redis-py TypeError: 'NoneType' object is not subscriptable

The Fix

pip install redis==7.1.0

Based on closed redis/redis-py issue #2436 · PR/commit linked

Production note: This tends to surface only under concurrency. Reproduce with load tests and watch for lock contention/cancellation paths.

Open PR/Commit

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ def __init__(
 
             fields = {}
-            if hascontent:
+            if hascontent and res[i + fields_offset] is not None:
                 fields = (

fix.md

Option A — Upgrade to fixed release\npip install redis==7.1.0\nWhen NOT to use: This fix should not be applied if the application relies on the previous behavior of crashing on null results.\n\n

Why This Fix Works in Production

Trigger: TypeError: 'NoneType' object is not subscriptable on search query
Mechanism: A race condition occurs when documents are removed while a search query is being performed
Why the fix works: Fixed a crash that occurs when a key expires while performing a search query. (first fixed release: 7.1.0).

Production impact:

If left unfixed, failures can be intermittent under concurrency (hard to reproduce; shows up as sporadic 5xx/timeouts).

Why This Breaks in Prod

A race condition occurs when documents are removed while a search query is being performed
Surfaces as: TypeError: 'NoneType' object is not subscriptable on search query

Proof / Evidence

GitHub issue: #2436
Fix PR: https://github.com/redis/redis-py/pull/2270
First fixed release: 7.1.0
Reproduced locally: No (not executed)
Last verified: 2026-02-07
Confidence: 0.95
Did this fix it?: Yes (upstream fix exists)
Own content ratio: 0.79

Discussion

High-signal excerpts from the issue thread (symptoms, repros, edge-cases).

Jump to Sources Open on GitHub

“@vampolo Thanks for reporting this! We have already encountered this problem and fixed it here https://github.com/redis/redis-py/pull/2270 The fix is included in version 4.4.0-rc1 which we…”

@dvora-h · 2022-10-29 · source

Failure Signature (Search String)

TypeError: 'NoneType' object is not subscriptable on search query

Error Message

Stack trace

error.txt

Error Message
-------------
TypeError: 'NoneType' object is not subscriptable on search query

What Broke

The application crashes with a TypeError when querying a Redis search index.

Why It Broke

A race condition occurs when documents are removed while a search query is being performed

Fix Options (Details)

Option A — Upgrade to fixed release Safe default (recommended)

pip install redis==7.1.0

When NOT to use: This fix should not be applied if the application relies on the previous behavior of crashing on null results.

Use when you can deploy the upstream fix. It is usually lower-risk than long-lived workarounds.

Fix reference: https://github.com/redis/redis-py/pull/2270

First fixed release: 7.1.0

Last verified: 2026-02-07. Validate in your environment.

When NOT to Use This Fix

This fix should not be applied if the application relies on the previous behavior of crashing on null results.

Did This Fix Work in Your Case?

Quick signal helps us prioritize which fixes to verify and improve.

Prevention

Add a stress test that runs high-concurrency workloads and fails on thread dumps / blocked locks.
Enable watchdog dumps in prod (faulthandler, thread dump endpoint) to capture deadlocks quickly.

Version Compatibility Table

Version	Status
7.1.0	Fixed

Related Issues

No related fixes found.

Cluster: redis-py:race-condition redis-py hub redis-py best practices All hubs All clusters

Related clusters: Configuration error Retry storm Data consistency

Sources

We don’t republish the full GitHub discussion text. Use the links above for context.

redis-py TypeError: 'NoneType' object is not subscriptable on search query (Fix)