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🗄️ Databases

Fails to connect to redis, when running inside of docker container

Freshabout 21 hours ago
Mar 14, 20260 views
Confidence Score57%
57%

Problem

Hey, the library works like a charm, thanks a lot. My application is a microservice, which connects to a redis database, which is running inside of docker. However, I can not connect to redis, when my application is running inside of container. I can still connect to redis remotely via cli on other host and it clearly works. I can also run my application outside of docker (directly on my host machine) and it would still connect. But when I build and run the image, it says: [code block] I also tried to provision my application to docker swarm with compose file on the same network as redis [code block] But it still wouldn't connect Here is the code, I use in my application: [code block] Thank you in advance.

Error Output

error event: Error: connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:6379

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1 Fix

Canonical Fix
Unverified Fix
New Fix – Awaiting Verification

Update Redis Connection Configuration for Docker

Medium Risk

When running inside a Docker container, the application cannot connect to Redis using '127.0.0.1' because this address refers to the container's own loopback interface, not the host's. The application needs to connect to the Redis service using the correct network address, typically the service name or the host's IP address.

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  1. 1

    Update Redis Host in Application Configuration

    Change the Redis connection host in your application code from '127.0.0.1' to the name of the Redis service defined in your Docker Compose file or the host's IP address if Redis is running on the host.

    javascript
    const redis = new Redis({ host: 'redis_service_name', port: 6379 });
  2. 2

    Ensure Docker Compose Network Configuration

    Make sure both your application and Redis are on the same Docker network. If you are using Docker Compose, define a network in your docker-compose.yml file and attach both services to it.

    yaml
    version: '3'
services:
  app:
    image: your_app_image
    networks:
      - app-network
  redis:
    image: redis
    networks:
      - app-network
networks:
  app-network:
    driver: bridge
  3. 3

    Check Redis Service Name Resolution

    Verify that the application can resolve the Redis service name. You can do this by running a shell in the application container and using ping or curl to check connectivity to the Redis service name.

    bash
    docker exec -it your_app_container_name ping redis_service_name
  4. 4

    Inspect Docker Network Settings

    If the connection still fails, inspect the Docker network settings to ensure both containers are correctly connected. Use the command 'docker network inspect <network_name>' to check the connected containers.

    bash
    docker network inspect app-network
  5. 5

    Test Redis Connection from Application Container

    Run a simple test script inside the application container to ensure it can connect to Redis. This will help isolate whether the issue is with the application configuration or the network setup.

    javascript
    const Redis = require('ioredis');
const redis = new Redis({ host: 'redis_service_name', port: 6379 });
redis.ping().then(console.log).catch(console.error);

Validation

Confirm that the application can successfully connect to Redis by checking the application logs for any connection errors. Additionally, you can run a test command to ping Redis from within the application container to ensure connectivity.

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Environment

Submitted by

AC

Alex Chen

2450 rep

Tags

redisiorediscache