redlock-universal

Universal distributed locks for Redis and Valkey

The only distributed lock library supporting all three Redis clients:

node-redis • ioredis • Valkey GLIDE

NestJS Integration: Check out nestjs-redlock-universal for decorator-based integration with dependency injection.

Quick Start

import { createLock, IoredisAdapter } from 'redlock-universal';
import Redis from 'ioredis';

const lock = createLock({
  adapter: new IoredisAdapter(new Redis()),
  key: 'my-resource',
  ttl: 30000,
});

// Automatic lock management with auto-extension
await lock.using(async () => {
  // Critical section - lock auto-extends and releases
});

npm install redlock-universal

Why redlock-universal?

Same performance as the fastest libraries, with universal client support they lack.

| Library | Latency | node-redis | ioredis | Valkey | Monitoring | |---------|---------|:----------:|:-------:|:------:|:----------:| | redis-semaphore | 0.369ms | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | | redlock-universal | 0.377ms | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | node-redlock | 0.398ms | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |

Benchmarked on local Redis 7 (macOS, Node.js 22). Results vary with system load, network, and Redis configuration. All libraries deliver competitive sub-millisecond performance.

Installation

npm install redlock-universal

# Install your preferred Redis client
npm install ioredis        # or
npm install redis          # or
npm install @valkey/valkey-glide

Core API

using() - Recommended

Auto-extends lock and guarantees cleanup:

const result = await lock.using(async (signal) => {
  // Long-running operation
  await processData();

  // Check if lock was lost (optional)
  if (signal.aborted) {
    throw new Error('Lock lost');
  }

  return 'done';
});

acquire() / release() - Manual Control

const handle = await lock.acquire();
try {
  await doWork();
} finally {
  await lock.release(handle);
}

extend() - Extend Lock TTL

const handle = await lock.acquire();
// Extend lock by 10 seconds
const extended = await lock.extend(handle, 10000);
if (extended) {
  // Continue working with extended TTL
}
await lock.release(handle);

When using LockManager, you can extend locks by creating a lock instance from the handle:

const manager = new LockManager({ nodes: [adapter], defaultTTL: 30000 });
const handle = await manager.acquireLock('my-resource');

// Create a lock instance using the handle's strategy
const lock = handle.metadata?.strategy === 'redlock'
  ? manager.createRedLock(handle.key)
  : manager.createSimpleLock(handle.key);

const extended = await lock.extend(handle, 30000);

This also works across processes — LockHandle is fully serializable:

// Process A: acquire and pass handle to another process
const handle = await manager.acquireLock('my-resource');
queue.publish(JSON.stringify(handle));

// Process B: receive handle and extend
const handle = JSON.parse(message);
const lock = handle.metadata?.strategy === 'redlock'
  ? manager.createRedLock(handle.key)
  : manager.createSimpleLock(handle.key);

await lock.extend(handle, 30000);

createSimpleLock and createRedLock don't acquire anything — they create a lock object wired to the right adapter. The actual Redis operation only happens when you call .extend().

isLocked() - Check Lock Status

const locked = await lock.isLocked('my-resource');
if (!locked) {
  // Safe to acquire
}

Distributed Lock (Redlock Algorithm)

For fault-tolerant locking across multiple Redis instances using the Redlock algorithm:

import { createRedlock, IoredisAdapter } from 'redlock-universal';

const redlock = createRedlock({
  adapters: [
    new IoredisAdapter(redis1),
    new IoredisAdapter(redis2),
    new IoredisAdapter(redis3),
  ],
  key: 'distributed-resource',
  ttl: 30000,
  quorum: 2,
});

await redlock.using(async () => {
  // Distributed consensus - survives node failures
});

Adapters & Cluster Support

Fully supports Redis Cluster via both ioredis and node-redis.

