Upstash Redis with DigitalOcean

Use a standard Upstash database on DigitalOcean#

Apps on DigitalOcean App Platform and Droplets run long-lived processes, so they can connect to a standard Upstash Redis database with any Redis client that accepts a connection URL, in any language. The only setting you add is a REDIS_URL environment variable.

Create the database#

Create a Redis database in the Upstash Console in a region close to your DigitalOcean region. On the database page, open the Connect section, select the TCP tab and copy the connection string:

rediss://default:YOUR_TOKEN@YOUR_ENDPOINT:6379

Connect from your app#

Read the connection string from REDIS_URL and pass it to your Redis client:

// npm install ioredisconst { Redis } = require("ioredis");const redis = new Redis(process.env.REDIS_URL);

# pip install redisimport osimport redisr = redis.from_url(os.environ["REDIS_URL"], decode_responses=True)

// go get github.com/redis/go-redis/v9import (	"os"	"github.com/redis/go-redis/v9")opt, err := redis.ParseURL(os.Getenv("REDIS_URL"))if err != nil {	panic(err)}rdb := redis.NewClient(opt)

For a complete example app, see the Express quickstart.

App Platform#

1

Create the app

In the DigitalOcean Control Panel, click Create → App Platform, choose your Git provider and select the repository. App Platform detects the language and sets the build and run commands. A web service must listen on 0.0.0.0 and the configured HTTP port (default 8080).

2

Add REDIS_URL

While creating the app, click Edit next to Environment variables in the Configure app step. For an existing app, go to Settings, select the component and click Edit in Environment Variables. Add REDIS_URL with your connection string, select Encrypt so the value is hidden from logs, and click Save.

To use the database from every component of the app, add it under App-Level Environment Variables instead.

Droplets#

On a Droplet, set the variable for the process that runs your app. For a systemd service, add it to the unit file:

[Service]Environment="REDIS_URL=rediss://default:YOUR_TOKEN@YOUR_ENDPOINT:6379"ExecStart=/srv/myapp/start

With Docker, pass it at start: docker run -e REDIS_URL="rediss://..." my-app.

Migrating from the Marketplace add-on#

Create a standard Upstash database and replace the add-on’s environment variables with REDIS_URL (or UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL and UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN if your app uses @upstash/redis).

If you exported an RDB file from the add-on database before the shutdown, import it into the new database (see Import/Export Data). If the database only held cached values, there is nothing to import: the cache fills again as requests come in.

Legacy: the Marketplace add-on#

The rest of this page describes the deprecated add-on for existing users.

Database Setup#

Creating Upstash for Redis Database requires a DigitalOcean account.

Login or Sign-up for DigitalOcean account. Then navigate the Upstash Redis Marketplace page.

Click Add Upstash Redis button. Now setup page will open and it will ask Database Name / Plan / Region info.

After selecting Name, Plan and Region, click Add Upstash Redis button.

Connecting to Database - SSO#

After creating database, Overview/Details page will be opened.

Environment variables can be shown in that page.

While creating a Droplet, Upstash Addon can be selected and environment variables are automatically injected to Droplet.

These Steps can be followed: Create --> Droplets --> Marketplace Add-Ons then select the previously created Upstash Redis Addon.

Upstash also support Single Sign-On from DigitalOcean to Upstash Console.

So databases created from DigitalOcean can benefit from Upstash Console features.

In order to access Upstash Console from DigitalOcean just click Dashboard link when you create the Upstash addon.