redis-py Instantiating BlockingConnectionPool.from

The Fix

pip install redis==7.1.0

Based on closed redis/redis-py issue #2983 · 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

@@ -861,6 +861,7 @@ def to_bool(value) -> Optional[bool]:
         "health_check_interval": int,
         "ssl_check_hostname": to_bool,
+        "timeout": float,
     }
 )

repro.py

>> from redis.connection import BlockingConnectionPool
>> pool = BlockingConnectionPool.from_url("redis://127.0.0.1:6379/1?timeout=42")
>> pool.timeout
'42'
>> pool.get_connection("PING")
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/home/r0ro/.virtualenvs/backoffice/lib/python3.10/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 1262, in get_connection
    connection = self.pool.get(block=True, timeout=self.timeout)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.10/queue.py", line 172, in get
    elif timeout < 0:
TypeError: '<' not supported between instances of 'str' and 'int'

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: Do not use this fix if the timeout parameter is expected to remain a string.\n\n

Why This Fix Works in Production

Trigger: >> from redis.connection import BlockingConnectionPool
Mechanism: Missing cast in URL_QUERY_ARGUMENT_PARSERS for 'timeout' parameter causes a runtime TypeError
Why the fix works: Fixes the issue where the 'timeout' parameter in the URL query was not being cast to float, leading to a TypeError when used in comparisons. (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 in real deployments (not just unit tests).
Missing cast in URL_QUERY_ARGUMENT_PARSERS for 'timeout' parameter causes a runtime TypeError
Surfaces as: >> from redis.connection import BlockingConnectionPool

Proof / Evidence

GitHub issue: #2983
Fix PR: https://github.com/redis/redis-py/pull/2984
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: 0.50

Discussion

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

Jump to Sources Open on GitHub

“**Version**: 5.0.1 **Platform**: All **Description**: Missing cast in URL_QUERY_ARGUMENT_PARSERS for "timeout" parameter causes a runtime TypeError When instantiating a BlockingConnectionPool from url with timeout query parameter, timeout i”

Issue thread · issue description · source

Failure Signature (Search String)

>> from redis.connection import BlockingConnectionPool

Error Message

Stack trace

error.txt

Error Message
-------------
>> from redis.connection import BlockingConnectionPool
>> pool = BlockingConnectionPool.from_url("redis://127.0.0.1:6379/1?timeout=42")
>> pool.timeout
'42'
>> pool.get_connection("PING")
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/home/r0ro/.virtualenvs/backoffice/lib/python3.10/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 1262, in get_connection
    connection = self.pool.get(block=True, timeout=self.timeout)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.10/queue.py", line 172, in get
    elif timeout < 0:
TypeError: '<' not supported between instances of 'str' and 'int'

Minimal Reproduction

repro.py

>> from redis.connection import BlockingConnectionPool
>> pool = BlockingConnectionPool.from_url("redis://127.0.0.1:6379/1?timeout=42")
>> pool.timeout
'42'
>> pool.get_connection("PING")
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/home/r0ro/.virtualenvs/backoffice/lib/python3.10/site-packages/redis/connection.py", line 1262, in get_connection
    connection = self.pool.get(block=True, timeout=self.timeout)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.10/queue.py", line 172, in get
    elif timeout < 0:
TypeError: '<' not supported between instances of 'str' and 'int'

Environment

Python: 3.10

What Broke

Instantiating BlockingConnectionPool with timeout leads to TypeError during connection retrieval.

Why It Broke

Missing cast in URL_QUERY_ARGUMENT_PARSERS for 'timeout' parameter causes a runtime TypeError

Fix Options (Details)

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

pip install redis==7.1.0

When NOT to use: Do not use this fix if the timeout parameter is expected to remain a string.

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/2984

First fixed release: 7.1.0

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

When NOT to Use This Fix

Do not use this fix if the timeout parameter is expected to remain a string.

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 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.
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 Instantiating BlockingConnectionPool.from_url with timeout in query args fails (Fix)