Redis, the popular in-memory data store, has returned to open source licensing with Redis 8 now available under the AGPL v3 license. The move reverses last year’s controversial shift to proprietary licensing schemes (RSALv2 and SSPLv1) that aimed to force major cloud providers to pay for offering Redis as a managed service.
The decision follows significant market pressure, including AWS, Google, and Oracle backing the Valkey fork, which gained momentum in the open source community. Redis believes the AGPL license provides sufficient protection from cloud providers while satisfying open source requirements. Redis 8 will incorporate vector sets and integrate previously separate Redis Stack features including JSON, Time Series, and probabil, the company has faced increasing criticism for its proprietary licensing approach, which many open-source advocates and developers viewed as a threat to the principles of open-source software. The controversy led to the formation of the Valkey fork, which garnered support from prominent cloud providers. The shift to proprietary licensing also raised concerns about the long-term viability of Redis as an open-source project, with some fearing that it could alienate the community and stifle innovation.
With the release of Redis 8, the company has taken steps to address these concerns by reversion to the AGPL v3 license. This decision reflects a broader trend in the tech industry, where companies are re-evaluating their open-source strategies in response to community feedback and market dynamics. While the move is seen as a positive development for the open-source community, it remains to be seen how it will impact Redis’ competitive landscape and its relationship with cloud providers. The updated version also includes new features such as vector sets, which are designed to enhance its capabilities in areas such as machine learning and data processing. These improvements are expected to further solidify Redis’ position as a leading in-memory data store.