// ioredis
import Redis from 'ioredis';
const adapter = new IoredisAdapter(new Redis());

// ioredis Cluster
import { Cluster } from 'ioredis';
const cluster = new Cluster([{ host: 'node-1', port: 6379 }]);
const adapter = new IoredisAdapter(cluster);

// node-redis
import { createClient } from 'redis';
const client = createClient();
await client.connect();
const adapter = new NodeRedisAdapter(client);

// node-redis Cluster
import { createCluster } from 'redis';
const cluster = createCluster({ rootNodes: [{ url: 'redis://node-1:6379' }] });
await cluster.connect();
const adapter = new NodeRedisAdapter(cluster);

// Valkey GLIDE
import { GlideClient } from '@valkey/valkey-glide';
const client = await GlideClient.createClient({ addresses: [{ host: 'localhost', port: 6379 }] });
const adapter = new GlideAdapter(client);

Valkey Users: See VALKEY.md for detailed Valkey setup guide.

[!IMPORTANT] Cluster vs Redlock:

• Redis Cluster: Provides High Availability (HA). If a master fails, a replica takes over. Warning: Locks can be lost during failover (eventual consistency).
• Redlock: Provides Consensus. Locks are safe even if nodes crash. Use for critical consistency.

See Cluster Usage Examples for details.

Configuration

interface CreateLockConfig {
  adapter: RedisAdapter;
  key: string;
  ttl?: number;              // Default: 30000ms
  retryAttempts?: number;    // Default: 3
  retryDelay?: number;       // Default: 100ms
  performance?: 'standard' | 'lean' | 'enterprise';
  logger?: ILogger;          // Optional structured logging
  circuitBreaker?: boolean | CircuitBreakerConfig; // Default: enabled
}

interface CreateRedlockConfig {
  adapters: RedisAdapter[];
  key: string;
  ttl?: number;              // Default: 30000ms
  retryAttempts?: number;    // Default: 3
  retryDelay?: number;       // Default: 200ms
  quorum?: number;           // Default: Math.floor(adapters.length / 2) + 1
  clockDriftFactor?: number; // Default: 0.01
  logger?: ILogger;          // Optional structured logging
}

Acquire multiple locks atomically (all-or-nothing):

import { LockManager } from 'redlock-universal';

const manager = new LockManager({ nodes: [adapter] });

// Atomic batch - prevents deadlocks via automatic key sorting
const handles = await manager.acquireBatch(['user:1', 'user:2', 'order:3']);
try {
  await processTransaction();
} finally {
  await manager.releaseBatch(handles);
}

// Or with auto-extension (supports retryAttempts, retryDelay options)
await manager.usingBatch(['key1', 'key2'], async (signal) => {
  // All locks auto-extend and release
});

import { Logger, LogLevel } from 'redlock-universal';

const logger = new Logger({
  level: LogLevel.INFO,
  prefix: 'redlock',
  enableConsole: true,
});

const lock = createLock({ adapter, key: 'resource', logger });

External loggers:

| Logger | Works Directly | Adapter Needed | |---------|:--------------:|-------------------------| | Winston | Yes | No | | Console | Yes | No | | Pino | Via Adapter | createPinoAdapter() | | Bunyan | Via Adapter | createBunyanAdapter() |

// Pino
import { createPinoAdapter } from 'redlock-universal';
const logger = createPinoAdapter(pinoLogger);

// Bunyan
import { createBunyanAdapter } from 'redlock-universal';
const logger = createBunyanAdapter(bunyanLogger);

Debug stuck locks:

const inspection = await adapter.inspect('my-resource');
if (inspection) {
  console.log('Owner:', inspection.value);
  console.log('TTL:', inspection.ttl, 'ms');
}

Unit tests without Redis:

import { MemoryAdapter, createLock } from 'redlock-universal';

const adapter = new MemoryAdapter();
const lock = createLock({ adapter, key: 'test', ttl: 5000 });

// Use in tests
const handle = await lock.acquire();
await lock.release(handle);

// Cleanup
adapter.clear();
await adapter.disconnect();

[!WARNING] MemoryAdapter is for testing only. Not suitable for production.

