How to Use LINDEX in Redis: Syntax and Examples

Use the LINDEX command in Redis to get the element at a specific index from a list stored at a key. The syntax is LINDEX key index, where index is zero-based and can be negative to count from the end.

Syntax

The LINDEX command retrieves an element from a list by its index.

• key: The name of the list in Redis.
• index: The position of the element you want, starting at 0 for the first element. Negative numbers count from the end (-1 is the last element).

redis

LINDEX key index

Example

This example shows how to add elements to a list and then get an element by its index using LINDEX.

redis

127.0.0.1:6379> RPUSH fruits "apple" "banana" "cherry"
(integer) 3
127.0.0.1:6379> LINDEX fruits 1
"banana"
127.0.0.1:6379> LINDEX fruits -1
"cherry"

Output

"banana"
"cherry"

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes when using LINDEX include:

• Using an index out of range returns (nil) instead of an error.
• Forgetting that indexes start at 0, so LINDEX key 0 gets the first element.
• Using LINDEX on a key that is not a list returns an error.

redis

127.0.0.1:6379> LINDEX fruits 10
(nil)
127.0.0.1:6379> SET notalist "hello"
OK
127.0.0.1:6379> LINDEX notalist 0
(error) WRONGTYPE Operation against a key holding the wrong kind of value

Output

(nil)
(error) WRONGTYPE Operation against a key holding the wrong kind of value

Quick Reference

Command	Description
LINDEX key index	Get element at index from list key
RPUSH key value [value ...]	Add elements to the end of the list
LLEN key	Get the length of the list

Key Takeaways

LINDEX gets an element from a Redis list by zero-based index.

Negative indexes count from the end of the list (-1 is last).

Out-of-range indexes return null, not an error.

LINDEX only works on list keys; other types cause errors.

Use RPUSH to add elements before using LINDEX to retrieve them.