redis/redis-py · error · RedisError

SHUTDOWN seems to have failed.

Error message

SHUTDOWN seems to have failed.

What it means

Raised as a RedisError by shutdown after the command executes WITHOUT raising a ConnectionError. A successful SHUTDOWN kills the server, so the connection is always dropped and a ConnectionError is expected and caught (the method returns normally). If no ConnectionError occurred, the shutdown did not complete as expected, so a RedisError is raised.

Source

Thrown at redis/commands/core.py:2129

        if save and nosave:
            raise DataError("SHUTDOWN save and nosave cannot both be set")
        args = ["SHUTDOWN"]
        if save:
            args.append("SAVE")
        if nosave:
            args.append("NOSAVE")
        if now:
            args.append("NOW")
        if force:
            args.append("FORCE")
        if abort:
            args.append("ABORT")
        try:
            self.execute_command(*args, **kwargs)
        except ConnectionError:
            # a ConnectionError here is expected
            return
        raise RedisError("SHUTDOWN seems to have failed.")

    @overload
    def slaveof(
        self: SyncClientProtocol,
        host: str | None = None,
        port: int | None = None,
        **kwargs,
    ) -> bool: ...

    @overload
    def slaveof(
        self: AsyncClientProtocol,
        host: str | None = None,
        port: int | None = None,
        **kwargs,
    ) -> Awaitable[bool]: ...

    def slaveof(

View on GitHub (pinned to da03cdc7e8)

Solutions

1. Verify the Redis server actually shut down (e.g., check process or port).
2. If behind a proxy, connect directly to the Redis node for SHUTDOWN.
3. In test environments using a mock server, expect and handle this error or mock the ConnectionError.

Example fix

# before
r.shutdown()  # raises RedisError in test/mock env
# after
try:
    r.shutdown()
except RedisError:
    # connection wasn't dropped — verify server state externally
    pass

from redis.exceptions import RedisError, ConnectionError
try:
    r.shutdown()
except ConnectionError:
    pass  # expected — server is shutting down
except RedisError:
    # shutdown did not behave as expected — investigate
    log.warning('SHUTDOWN did not drop the connection')

When it happens

Trigger: The server responded to SHUTDOWN without closing the connection (unexpected server behavior). A network proxy or connection pool intercepted and suppressed the disconnect. The server was configured to ignore SHUTDOWN (e.g., via rename-command).

Common situations: Running behind a proxy (Twemproxy, Envoy) that keeps the connection alive. Server version or config that doesn't actually shut down. Mock/fake Redis in tests that doesn't drop the connection.

Related errors

• SHUTDOWN save and nosave cannot both be set
• Connection closed by server.
• Buffer is closed.
• Connection closed by server.
• A {type(error).__name__} occurred while watching one or more

AI-assisted analysis of redis/redis-py@da03cdc7e8 (2026-08-04). Data as JSON: /data/errors/b088730f62001e01.json. Report an issue: GitHub.