SQLlyA Valkey GUI client, with KeyDB and DragonflyDB too
Valkey, KeyDB and DragonflyDB are engine choices of their own in SQLly, not a Redis connection that happens to work. Each was run against SQLly’s live Redis suites, and wherever a server behaves differently from Redis, this page says so.
What works on Valkey
Valkey 8.1.10 passed every suite - the engine tests, the byte-exact round trips and the services test - and SQLly shows it as Valkey rather than Redis (it reports Redis 7.2.4 as its compatibility level). The only failures on the way were two of our own tests that expected the name Redis; the product reported Valkey correctly, and the tests were fixed.
Key view and streams
Open any key for its type, TTL, encoding, memory and length, page through the value, and edit it with the exact command shown first. Streams get their Entries, Groups, Consumers and Pending tabs.
Key view βCompletion from Valkey’s own docs
Command IntelliSense reads the server’s COMMAND DOCS on connect, so Valkey’s own additions complete with their syntax and a Write, Destructive or Blocking badge on hover.
Live tools and admin
Profiler, Pub/Sub viewer with key events, memory analyzer, bulk actions, slow log, Server Dashboard, Activity Monitor, Disk Usage and the Security tool’s ACL page all work as on Redis.
Redis tools βSentinel for Valkey
Pick Valkey, turn on Connect through Sentinel, and SQLly finds the current master by name, can read from a replica, and never re-runs a write after a failover.
Cluster and Sentinel βredis-valkey-key-view-sorted-set.webp β the key view on the Valkey fixture (6382) showing a sorted set with member and score columns, and the Edit score of selected form showing the exact ZADD XX above RunKeyDB
KeyDB passed every suite. Three things differ from Redis:
- It shows as Redis 6.3.4. The KeyDB image we tested reports no KeyDB version in
INFO server, only its Redis compatibility level, so that is what SQLly displays. - No
COMMAND DOCS. Command IntelliSense falls back to the bundled Redis 7.4 and Redis Stack command list. - No
FUNCTION LIST. Stack module replies are shaped only when the modules are loaded.
DragonflyDB
DragonflyDB df-v2.0.2 passed every suite and shows as DragonflyDB (it reports Redis 7.4.0 as its
compatibility level). MEMORY USAGE, SCAN, MONITOR and
Pub/Sub behaved like Redis for everything the suites check. What differs:
- Key events cannot be turned on. DragonflyDB refuses
notify-keyspace-events, so the Pub/Sub viewer cannot enable keyspace notifications there. Ordinary channels and patterns work. CLIENT LISTomitsuser=from each client line.- No
FUNCTION LIST. Its built-in JSON and Search replies are shaped into tables.
The matrix at a glance
| Server | Version reported | Live suites |
|---|---|---|
| Valkey 8 | valkey_version 8.1.10 | Passed51 engine tests, 5 byte-exact tests, 1 services test. |
| KeyDB | redis_version 6.3.4 | Passed51 engine tests, 5 byte-exact tests, 1 services test. |
| DragonflyDB | dragonfly_version df-v2.0.2 | Passed51 engine tests, 5 byte-exact tests, 1 services test. |
| ElastiCache for Valkey | - | Not tested liveNo cloud instance was available. |
Run on 19 October 2026 on an Apple Silicon Mac against local containers. The byte-exact suite sends values a numeric coercion would mangle - 00014, a NUL byte, invalid UTF-8, a 40-digit integer, 1e309, 100 KB and 2 MB strings - and checks the same bytes come back.
redis-valkey-connection-editor.webp β the New Connection dialog with the engine dropdown open on the Redis-compatible group (Valkey, KeyDB, DragonflyDB, ElastiCache, MemoryDB), then Valkey picked for 127.0.0.1:6382 with its compatibility note under the optionsQuestions about Valkey, KeyDB and DragonflyDB
Is there a GUI client for Valkey?
Yes. Valkey is an engine choice of its own in SQLly's connection editor. The key view, command IntelliSense, the Profiler, the Pub/Sub viewer, the memory analyzer, bulk actions and the ACL page all work as they do on Redis, and Sentinel connections accept Valkey too. Valkey 8.1.10 passed SQLly's live Redis suites.
Does command completion know Valkey's own commands?
Yes. On connect SQLly reads the server's own COMMAND DOCS, so Valkey's additions complete with their syntax and safety badges. Servers that refuse or lack COMMAND DOCS fall back to a bundled Redis 7.4 and Redis Stack command list.
Does SQLly work with KeyDB?
Yes. KeyDB passed the same live suites. The image tested reports no KeyDB version in INFO server, so SQLly shows it as Redis 6.3.4. KeyDB has no FUNCTION LIST and no COMMAND DOCS, so completion uses the bundled command list.
Does SQLly work with DragonflyDB?
Yes. DragonflyDB df-v2.0.2 passed the live suites and is shown as DragonflyDB. Its CLIENT LIST has no user column, it has no FUNCTION LIST, and it refuses notify-keyspace-events, so the Pub/Sub viewer's Key events cannot be turned on there. Its built-in JSON and Search replies come back as tables.
Can I use ElastiCache for Valkey?
Yes. Pick Amazon ElastiCache, use TLS Require or Verify full when in-transit encryption is on, and point a cluster-mode cache at its configuration endpoint. AWS manages its users, so the ACL page is not offered. ElastiCache has not been tested against a live instance yet.
Read more
Redis pages
In the docs
Valkey, home to the pig
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