redis: got elements in GEOSEARCH reply, expected at least

Error message

redis: got %d elements in GEOSEARCH reply, expected at least %d

What it means

Thrown by GeoSearchLocationCmd.readReply (command.go:5140). For each result entry the parser expects at least one element per requested WITH* flag (WITHDist/WITHHash/WITHCoord), since Redis echoes back exactly those fields. If an entry is shorter than the expected minimum the parser aborts to avoid consuming the next entry's bytes.

Solutions

Run the equivalent GEOSEARCH ... WITHCOORD WITHDIST WITHHASH in redis-cli and confirm each entry has the requested number of fields.
Remove any proxy that may be trimming the reply, or simplify the query to drop WITH* flags and confirm the error disappears.
Upgrade go-redis; the parser drains extra fields but still enforces the minimum.
If transient, retry on a healthy connection.

Example fix

// before
q := &redis.GeoSearchLocationQuery{GeoSearchQuery: redis.GeoSearchQuery{...}, Sort: "ASC"}
q.WithCoord = true; q.WithDist = true; q.WithHash = true
res, err := client.GeoSearchLocation(ctx, "geo", q).Result()
// after: confirm the server really returns the requested fields; if a proxy strips them,
// bypass the proxy or drop the WITH* flags you don't strictly need.

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Try / catch

res, err := client.GeoSearchLocation(ctx, key, q).Result()
if err != nil {
    // optionally retry without WITH* flags to confirm a server/proxy shape issue
    q.WithCoord, q.WithDist, q.WithHash = false, false, false
    res, err = client.GeoSearchLocation(ctx, key, q).Result()
    return res, err
}

Prevention

Run GEOSEARCH with the same WITH* flags in redis-cli to confirm the server returns the expected fields.
Remove RESP-rewriting intermediaries.

When it happens

Trigger: client.GeoSearchLocation(ctx, key, q) where the GEOSEARCH reply's per-entry array is shorter than the WITH* flags requested. In practice this means a non-conformant server/proxy that drops requested fields, or a corrupted/truncated reply.

Common situations: A RESP-rewriting proxy between client and Redis; a Redis fork that returns a different GEOSEARCH shape; rare corruption during heavy load or a flaky connection.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of go-redis/redis@36d97525cd (2026-08-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/78af3fed133fbb86. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at command.go:5140

	// parser read into the next reply; extra elements are drained below so a
	// longer entry (e.g. from a newer server) can't leave frames on the wire.
	withLen := 1
	if cmd.opt.WithDist {
		withLen++
	}
	if cmd.opt.WithHash {
		withLen++
	}
	if cmd.opt.WithCoord {
		withLen++
	}
	for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
		nn, err := rd.ReadArrayLen()
		if err != nil {
			return err
		}
		if nn < withLen {
			return fmt.Errorf("redis: got %d elements in GEOSEARCH reply, expected at least %d", nn, withLen)
		}

		var loc GeoLocation

		loc.Name, err = rd.ReadString()
		if err != nil {
			return err
		}
		if cmd.opt.WithDist {
			loc.Dist, err = rd.ReadFloat()
			if err != nil {
				return err
			}
		}
		if cmd.opt.WithHash {
			loc.GeoHash, err = rd.ReadInt()
			if err != nil {
				return err

View on GitHub (pinned to 36d97525cd)