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Redis session store with node-redis

Implement a Redis-backed session store in Node.js with node-redis

This guide shows you how to implement a Redis-backed session store in Node.js with node-redis. It includes a small local web server built with Node's standard http module so you can see the session lifecycle end to end.

Overview

Session storage is a common Redis use case for web applications. Instead of keeping session state in local process memory, you store it in Redis and send the browser only an opaque session ID in a cookie.

That gives you:

In this example, each session is stored as a Redis hash with a key like session:{session_id}. The hash holds lightweight fields such as the username, page view count, timestamps, and the configured session TTL. The key also has an expiration so inactive sessions are removed automatically.

How it works

The flow looks like this:

  1. A user submits a login form
  2. The server generates a random session ID with Node's crypto module
  3. The server stores session data in Redis under session:{id}
  4. The server sends a sid cookie containing only the session ID
  5. Later requests read the cookie, load the hash from Redis, and refresh the TTL
  6. Logging out deletes the Redis key and clears the cookie

Because the cookie only contains an opaque identifier, the browser never receives the actual session data. That stays in Redis.

The Node.js session store

The RedisSessionStore class wraps the basic session operations (source):

const { createClient } = require("redis");
const { RedisSessionStore } = require("./sessionStore");

async function main() {
  const client = createClient({ url: "redis://localhost:6379" });
  await client.connect();

  const store = new RedisSessionStore({ redisClient: client, ttl: 1800 });

  const sessionId = await store.createSession({
    username: "andrew",
    page_views: "0",
  });

  const session = await store.getSession(sessionId);
  console.log(session.username);

  await store.incrementField(sessionId, "page_views");
  await store.deleteSession(sessionId);
  await client.disconnect();
}

main().catch(console.error);

Data model

Each session is stored in a Redis hash:

session:abc123...
  username = andrew
  page_views = 3
  session_ttl = 15
  created_at = 2026-04-02T12:34:56+00:00
  last_accessed_at = 2026-04-02T12:40:10+00:00

The implementation uses:

The store treats created_at, last_accessed_at, and session_ttl as reserved internal fields, so caller-provided session data cannot overwrite them.

Session store implementation

The createSession() method generates a random session ID, writes the initial hash fields, and sets the TTL:

async createSession(data = {}, ttl = undefined) {
  const sessionId = randomBytes(32).toString("base64url");
  const key = this._sessionKey(sessionId);
  const now = this._timestamp();
  const sessionTtl = this._normalizeTtl(ttl);

  const payload = {};
  for (const [field, value] of Object.entries(data)) {
    if (!RESERVED_SESSION_FIELDS.has(field)) {
      payload[field] = String(value);
    }
  }

  payload.created_at = now;
  payload.last_accessed_at = now;
  payload.session_ttl = String(sessionTtl);

  await this.redis.multi().hSet(key, payload).expire(key, sessionTtl).exec();
  return sessionId;
}

When the application reads a session, it refreshes the configured TTL so active users stay logged in:

async getSession(sessionId, refreshTtl = true) {
  const key = this._sessionKey(sessionId);
  const session = await this.redis.hGetAll(key);
  if (!this._isValidSession(session)) {
    return null;
  }

  if (!refreshTtl) {
    return session;
  }

  const sessionTtl = this._normalizeTtl(session.session_ttl);
  const now = this._timestamp();
  const [, , refreshedSession] = await this.redis
    .multi()
    .hSet(key, { last_accessed_at: now })
    .expire(key, sessionTtl)
    .hGetAll(key)
    .exec();

  return this._isValidSession(refreshedSession) ? refreshedSession : null;
}

This is a simple and effective pattern for many apps. For more complex requirements, you might add separate metadata keys, rotate session IDs after login, or store less frequently accessed data elsewhere.

Prerequisites

Before running the demo, make sure that:

npm install redis

If your Redis server is running elsewhere, start the demo with --redis-host and --redis-port.

Running the demo

A local demo server is included to show the session store in action (source):

node demoServer.js

The demo server uses Node's standard library for HTTP handling:

It exposes a small interactive page where you can:

After starting the server, visit http://localhost:8080.

Cookie handling

The browser cookie should contain only the session ID:

res.setHeader(
  "Set-Cookie",
  "sid=" + encodeURIComponent(sessionId) + "; Path=/; HttpOnly; SameSite=Lax"
);

Avoid storing user profiles, roles, or other sensitive session data directly in cookies. Keep that information in Redis and let the cookie act only as a lookup token.

Production usage

This guide uses a deliberately small local demo so you can focus on the Redis session pattern. In production, you will usually want to harden the cookie, session lifecycle, and deployment details around it.

Secure the session cookie

Set cookie attributes that match your deployment and threat model:

Keep session data lightweight

Redis-backed sessions work best when each session stores small, frequently accessed values:

Handle expiration deliberately

Sliding expiration is convenient, but it also defines how long a hijacked cookie remains useful. For production apps, consider:

Use a framework integration where appropriate

This example keeps everything explicit so you can see the Redis session pattern clearly. In a real app, you will often wrap the same Redis operations behind middleware for Express, Fastify, Next.js, or another framework.

Next steps

You now have a complete Redis-backed session example in Node.js using node-redis. From here you can:

For more Redis data modeling patterns, see:

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