Using REDIS for sessions

[joho1968]

Using Flight and liking it 😊 I use it in https://tinymash.joho.se, and a few other things.

But, I'm trying to get sessions working with redis. Flight will throw errors left, right, and center, when I do that.

I've tried all sorts of configurations that work for my other PHP creations, including stuff like this:

php_admin_value[session.save_handler] = redis
php_admin_value[session.save_path] = "tcp://127.0.0.1:6379"
php_admin_value[session.name] = TMJOHO
php_admin_value[session.cookie_secure] = 1
php_admin_value[session.use_strict_mode] = 1
php_admin_value[redis.session.locking_enabled] = 1
php_admin_value[redis.session.prefix] = "tinymash_joho:"

But it doesn't matter. Flight will throw with

[18-Jun-2026 15:38:54 Europe/Berlin] *** EXCEPTION: session_start(): Redis connection not available (2)
[18-Jun-2026 15:38:54 Europe/Berlin] #0 [internal function]: flight\Engine->handleError()
#1 tinymash.joho.se/app/classes/TinyMashSecurity.php(55): session_start()
#2 tinymash.joho.se/app/classes/TinyMashSecurity.php(360): app\classes\TinyMashSecurity->startSession()
#3 tinymash.joho.se/app/classes/TinyMashSecurity.php(365): app\classes\TinyMashSecurity->getRequestVisitorContext()
#4 tinymash.joho.se/app/controllers/ContentController.php(973): app\classes\TinyMashSecurity->isRequestAuthenticated()
#5 tinymash.joho.se/app/controllers/ContentController.php(911): app\controllers\ContentController->isAuthenticatedPublicVisitor()
#6 tinymash.joho.se/app/controllers/ContentController.php(818): app\controllers\ContentController->shouldUsePublicPageCache()
#7 tinymash.joho.se/app/controllers/ContentController.php(153): app\controllers\ContentController->renderCachedPublicPageIfAvailable()
#8 tinymash.joho.se/app/config/routes.inc.php(528): app\controllers\ContentController->pathTwoSegments()
#9 [internal function]: {closure:tinymash.joho.se/app/config/routes.inc.php:519}()
#10 tinymash.joho.se/vendor/flightphp/core/flight/core/Dispatcher.php(361): call_user_func_array()
#11 tinymash.joho.se/vendor/flightphp/core/flight/core/Dispatcher.php(294): flight\core\Dispatcher->invokeCallable()
#12 tinymash.joho.se/vendor/flightphp/core/flight/Engine.php(647): flight\core\Dispatcher->execute()
#13 [internal function]: flight\Engine->_start()
#14 tinymash.joho.se/vendor/flightphp/core/flight/core/Dispatcher.php(383): call_user_func_array()
#15 tinymash.joho.se/vendor/flightphp/core/flight/core/Dispatcher.php(294): flight\core\Dispatcher->invokeCallable()
#16 tinymash.joho.se/vendor/flightphp/core/flight/core/Dispatcher.php(141): flight\core\Dispatcher->execute()
#17 tinymash.joho.se/vendor/flightphp/core/flight/core/Dispatcher.php(104): flight\core\Dispatcher->runEvent()
#18 tinymash.joho.se/vendor/flightphp/core/flight/Engine.php(154): flight\core\Dispatcher->run()
#19 tinymash.joho.se/app/config/bootstrap.php(301): flight\Engine->__call()
#20 tinymash.joho.se/public/index.php(8): require('...')
#21 {main}

Did I miss something in the documentation, or doesn't redis sessions work with Flight?

[joho1968]

Redis is available.

This works: sudo runuser -u tinymash.joho.se -- nc -zv 127.0.0.1 6379

[mjisoton]

It's not FlightPHP that is throwing error, it's the native session_start().
If your Redis instance requires authentication, you need to add the 'auth' parameter on the session.save_path, I think.

For example:

php_admin_value[session.save_path] = "tcp://127.0.0.1:6379?auth=passwordHere&database=1&timeout=2.5"

When the Redis instance is local, I usually just connect with UNIX socket. Less overhead, faster and lighter.

[joho1968]

It's not FlightPHP that is throwing error, it's the native session_start(). If your Redis instance requires authentication, you need to add the 'auth' parameter on the session.save_path, I think.

The odd part is that it works, with the same configuration parameters, for other PHP things I do on that server. But if it works for you using Flight, then the error has to be with me I guess. The problem is that the only difference between an app that works and an app that doesn't, is Flight (in my case).

There's no password/auth requirements for redis there.

When the Redis instance is local, I usually just connect with UNIX socket. Less overhead, faster and lighter.

True.

[mjisoton]

The odd part is that it works, with the same configuration parameters, for other PHP things I do on that server. But if it works for you using Flight, then the error has to be with me I guess.

I can confirm that all my FlightPHP applications running in Apache/Nginx + PHP-FPM 8.x with redis as a session handler are working with no problem. One of them with over 5.000 pageviews daily.

The error happens only after your session_start() call.
Your other PHP things also call the same function?

Also, can you create a 'phpinfo.php' with a phpinfo(), and share with us the content of the 'redis' and the 'session' sections?