How to Connect to Redis from Your iPhone

June 30, 2026 · Vladimir Chemeris

Written and maintained by Vladimir Chemeris, the developer of CacheDeck.

Redis is typically accessed from a terminal on a laptop or desktop. But what if you need to check a key or flush a cache while away from your desk?

CacheDeck brings a full Redis client to iPhone, with SSH tunnels, TLS support, and a safety classifier that prevents accidental writes on production.

Setting up your first connection

Open CacheDeck and tap + to add a connection.
Enter your Redis host and port (default: 6379).
If your server is behind a firewall, enable SSH Tunnel and enter your jump host details.
Tap Connect.

SSH tunnel in detail

CacheDeck opens a local TCP tunnel via SSH directly from your iPhone. You can authenticate with a password or an Ed25519/RSA private key, no VPN app required.

Production safety

CacheDeck PROD write protection on iPhone: type the key name to confirm a destructive command — PROD write protection: type the target key to confirm before a destructive command on a production connection

CacheDeck automatically detects production environments by scanning connection names and hostnames for patterns like prod, production, and prd. These connections are tagged PROD and require an extra confirmation tap before any write command executes.

This means an accidental tap or swipe is far less likely to trigger a destructive write on a PROD-tagged connection.

Troubleshooting common connection issues

Wrong port: Redis defaults to port 6379. Redis with TLS typically uses port 6380. Upstash uses port 6379 with TLS mandatory. If your connection times out, double-check the port matches your server’s configuration.

AUTH password: If your Redis server requires authentication, enter the password in the Auth password field in CacheDeck’s connection settings. For Redis 6+ with ACL, use the username and password fields together.

SSH key format: CacheDeck accepts OpenSSH-format private keys (beginning with -----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----) and PEM-format RSA keys. If you generated your key with older ssh-keygen defaults, convert it with ssh-keygen -p -m OpenSSH -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa.

Slow connection on mobile networks: Redis commands over an SSH tunnel on a cellular network add ~50–200 ms per round-trip compared to a local connection. This is normal. Use SCAN with a count limit rather than KEYS * on large keyspaces to avoid blocking the connection.

TLS certificate errors: If your Redis server uses a self-signed certificate, upload the CA certificate in CacheDeck’s TLS settings. For mutual TLS, you also need the client certificate and private key, both stored in the iOS Keychain after import.

CacheDeck is the native iOS Redis client used in this guide: a one-time $14.99 purchase with SSH tunnels, TLS/mTLS, and write protection built in.