Redis Returns to Its Open Source Roots

In a significant move that has reignited enthusiasm across the developer community, Redis announced it is reverting to the GNU Affero General Public License v3 (AGPLv3), reaffirming its commitment to open source. This decision comes after a year the in-memory database giant sparked controversy by adopting a more restrictive dual-license approach. Let’s unpack what this shift means, why it matters, and how it aligns with Redis’s evolving strategy.

In early 2024, Redis made headlines by moving away from its long standing BSD-3-Clause license to a dual-license model combining the Redis Source Available License (RSALv2) and Server Side Public License (SSPL). While the company argument was to prevent cloud providers from commercializing Redis without contributing back, critics argued the new licenses were not truly open source. Organizations like the Open Source Initiative (OSI) rejected SSPL, and the Linux Foundation even launched a fork called Valkey in protest.

Earlier to Redis, Elastic search and Mongo DB were moved from open source to SSPL to avoid cloud providers benefiting from their products. Elastic and Redis like open source product companies argument was that their users doesn't care about license and they don't want the cloud providers to use. This decision actually backfired these companies. 

Users do care about the license and most of the developer community contribute back to open source products. Open source products evolved over time by contribution from developer community across the world and all of the sudden, if the company decides to move away from open source then it really hurts.

Its not too late, Redis realized the benefit of open source. Redis co-founder Salvatore Sanfilippo (antirez) joined back as developer evangelist. Rowan Trollope, Redis CEO and Salvatore discussed and decided to use AGPL3 from Redis 8 as this is important for the growth of the product.

Why AGPLv3?

The AGPLv3 is a strong copyleft license that requires any modifications or derivative works to be shared publicly if the software is hosted as a service. Developers can freely fork, modify, and redistribute Redis. Cloud providers must open-source changes if they offer Redis as a service, preventing “strip-mining” of the project.

Conclusion: A Win for Open Source

Redis’s return to AGPLv3 is a victory for the open source community. It demonstrates that with the right partnerships, projects can thrive without abandoning their principles. As the dust settles, Redis is poised to reclaim its role as a cornerstone of real-time data infrastructure—proving that open source and profitability can coexist.