Migrating from StackExchange.Redis to Valkey GLIDE (C#)

Use when migrating a .NET application from StackExchange.Redis to the GLIDE client library.

Status: The GLIDE C# client is in preview (requires .NET 8.0+). APIs may change before GA.

Routing

• String, hash, list, set, sorted set, delete, exists, cluster -> API Mapping
• Transaction, Batch API, fire-and-forget -> Advanced Patterns
• PubSub, subscribe, publish -> Advanced Patterns
• Key types, API compatibility, ecosystem -> Advanced Patterns

Key Differences

Area	StackExchange.Redis	GLIDE
Connection	ConnectionMultiplexer.Connect()	GlideClient.CreateClient(config)
Operations	IDatabase methods	Direct client methods
Async model	async/await with Task<T>	async/await with Task<T> (similar)
Configuration	Connection string or ConfigurationOptions	StandaloneClientConfigurationBuilder
Fire-and-forget	CommandFlags.FireAndForget	Not supported - all commands return results
Keys/values	RedisKey / RedisValue types	Strings
Transactions	ITransaction with conditions	Batch API
Connection model	Multiplexed	Multiplexed (single connection per node)

Both libraries use multiplexed connections and async/await.

Quick Start - Connection Setup

StackExchange.Redis:

var muxer = ConnectionMultiplexer.Connect("localhost:6379");
IDatabase db = muxer.GetDatabase();

GLIDE:

var config = new StandaloneClientConfigurationBuilder()
    .WithAddress("localhost", 6379).Build();
await using var client = await GlideClient.CreateClient(config);

No IDatabase layer - commands are called directly on the client instance.

Configuration Mapping

StackExchange.Redis	GLIDE equivalent
EndPoints.Add(host, port)	.WithAddress(host, port)
Password	.WithCredentials(username, password)
DefaultDatabase	.WithDatabaseId(id)
Ssl = true	.WithTls(true)
ConnectTimeout	.WithRequestTimeout(ms)
SyncTimeout	Part of WithRequestTimeout
AllowAdmin	Not applicable
AbortOnConnectFail	GLIDE always retries - configure via backoff strategy

Incremental Migration Strategy

No drop-in compatibility layer exists for C#. The GLIDE C# client intentionally mirrors StackExchange.Redis naming to reduce effort. Migration approach:

1. Add Valkey.Glide NuGet package alongside StackExchange.Redis
2. Create a service interface abstracting your Redis operations
3. Implement the interface with GLIDE, replacing IDatabase calls with direct client calls
4. Replace RedisKey/RedisValue types with plain strings
5. Remove CommandFlags.FireAndForget usage - use batching for throughput
6. Migrate one service at a time and run integration tests
7. Remove StackExchange.Redis NuGet package once all services are migrated

GLIDE C# is in preview - evaluate feature coverage before committing to production migration.

Reference

Topic	File
Command-by-command API mapping (strings, hashes, lists, sets, sorted sets, delete, exists, cluster)	api-mapping
Transactions, Pub/Sub, key types, fire-and-forget, API compatibility	advanced-patterns

See Also

• valkey-glide-csharp skill - full GLIDE C# API details
• Batching (see valkey-glide skill) - pipeline and transaction patterns
• PubSub (see valkey-glide skill) - subscription patterns and dynamic PubSub

Gotchas

1. Preview status. Not production-ready. Check GLIDE C# releases for the latest API surface.
2. Separate client types. StackExchange.Redis auto-detects cluster mode. GLIDE requires GlideClient or GlideClusterClient explicitly.
3. No IDatabase layer. Commands are on the client directly. No GetDatabase(n) - set database in configuration.
4. No RedisKey/RedisValue wrappers. GLIDE uses plain strings.
5. No fire-and-forget. All commands are awaitable. Use batching for throughput.
6. .NET 8.0+ required. Earlier .NET versions are not supported.
7. Platform support. Pre-built native libraries for Linux (x86_64, arm64), macOS, and Windows.
8. API stability. Method signatures may change between releases. Pin the dependency version.
9. Ecosystem gap. StackExchange.Redis has 597M+ NuGet downloads. Evaluate feature coverage carefully.