it belongs in your stack.
Definition
Valkey is a community driven fork of Redis, the in memory data store widely used for caching, queues, and real time data. It was created in 2024, immediately after Redis changed its license, by taking the last open source version of Redis and continuing development under a new project name. Valkey is maintained under the stewardship of the Linux Foundation and is licensed under the permissive BSD 3 clause license, which keeps it firmly within open source as defined by the Open Source Initiative. In plain terms, Valkey is the place the open source Redis lineage continued after the original project moved to source available terms.
Why Valkey exists
Valkey exists because of the Redis license change as of March 2024, when Redis moved to a model combining the Server Side Public License and the Redis Source Available License. Those are source available terms, not open source, and they restrict offering Redis as a competing managed service. A group of contributors and cloud providers who relied on an open source Redis responded by forking the last open source release and continuing it as Valkey under a permissive license. This is the same pattern seen elsewhere in the relicensing wave, where OpenTofu forked from Terraform and OpenSearch forked from Elasticsearch. Valkey is the Redis instance of that pattern, and the fork story is told in full in the OpenTofu and Valkey fork story.
What it means for license risk
For a buyer, Valkey is significant because it offers a way out of the source available terms without abandoning the technology. Migrating from Redis to Valkey replaces the Server Side Public License and the Redis Source Available License with a permissive open source license, which removes the competitive use and service restrictions that created concern. Because Valkey began as a fork of the last open source Redis release, it aims to be broadly compatible, and for many deployments it functions as a drop in replacement. The tradeoff is that a migration is still a project, and Valkey is a newer fork whose roadmap can diverge from Redis over time. The decision therefore weighs a cleaner license posture against engineering effort and the maturity of the fork. It is worth noting that Redis later added the GNU AGPL as an open license option as of 2025, which gives buyers more than one open path to consider.
Related reading
To check whether the Redis change affects you in the first place, read is your Redis use affected by the license change. For the wider set of definitions, see the rest of our open source license risk glossary.
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Decide whether Valkey belongs in your stack
An open source license risk assessment maps where Redis runs and weighs Valkey, the AGPL option, and a commercial license side by side. Independent, buyer side, paid only by you.
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Questions buyers ask.
What is Valkey?
Valkey is an open source fork of Redis created in 2024 after Redis moved to source available terms. It is maintained under the stewardship of the Linux Foundation and licensed under the permissive BSD 3 clause license, so it remains open source. It is designed as a drop in compatible replacement for the Redis versions from before the license change.
Why was Valkey created?
Valkey was created in response to the Redis license change as of March 2024, which moved Redis to a model combining the Server Side Public License and the Redis Source Available License. Contributors and cloud providers wanted a continued open source path, so they forked the last open source version of Redis and continued development as Valkey.
Is Valkey compatible with Redis?
Valkey began as a fork of the last open source Redis release and aims to remain broadly compatible, so for many deployments it functions as a drop in replacement. Over time the projects can diverge, so a buyer should confirm compatibility for the specific features and version in use rather than assume permanent parity.
Does moving to Valkey remove Redis license risk?
Moving to Valkey replaces the source available Redis terms with a permissive open source license, which removes the competitive use and service restrictions that prompted the concern. It introduces a migration project and a dependency on a newer fork, so the decision weighs license posture against engineering cost and project maturity.
Is this legal advice?
No. This is commercial and licensing risk advisory, not legal advice. For interpretation of the Redis license, the Valkey license, or any migration question, engage your own counsel.