go-redis/redis · error

redis: unknown message: %T

Error message

redis: unknown message: %T

What it means

Error "redis: unknown message: %T" thrown in go-redis/redis.

Source

Thrown at pubsub.go:550

// ReceiveMessage returns a Message or error ignoring Subscription and Pong
// messages. This is low-level API and in most cases Channel should be used
// instead.
func (c *PubSub) ReceiveMessage(ctx context.Context) (*Message, error) {
	for {
		msg, err := c.Receive(ctx)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}

		switch msg := msg.(type) {
		case *Subscription:
			// Ignore.
		case *Pong:
			// Ignore.
		case *Message:
			return msg, nil
		default:
			err := fmt.Errorf("redis: unknown message: %T", msg)
			return nil, err
		}
	}
}

func (c *PubSub) getContext() context.Context {
	if c.cmd != nil {
		return c.cmd.ctx
	}
	return context.Background()
}

//------------------------------------------------------------------------------

// Channel returns a Go channel for concurrently receiving messages.
// The channel is closed together with the PubSub. If the Go channel
// is blocked full for 1 minute the message is dropped.
// Receive* APIs can not be used after channel is created.

View on GitHub (pinned to 36d97525cd)

Solutions

1. Type-switch on known message types (Message, Pong, Subscription) before casting
2. Extend the switch for the type shown in the error

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at pubsub.go:550 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: Always include a default branch in pubsub message type switches.

AI-assisted analysis of go-redis/redis@36d97525cd (2026-08-06). Data as JSON: /data/errors/a9f5a6e44abd4c60.json. Report an issue: GitHub.