How to set expiry time on a Redis key using redis-py?

[YeshitaMotwani]

I want to store a key-value pair in Redis with an automatic expiry time
using the redis-py library in Python.

For example, I want a session token to expire after 30 minutes.

What is the correct way to do this using redis-py?

[lakshit2234]

You can set expiry time in two ways using redis-py:

Option 1 — setex() (set + expiry in one call):

import redis

r = redis.Redis(host='localhost', port=6379, db=0)

# Store key with 30 minute expiry (1800 seconds)
r.setex('session_token', 1800, 'your_token_value')

Option 2 — set() with ex parameter:

r.set('session_token', 'your_token_value', ex=1800)

Option 3 — Set key first, then add expiry with expire():

r.set('session_token', 'your_token_value')
r.expire('session_token', 1800)  # seconds

Check remaining TTL:

ttl = r.ttl('session_token')
print(ttl)  # seconds remaining, -1 = no expiry, -2 = key doesn't exist

For millisecond precision use pexpire():

r.set('session_token', 'your_token_value')
r.pexpire('session_token', 1800000)  # milliseconds

setex() or set(..., ex=...) are the most common approaches for session tokens.