Is it safe to treat (whole or part of) redis-cli as public api?

[zzJinux]

What I mean by public api is "features that are announced in release notes for their changes."

Say, you want to build a automated Redis Cluster management system. There are only two official resources for redis-cli: https://redis.io/docs/ui/cli/ and $ redis-cli --help. Some elements of redis-cli are covered in one of those (or both). However, some are covered in neither of those (e.g. detailed manual for Cluster Management Commands).

Regarding minimizing unintended changes to the build over time, how should I treat redis-cli?

1. Don't use it at all. Use client libraries built on top of RESP instead
2. Don't use undocumented elements (e.g. Cluster Management Commands)
3. (or else?)

Thank you.

[yossigo]

From a compatibility perspective, it's safer to use a client and communicate with Redis directly. We also identify and document redis-cli changes, but by definition, it's a more loose interface.

Specifically, regarding cluster management, there's a problem with redis-cli hosting all this logic itself, and solving it is on the Cluster V2 roadmap (#8948).