Create multiple locks or specialized configurations:

import { createLocks, createPrefixedLock, createRedlocks } from 'redlock-universal';

// Multiple locks with shared config
const locks = createLocks(adapter, ['user:123', 'account:456'], {
  ttl: 15000,
  retryAttempts: 5,
});

// Lock with automatic key prefixing
const userLock = createPrefixedLock(adapter, 'locks:user:', '123', {
  ttl: 10000,
});
// Key: "locks:user:123"

// Multiple distributed locks
const redlocks = createRedlocks(
  [adapter1, adapter2, adapter3],
  ['resource1', 'resource2'],
  { ttl: 15000, quorum: 2 }
);

Choose the optimal mode for your use case:

// Standard (default) - full monitoring and observability
const lock = createLock({ adapter, key: 'resource', performance: 'standard' });

// Lean - memory-optimized, minimal overhead (~3% faster)
const lock = createLock({ adapter, key: 'resource', performance: 'lean' });

// Enterprise - standard with advanced observability
const lock = createLock({ adapter, key: 'resource', performance: 'enterprise' });

SimpleLock includes a built-in circuit breaker that fast-fails when Redis is persistently unavailable, avoiding long TCP timeouts on every acquire() call.

States: Closed (normal) → Open (fast-fail) → Half-Open (single probe) → Closed

// Enabled by default — customize thresholds:
const lock = createLock({
  adapter, key: 'resource',
  circuitBreaker: {
    failureThreshold: 5,       // Consecutive failures to trip (default: 5)
    resetTimeout: 60000,       // Ms before probing recovery (default: 60000)
    healthCheckInterval: 30000 // Ms between health checks (default: 30000)
  }
});

// Disable entirely:
const lock = createLock({ adapter, key: 'resource', circuitBreaker: false });

// Check breaker state:
const health = lock.getHealth();
// { healthy, lastCheck, connected, circuitBreaker: { state, failures, openedAt } }

The circuit breaker is available in standard and enterprise performance modes. The lean mode omits it for minimal memory overhead.

Error Handling

import {
  LockAcquisitionError,
  LockReleaseError,
  LockExtensionError,
} from 'redlock-universal';

try {
  const handle = await lock.acquire();
  await lock.extend(handle, 10000);
  await lock.release(handle);
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof LockAcquisitionError) {
    // Lock is held by another process
  } else if (error instanceof LockExtensionError) {
    // Extension failed (lock expired or lost)
  } else if (error instanceof LockReleaseError) {
    // Release failed (handle mismatch or connection issue)
  }
}

FAQ

Q: SimpleLock vs RedLock? SimpleLock = single Redis (faster). RedLock = multiple Redis instances (fault-tolerant).

Q: What happens if Redis restarts? Lua scripts auto-reload on NOSCRIPT errors. No action needed.

Q: Performance overhead of auto-extension? Minimal (<1ms). Uses atomic Lua scripts.

Best Practices

• Use using() over manual acquire/release - guarantees cleanup, handles auto-extension
• Set appropriate TTL - long enough for work, short enough for quick recovery
• Handle signal.aborted - gracefully exit when lock is lost during long operations
• Use unique lock keys - namespace by resource type (e.g., user:123:cart)
• Monitor lock metrics - track acquisition failures and extension patterns

Testing

npm test                    # Unit tests
npm run test:integration    # Integration tests (requires Redis)
npm run test:coverage       # Coverage report
npm run test:docker         # Docker-based tests (all services)

Troubleshooting

[!WARNING] Lock not releasing? Ensure handle matches stored value. Check if TTL expired before release.

[!WARNING] High P99 latency? Check Redis server load. Consider performance: 'lean' mode.

Migration

// Before (node-redlock)
const redlock = new Redlock([ioredis], { retryCount: 3 });
const lock = await redlock.acquire(['resource'], 30000);
await lock.release();

// After (redlock-universal)
const redlock = createRedlock({
  adapters: [new IoredisAdapter(ioredis)],
  key: 'resource',
  ttl: 30000,
  retryAttempts: 3,
});
const handle = await redlock.acquire();
await redlock.release(handle);

// Before (redis-semaphore)
const mutex = new Mutex(ioredis, 'resource');
await mutex.acquire();
await mutex.release();

// After (redlock-universal)
const lock = createLock({
  adapter: new IoredisAdapter(ioredis),
  key: 'resource',
});
const handle = await lock.acquire();
await lock.release(handle);

Links

• Examples
• Valkey Setup Guide
• Redis Cluster Examples
• Changelog
• Issue Tracker
• Discussions

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md. Issues and PRs welcome.

License

MIT