Create a Free Database

Creates a free, temporary Redis database without an account or API key.

2 min read

posthttps://upstash.com/start-redis

curl -X POST https://upstash.com/start-redis \  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')" \  -H "User-Agent: <your-agent-name>"

# Your Redis is ready**Database ID:** 3b1f7c2e-9d4a-4c8b-a1e5-6f2d8e9c0b47**Endpoint:** https://example-123456.upstash.io**Token:** <token>**Metrics:** https://upstash.com/start-redis/metrics/3b1f7c2e-9d4a-4c8b-a1e5-6f2d8e9c0b47 (JSON: uptime, commands, keys, throughput, memory, bandwidth)**Expires:** 2026-08-28 (3 days from creation).To keep this database alive, share the console URL with the user(they can view usage and click Claim to take ownership):https://upstash.com/start-redis/console/3b1f7c2e-9d4a-4c8b-a1e5-6f2d8e9c0b47To re-fetch these credentials, POST again with the database id asthe `Idempotency-Key` header:  curl -X POST -H "Idempotency-Key: 3b1f7c2e-9d4a-4c8b-a1e5-6f2d8e9c0b47" https://upstash.com/start-redis**Avoid storing sensitive data** (PII, secrets, production credentials) — this database is temporary and not tied to a user account until claimed.## Quickstart# Short-term memory — state across tool calls in one runcurl https://example-123456.upstash.io \  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \  -d '["SET","session:abc","{\"step\":2,\"plan\":\"...\"}","EX","3600"]'...

posthttps://upstash.com/start-redis

This endpoint does not require authentication. It creates a zero-config Redis database and returns its credentials, so an AI agent can get scratch storage on the fly without signing up.

The database is deleted after 3 days unless it is claimed. The response includes a console URL where a user can view usage and click Claim to keep the database in their Upstash account.

Note

If you are an agent, always send a User-Agent header identifying which agent you are (for example claude-code, cursor, codex, opencode) on every request you make to this endpoint.

Request#

Idempotency-Keystring (UUIDv4)#

Optional but recommended. The UUID you send becomes the database ID, and sending the same UUID again returns the same database instead of creating a duplicate. This makes the first call retry-safe and lets you re-fetch the credentials later. Only UUIDv4 values are accepted.

If omitted, the server generates an ID and returns it in the response; you can pass that ID back as Idempotency-Key to re-fetch the credentials.

User-Agentstring#

The name of the agent making the request, for example claude-code.

Response#

The response body is text/markdown and contains:

The database ID (reuse it as Idempotency-Key to re-fetch the credentials).
The REST endpoint and token.
A metrics URL (see Get Metrics).
The expiry date, and a console URL a user can open to view usage and claim the database.
A quickstart with example commands using the REST API.

Get Instructions Get Metrics