TYPE

Returns the type of the value stored at the specified key.

Syntax

TYPE key

Parameters

• key: The name of the key for which you want to determine the type.

Details

• Available since: 1.0.0
• Time complexity: O(1)
• ACL categories: @read

The TYPE command is used to determine the type of value associated with a given key in Redis. The type can be one of the following:

• string
• list
• set
• zset (sorted set)
• hash
• none (if the key does not exist)

Examples

Checking the Type of a Key

To determine the type of a key:

TYPE mykey

If mykey is a string, the command will return string. If it's a list, the return value will be list, and so on.

Example Usage

1. Set a key with different types:

   SET mystring "hello"
   LPUSH mylist "world"
   SADD myset "foo"
   ZADD myzset 1 "bar"
   HSET myhash field "value"

2. Check the type of each key:

   TYPE mystring
   TYPE mylist
   TYPE myset
   TYPE myzset
   TYPE myhash

3. Example output:

   string
   list
   set
   zset
   hash

Non-existent Key

For a key that does not exist:

TYPE nonexistingkey

The reply will be:

none

RESP2/RESP3 Reply

• Simple string reply: The type of the key. The possible values are string, list, set, zset, hash, or none.

Example Reply

If the key mykey is a string:

"string"

If the key mykey does not exist:

"none"

Notes

• The TYPE command provides a quick way to determine the type of a value associated with a key, which can be useful for debugging and scripting.
• The command does not check the existence of the key. It will return none for keys that do not exist in the database.
• Redis keys can only hold one type of value at a time. The TYPE command helps to ensure that operations on keys are compatible with their types.