Where apps hide your files

Finding dump.rdb and redis.conf

Updated 2026-10-28 · 5 min read

Redis writes its snapshot to a file called dump.rdb in whatever folder its dir setting names. Homebrew sets that folder for you, but a Redis started by hand writes to the folder you were standing in.

The usual locations

For a Homebrew install (brew install redis):

/opt/homebrew/etc/redis.conf          # config, Apple silicon
/opt/homebrew/var/db/redis/dump.rdb   # data, Apple silicon
/usr/local/etc/redis.conf             # config, Intel Mac
/usr/local/var/db/redis/dump.rdb      # data, Intel Mac

The Homebrew formula installs redis.conf into the prefix's etc folder and rewrites its dir line to the prefix's var/db/redis/, so the two pairs differ only by prefix. The Mac used for this guide has both Homebrew prefixes, with Redis under /usr/local: its redis.conf sets dir /usr/local/var/db/redis/ and dbfilename dump.rdb, and that folder holds a dump.rdb. Confirm yours with the next section.

Ask Redis where it writes

Do not guess. If the server is running, ask it:

redis-cli config get dir
redis-cli config get dbfilename

dir is the folder and dbfilename is the snapshot name, usually dump.rdb. Your snapshot is the two joined. Neither value is secret. If the server needs a password, run redis-cli --askpass, which prompts for it, rather than typing the password into a command that ends up in shell history.

If Redis is not running, read just the relevant lines from the config rather than the whole file (it can contain a password):

grep -E '^(dir|dbfilename|appendonly|logfile) ' /opt/homebrew/etc/redis.conf

Swap in /usr/local if that is your prefix. The full file is long, about 94 KB on this Mac, and is mostly comments.

When dump.rdb ends up somewhere odd

Redis's persistence documentation says it saves snapshots to a binary file called dump.rdb by default. Started with no config file, redis-server uses its built-in setting of dir ./, which means the folder you ran the command from. So dump.rdb can appear in your home folder, on the Desktop or in a project. If you cannot find your data after launching Redis a different way, search for dump.rdb (see the end of this post) and compare dates.

Redis Stack, installed from Redis's own Homebrew tap, behaves differently again. Its redis-stack-server launcher passes its own --dir on the command line, so the config file's dir does not apply: it uses /opt/homebrew/var/db/redis-stack whenever /opt/homebrew/var exists, otherwise /usr/local/var/db/redis-stack, and the current folder if it cannot write there. On the Mac used for this guide, Redis Stack is installed under /usr/local, yet its launcher created /opt/homebrew/var/db/redis-stack because the Apple silicon prefix also exists. That is easy to miss when you are looking under the wrong prefix.

Config files you may see

File	What it is
redis.conf	The config Homebrew's service loads
redis.conf.default	The newer default config from an upgrade. Homebrew does not overwrite a redis.conf you may have changed, so it writes the new version here
redis-sentinel.conf and its .default	Config for Redis Sentinel, only used if you run it
redis-stack.conf	A short config copied in by the Redis Stack server package

The redis.conf.default behaviour matters after upgrades: Redis's macOS install guide notes that new features enabled in the newer default stay off until you compare the two files and carry your changes across. Back up redis.conf before you edit it, and restart afterwards with brew services restart redis. The same guide gives brew services start redis to run Redis in the background and redis-server $(brew --prefix)/etc/redis.conf to start it by hand with the same config. Redis also publishes a cask in its own redis/redis tap; that one installs its own redis.conf in the same etc folder but does not work with brew services.

What dump.rdb is

An RDB file is a compact point-in-time snapshot of the dataset. Redis writes each new snapshot under a temporary name and renames it into place only when it is complete, so, as the Redis docs say, copying the file while the server runs is safe. That makes it the easiest thing to back up: copy dump.rdb somewhere, with a date in the name.

If you turned on appendonly yes, Redis 7 and later also keep an append-only log in a folder named by appenddirname (the default config uses appendonlydir) inside dir. That folder holds several files tracked by a manifest, and they go together, so copy it whole or not at all. When both AOF and RDB are on, Redis rebuilds the data from the AOF at startup.

Moving data to another Mac

1. Stop Redis (brew services stop redis), or run redis-cli save first so the file is current.
2. Copy dump.rdb to the new Mac. Check the target folder there with config get dir first.
3. Stop Redis on the new Mac, put the file in place, then start Redis, which loads the snapshot at startup. If the server is running when you replace the file, it overwrites your copy at the next save, and if the new Mac has appendonly yes, it loads the AOF instead of your snapshot.

Clearing space

dump.rdb is as large as your dataset, and on a development Mac it is usually small (under 3 KB on this one). The Homebrew service sends Redis's log output to var/log/redis.log under the prefix, because the shipped config logs to standard output; here that file is about 110 KB. Move old logs to the Trash in Finder with Redis stopped. Never delete dump.rdb or appendonlydir unless you want an empty Redis on the next start.

redis-cli keeps typed commands in ~/.rediscli_history, and commands can contain keys or passwords. Do not share that file.

Why Spotlight and Finder skip these

/usr/local/var and /opt/homebrew/var are system locations that Spotlight and Finder searches leave out, and Finder hides /usr and /opt entirely. dump.rdb is a binary file with no preview. Searching for "redis" in Finder finds apps and downloads, not the data.

Finding it again later

Type dump.rdb into Everywhere to list every snapshot on the Mac, including a stray one in your home folder or a project from a Redis you started by hand. Type redis.conf to see every config file at once, .default copies included. Press ⌘↵ on a hit to reveal it in Finder, and compare the modified dates to work out which one is live. It matches file names only, so it cannot show the keys inside a snapshot.

Common questions

Where is dump.rdb on a Mac?

With the Homebrew formula it is in /opt/homebrew/var/db/redis on Apple silicon or /usr/local/var/db/redis on Intel. Run redis-cli config get dir to see the folder your running server uses.

Where is redis.conf on macOS with Homebrew?

At /opt/homebrew/etc/redis.conf on Apple silicon and /usr/local/etc/redis.conf on Intel. After an upgrade, the newer default sits beside it as redis.conf.default.

Why is dump.rdb in the wrong folder?

If you start redis-server without a config file, its working directory is used as dir, so the snapshot lands in the folder you ran it from. Redis Stack's launcher sets its own data folder under var/db/redis-stack.

Is it safe to copy dump.rdb while Redis is running?

Yes. Redis writes each snapshot under a temporary name and renames it into place when complete, so a copy is a complete snapshot.