redis-py Retrying on timeouts not working when executing

The Fix

pip install redis==7.1.0

Based on closed redis/redis-py issue #2811 · PR/commit linked

Production note: Most teams hit this during upgrades or environment changes. Roll out with a canary and smoke critical endpoints (health, OpenAPI/docs) before 100%.

Jump to Verify Open PR/Commit

@@ -1379,7 +1379,7 @@ def load_scripts(self):
         """
         Close the connection, raise an exception if we were watching,
-        and raise an exception if retry_on_timeout is not set,
+        and raise an exception if TimeoutError is not part of retry_on_error,
         or the error is not a TimeoutError

repro.py

>> import redis
>> redis_cli = redis.Redis(socket_timeout=10, retry_on_timeout=True)
>> pubsub = redis_cli.pubsub()
>> pubsub.subscribe("channel")
>> for item in pubsub.listen():
...     print(item["type"])
... 
subscribe
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 210, in _read_from_socket
    data = self._sock.recv(socket_read_size)
socket.timeout: timed out

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1664, in listen
    response = self.handle_message(self.parse_response(block=True))
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1542, in parse_response
    response = self._execute(conn, try_read)
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1520, in _execute
    lambda error: self._disconnect_raise_connect(conn, error),
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/retry.py", line 49, in call_with_retry
    fail(error)
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1520, in <lambda>
    lambda error: self._disconnect_raise_connect(conn, error),
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1507, in _disconnect_raise_connect
    raise error
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/retry.py", line 46, in call_with_retry
    return do()
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1519, in <lambda>
    lambda: command(*args, **kwargs),
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1540, in try_read
    return conn.read_response(disconnect_on_error=False)
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 874, in read_response
    response = self._parser.read_response(disable_decoding=disable_decoding)
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 347, in read_response
    result = self._read_response(disable_decoding=disable_decoding)
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 357, in _read_response
    raw = self._buffer.readline()
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 260, in readline
    self._read_from_socket()
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 223, in _read_from_socket
    raise TimeoutError("Timeout reading from socket")
redis.exceptions.TimeoutError: Timeout reading from socket

verify

Re-run the minimal reproduction on your broken version, then apply the fix and re-run.

fix.md

Option A — Upgrade to fixed release\npip install redis==7.1.0\nWhen NOT to use: This fix should not be used if the application relies on the original timeout behavior.\n\n

Why This Fix Works in Production

Trigger: >> import redis
Mechanism: The retry_on_timeout parameter is not propagated to the ConnectionPool during Redis client initialization
Why the fix works: Fixes the issue of timeout retrying not working during Redis Pipeline execution by using `retry_on_error` instead of `retry_on_timeout` inside `_disconnect_raise_reset`. (first fixed release: 7.1.0).

Production impact:

If left unfixed, the same config can fail only in production (env differences), causing startup failures or partial feature outages.

Why This Breaks in Prod

Shows up under Python 3.10.10 in real deployments (not just unit tests).
The retry_on_timeout parameter is not propagated to the ConnectionPool during Redis client initialization
Surfaces as: >> import redis

Proof / Evidence

GitHub issue: #2811
Fix PR: https://github.com/redis/redis-py/pull/2812
First fixed release: 7.1.0
Reproduced locally: No (not executed)
Last verified: 2026-02-08
Confidence: 0.85
Did this fix it?: Yes (upstream fix exists)
Own content ratio: 0.31

Discussion

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

Jump to Sources Open on GitHub

“I note that this bug also affects instances of PubSub”

@mburcher · 2023-08-02 · source

Failure Signature (Search String)

>> import redis

Error Message

Stack trace

error.txt

Error Message
-------------
>> import redis
>> redis_cli = redis.Redis(socket_timeout=10, retry_on_timeout=True)
>> pubsub = redis_cli.pubsub()
>> pubsub.subscribe("channel")
>> for item in pubsub.listen():
...     print(item["type"])
... 
subscribe
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 210, in _read_from_socket
    data = self._sock.recv(socket_read_size)
socket.timeout: timed out

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1664, in listen
    response = self.handle_message(self.parse_response(block=True))
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1542, in parse_response
    response = self._execute(conn, try_read)
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1520, in _execute
    lambda error: self._disconnect_raise_connect(conn, error),
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/retry.py", line 49, in call_with_retry
    fail(error)
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1520, in <lambda>
    lambda error: self._disconnect_raise_connect(conn, error),
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1507, in _disconnect_raise_connect
    raise error
  Fil
... (truncated) ...

Minimal Reproduction

repro.py

>> import redis
>> redis_cli = redis.Redis(socket_timeout=10, retry_on_timeout=True)
>> pubsub = redis_cli.pubsub()
>> pubsub.subscribe("channel")
>> for item in pubsub.listen():
...     print(item["type"])
... 
subscribe
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 210, in _read_from_socket
    data = self._sock.recv(socket_read_size)
socket.timeout: timed out

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1664, in listen
    response = self.handle_message(self.parse_response(block=True))
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1542, in parse_response
    response = self._execute(conn, try_read)
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1520, in _execute
    lambda error: self._disconnect_raise_connect(conn, error),
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/retry.py", line 49, in call_with_retry
    fail(error)
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1520, in <lambda>
    lambda error: self._disconnect_raise_connect(conn, error),
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1507, in _disconnect_raise_connect
    raise error
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/retry.py", line 46, in call_with_retry
    return do()
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1519, in <lambda>
    lambda: command(*args, **kwargs),
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/client.py", line 1540, in try_read
    return conn.read_response(disconnect_on_error=False)
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 874, in read_response
    response = self._parser.read_response(disable_decoding=disable_decoding)
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 347, in read_response
    result = self._read_response(disable_decoding=disable_decoding)
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 357, in _read_response
    raw = self._buffer.readline()
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 260, in readline
    self._read_from_socket()
  File "/venv_test/lib/python3.7/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 223, in _read_from_socket
    raise TimeoutError("Timeout reading from socket")
redis.exceptions.TimeoutError: Timeout reading from socket

Environment

Python: 3.10.10

What Broke

Timeouts occur during pipeline execution, leading to unhandled TimeoutError exceptions.

Why It Broke

The retry_on_timeout parameter is not propagated to the ConnectionPool during Redis client initialization

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 used if the application relies on the original timeout behavior.

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/2812

First fixed release: 7.1.0

Last verified: 2026-02-08. Validate in your environment.

When NOT to Use This Fix

This fix should not be used if the application relies on the original timeout behavior.

Verify Fix

verify

Re-run the minimal reproduction on your broken version, then apply the fix and re-run.

Did This Fix Work in Your Case?

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

Prevention

Add a TLS smoke test that performs a real handshake in CI (include CA bundle validation and hostname checks).
Alert on handshake failures by error string and endpoint to catch cert/CA changes quickly.
Track RSS + object counts after deployments; alert on monotonic growth and GC pressure.
Add a long-running test that repeats the failing call path and asserts stable memory.

Version Compatibility Table

Version	Status
7.1.0	Fixed

Related Issues

No related fixes found.

Cluster: redis-py:configuration-error redis-py hub redis-py best practices All hubs All clusters

Related clusters: Retry storm Data consistency Race condition

Sources

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

redis-py Retrying on timeouts not working when executing Redis Pipeline (Fix)