Get started with Redis
Stream Postgres changes to a Redis stream
In this quickstart, you’ll create a real-time data pipeline that streams changes from a Postgres database to a Redis stream. You’ll:
- Boot Sequin
- Connect to a sample playground database
- Configure a Redis stream to receive database changes
- See your changes flow in real-time
By the end, you’ll have hands-on experience setting up Postgres change data capture (CDC) with Sequin. This same pattern can be used to setup your own Postgres CDC pipeline with Redis.
Boot Redis
If you don’t already have Redis running, start Redis with Docker:
If you’re using another Redis instance, be sure you’re using Redis 5.0+ (required for streams).
Run Sequin
The easiest way to get started with Sequin is with our Docker Compose file. This file starts a Postgres database, Redis instance, and Sequin server.
Create directory and start services
- Download sequin-docker-compose.zip.
- Unzip the file.
- Navigate to the unzipped directory and start the services:
Verify services are running
Check that Sequin is running using docker ps
:
You should see output like the following:
All three containers should be up and running (status: Up
).
Login
The Docker Compose file automatically configures Sequin with an admin user and a playground database.
Let’s log in to the Sequin web console:
Open the web console
After starting the Docker Compose services, open the Sequin web console at http://localhost:7376:
Login with default credentials
Use the following default credentials to login:
- Email:
- Password:
View the playground database
To get you started quickly, Sequin’s Docker Compose file creates a logical database called sequin_playground
with a sample dataset in the public.products
table.
Let’s take a look:
Navigate to Databases
In the Sequin web console, click Databases in the sidebar.
Select playground database
Click on the pre-configured sequin-playground
database:
The database “Health” should be green.
View contents of the products table
Let’s get a sense of what’s in the products
table. Run the following command:
This command connects to the running Postgres container and runs a psql
command.
You should see a list of the rows in the products
table:
We’ll make modifications to this table in a bit.
Create a Redis Sink
With the playground database connected, you can create a sink. This sink will send changes to the products
table to your Redis stream:
Navigate to Sinks
Click “Sinks” in the sidebar navigation, then click “Create Sink”.
Select sink type
Select “Redis” as the sink type and click “Continue”.
Note "Source" configuration
In the “Source” card, note that the sequin-playground
database and products
table are pre-selected. Leave these defaults:
Setup a backfill
In the “Initial backfill” card, click the toggle to enable an initial backfill. You can leave the default start position, which will backfill all existing rows in the products
table:
Configure "Redis Configuration"
In the “Redis Configuration” card, enter your Redis connection details.
- Host: If running locally with Docker, use
host.docker.internal
- Port: The port Redis is listening on (default: 6379)
- Username: Required if Redis authentication is enabled
- Password: Required if Redis authentication is enabled
- Stream Key: The Redis stream to write to (e.g.,
products-stream
) - Database: The Redis database number (default: 0)
- TLS: Toggle on if your Redis instance requires TLS
Test the connection
At the bottom of the form, click the “Test Connection” button. If you provided proper credentials, it should succeed.
Sequin can connect to your Redis instance.
Create the sink
You can leave the rest of the defaults. As configured, the Redis stream will first receive a backfill of all rows currently in the products
table. Then, it will receive all changes to the products
table in real-time.
Click “Create Sink” to finish setting up your Redis sink.
See changes flow to your Redis stream
On the new sink’s overview page, you should see the “Health” status turn green, indicating data is flowing to your Redis stream.
Let’s confirm messages are flowing:
Messages tab
Click the “Messages” tab. You’ll see a list of the recently delivered messages:
Sequin indicates it backfilled the products
table to your Redis stream.
View in Redis CLI
Connect to your Redis instance using the Redis CLI and read from the stream:
You should see the messages that were sent from Sequin. These are read
events from the initial backfill of the products
table.
Messages are flowing from Sequin to your Redis stream.
Make some changes
Let’s make some changes to the products
table and see them flow to your stream.
In your terminal, run the following command to insert a new row into the products
table:
In Redis CLI, read the latest messages from the stream:
You should see a message corresponding to the inserted row.
Feel free to try other changes:
Each change will appear in your Redis stream within a few seconds.
Great work!
You’ve successfully:
- Set up a complete Postgres change data capture pipeline
- Loaded existing data through a backfill
- Made changes to the
products
table - Verified changes are flowing to your Redis stream
Ready to stream
Now you’re ready to connect your own database to Sequin and start streaming changes:
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