Redis client for .NET

A Redis client for .NET. Your calls go out as RESP, the replies come back as string?, long, and your own types.

dotnet add package Respire --prerelease

Type a Redis command

On the wire 55 bytes

*5\r\n$3\r\nSET\r\n$8\r\ngreeting\r\n$5\r\nhello\r\n$2\r\nEX\r\n$3\r\n300\r\n

In Respire

await redis.SetAsync("greeting", "hello", expiry: TimeSpan.FromSeconds(300));

sent*2\r\n$5\r\nHELLO\r\n$1\r\n3\r\nreceived%7\r\n$6\r\nserver\r\n$5\r\nredis\r\n$7\r\nversion\r\n$5\r\n7.4.0\r\n$5\r\nproto\r\n:3\r\n$2\r\nid\r\n:42\r\n$4\r\nmode\r\n$10\r\nstandalone\r\n$4\r\nrole\r\n$6\r\nmaster\r\n$7\r\nmodules\r\n*0\r\nsent*3\r\n$6\r\nCLIENT\r\n$8\r\nTRACKING\r\n$2\r\nON\r\nreceived+OK\r\nsent*2\r\n$3\r\nGET\r\n$12\r\nuser:42:name\r\nreceived$3\r\nAda\r\nsent*2\r\n$4\r\nINCR\r\n$6\r\nvisits\r\nreceived:1024\r\nsent*3\r\n$5\r\nBLPOP\r\n$4\r\njobs\r\n$2\r\n30\r\nreceived>2\r\n$10\r\ninvalidate\r\n*1\r\n$12\r\nuser:42:name\r\nsent*2\r\n$7\r\nHGETALL\r\n$7\r\ncart:91\r\nreceived%2\r\n$3\r\nsku\r\n$4\r\nA-17\r\n$3\r\nqty\r\n$1\r\n2\r\nsent*2\r\n$4\r\nINCR\r\n$7\r\nuser:42\r\nreceived-WRONGTYPE Operation against a key holding the wrong kind of value\r\nreceived*2\r\n$4\r\njobs\r\n$9\r\nresize:42\r\n

Replies come back as C# types

Pick a command to see the frame Respire writes, the frame Redis sends back, and the value your code receives. Errors become exceptions. Pushes become cache evictions.

Values and serialization

You write

string? name = await redis.GetStringAsync("user:42:name");

Respire sends

*2\r\n$3\r\nGET\r\n$12\r\nuser:42:name\r\n

Redis replies

$3\r\nAda\r\n

You get

name is "Ada"string?

+Simple string
-Error
:Integer
$Bulk string
* %Array, map
>Push

Concurrent callers share one socket write

Each await looks like its own round trip. Requests that arrive together are written to the socket together, and replies are matched back in order. There is no batching switch to remember.

How the wire layer works

Aawait redis.GetStringAsync("user:1")waiting
Bawait redis.IncrementAsync("visits")waiting
Cawait redis.Hashes.GetAllAsync("cart:9")waiting

Write buffer

ABC

1 write

Redis

Three concurrent awaits

Hot reads never leave the process

Turn on client-side caching and eligible reads stay in bounded process memory. Redis sends a > push frame when a key you read changes, and Respire evicts the stale copy for you.

var options = new RespireOptions
{
    Endpoints = { new("localhost") },
    ClientSideCache = new(),
};

Read about client-side caching

Server round trip0.0 ns

App

Redis

Local cache hit0.0 ns

AppCache

Redis

Replaying 10,000 times slower than real time

Measured with BenchmarkDotNet on .NET 10: 186.5 μs for a StackExchange.Redis GET against a local server, 151.5 ns and 0 B allocated for a Respire cache hit. See the benchmark run.

Blocking reads wait on their own connections

BLPOP and blocking stream reads hold a connection until data arrives. Respire sends them over a dedicated pool, so a worker waiting 30 seconds for a job never delays the GETs behind it.

string? job = await redis.Lists.LeftPopAsync(
    "jobs",
    waitFor: TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30));

Build a work queue

Shared connection

GETSETINCRHGETGETEXPIREZADDGET

Blocking pool

BLPOP jobs waiting, up to 30s

Regular commands keep moving while BLPOP waits.

What the docs cover

Respire is pre-release. Try it, and tell us what breaks.

dotnet add package Respire --prerelease

Get started Coming from StackExchange.Redis Open an issue

On the wire 55 bytes

In Respire

Replies come back as C# types

You write

Respire sends

Redis replies

You get

Concurrent callers share one socket write

Hot reads never leave the process

Blocking reads wait on their own connections

What the docs cover

$10 Data types

$12 Coordination

$10 Production

$16 .NET integration

Respire is pre-release. Try it, and tell us what breaks.