How to set up Redis in cPanel

Knowledgebase Article

How to set up Redis in cPanel

Redis (REmote DIctionary Server) is an in-memory data structure store, widely used as a:

Cache – to speed up web applications by storing frequently accessed data
Database – for lightweight, in-memory data storage
Message broker – to manage queues and background tasks

It supports advanced data types like strings, hashes, lists, sets, sorted sets, bitmaps, hyperloglogs, and geospatial indexes.

In simple terms, Redis can dramatically improve application speed when paired with traditional databases like MySQL or MariaDB.

While we refer to it as Redis, under the hood we provide KeyDB—a high-performance, fully compatible alternative. KeyDB is faster than Redis in many workloads thanks to its multithreaded architecture and improved memory management.

Your application doesn’t need to change—KeyDB behaves exactly like Redis, just better.

We offer Redis as a cPanel plugin, available with our Performance & Magento Hosting plans, as well as our Agency reseller plan.

Navigation

Enabling Redis in cPanel

You can activate Redis in just a few clicks:

Login to cPanel
How to Login →
Launch the Redis Plugin
Look under the Software section and click Redis.
Choose Your Memory Limit
This sets how much memory Redis can use within your hosting account.

The amount you can set is determined by your hosting plan, as Redis data will be stored in your plans RAM allocation - and we recommend setting this at most to 25-50% of your plans limit.
- The minimum you can allocate is 96MB
- A good starting point for most single-site setups is 256MB–512MB
  
  If you're using Redis for multiple components (like sessions, object cache, backend cache), you might increase this—if your plan has available headroom. You can adjust the Redis memory limit at any time based on real-world usage. You'll be able to monitor usage and adjust later if needed.
Enable Redis
Click the Enable Redis button to launch your instance.
Enable the Redis PHP Extension
If you are using a PHP based application, you must also use the PHP Selector in cPanel and enable the redis PHP extension.

This is required in order for PHP to be able to communicate with Redis.

Configuring Your Application

Redis on our platform runs over a UNIX socket, rather than a traditional TCP port. This is faster—around 116% better performance—because it avoids network overhead.

After enabling redis, you will be shown your unique Redis socket, which will be a full path including your account username:

You will need to use this socket address when configuring your application.

How you configure your application to use Redis depends on the app or Redis library, and how this supports socket-based connections.

1. Check for Dedicated Socket Support

Some applications and Redis client libraries allow you to specify a UNIX socket path directly via a setting like:

unix_socket_path
socket
path

✅ If your application supports this, simply enter the full socket path shown in the Redis plugin in cPanel.

You usually won’t need to specify a port.

'unix_socket_path' => '/home/your-username/.kgix/redis/redis.sock'

2. If Your App Only Offers Host/Port Fields

Many applications assume Redis is running over TCP at something like 127.0.0.1:6379.

If your app doesn’t have a dedicated socket setting, you still may be able to connect by passing the socket in one of these formats:

✅ Method A (preferred for most PHP apps and libraries):

Use the socket as the host and 0 as the port:

'host' => '/home/your-username/.kgix/redis/redis.sock',

 'port' => 0

Many libraries (like phpredis) will understand this and use the socket.

✅ Method B (alternative format in some cases):

Pass the socket and port together as a single string:

'/home/your-username/.kgix/redis/redis.sock:0'

This format is required by some tools or libraries that don't cleanly support separate socket + port inputs (e.g. certain command-line utilities or strict parsers).

Tip: If one format doesn’t work, try the other. The correct one depends on how your app or library parses Redis connection strings.

3. Set a Unique Redis Database ID

Redis allows up to 16 databases per hosting account, numbered 0 to 15. Each use case in each application should use its own unique ID.

For example:

Magento cache: 0
Magento sessions: 1
Magento backend cache: 2
Staging version of Magento: 3, 4, 5
WordPress object cache: 6

⚠️ Reusing the same ID across different applications or components can cause data conflicts or loss. Choose IDs carefully and document what each one is used for. Never reuse the same Redis database ID across multiple sites or functions. Doing so can lead to data collisions or overwrites.

App Specific Integration Guides

Set up Redis in your application with our step-by-step tutorials:

Understanding Redis Memory Management

As Redis approaches your memory limit, it automatically begins removing old data to make room for new entries. This is done using a least-recently-used approach (LRU), meaning data that hasn't been accessed in a while is evicted first.

This eviction mechanism helps ensure:

Frequently used data stays in memory
Stale or less-accessed data is cleared automatically to prevent Redis from reaching capacity.

If your application starts to evict important keys or slows down under load, you may need to increase the memory limit for Redis.

To do this:

Stop Redis via the plugin
Choose a higher memory limit
Start Redis again

⚠️ Important: Stopping Redis will clear all data currently in memory.

Any cached data, sessions, or backend store entries will be lost and must be regenerated by your application.

Plan the change for a quiet period if possible, especially if Redis is used for user sessions or critical caching.

Redis Statistics and Monitoring

Once Redis is active, click “Show Stats” in the plugin to view real-time metrics:

Key Metrics Explained:

Clients

connected_clients: How many apps/processes are currently using Redis

Memory

used_memory: Total RAM currently used by Redis
used_memory_peak: Highest usage ever recorded
maxmemory: The maximum memory limit you've set

Cache Performance

keyspace_hits: Requests served directly from Redis
keyspace_misses: Requests Redis couldn't serve—often a sign your app isn't caching effectively

Eviction

expired_keys: Keys automatically removed after TTL expiry
evicted_keys: Keys removed to free up space due to memory limits
➜ If this number is growing, increase your memory limit

CPU

used_cpu_sys / used_cpu_user: CPU consumption (system/user level)

Accessing Redis via CLI

If you're comfortable with the command line, you can use the Redis CLI to interact directly with your instance over SSH. To do this, once logged into SSH you may run:

redis-cli -S /home/your-username/.kgix/redis/redis.sock

You’ll be able to run most standard Redis commands—except configuration changes, which are disabled for security.

Need Help?

Not sure how to configure your application for Redis? Confused about database IDs or memory limits? Want help interpreting your Redis stats?

We’re here to help.

Contact our team →