You can now install Goblin Core without building it from source. Version 0.10.6 has prebuilt packages for Apple Silicon Macs, x86-64 Debian and Ubuntu, ARM64 Ubuntu 26.04, and Loongson running Kylin V10 SP1. Use Homebrew on the Mac, the signed APT repository on x86-64 or ARM Linux, or the native Kylin package on Loongson.

Visit the Goblin Core website: goblin-core.dev

Goblin Core is my Redis-compatible server. If you've wanted to try it but didn't want to set up a C++ build environment, this is the easier way in. Install the package, start the service, and connect with a Redis client.

The service uses port 6379 on your local machine. If Redis already uses that port, stop it first. The Linux package starts Goblin Core during installation.

macOS: Homebrew

The prebuilt package supports Apple Silicon on macOS 26 Tahoe:

brew tap goblinreactor/tap https://brew.goblinreactor.com/homebrew-tap.git
brew install goblinreactor/tap/goblin-core
brew services start goblinreactor/tap/goblin-core

That's the server installed and running. The Homebrew installation page has configuration and service details.

x86-64 Debian and Ubuntu: APT

The signed APT repository provides amd64 packages for Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04, and 26.04, and Debian 12 and 13.

Follow the repository setup instructions once to add the signing key and software source. Then install and start the server:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install goblin-core
sudo systemctl enable --now goblin-core

Configuration lives in /etc/goblin-core/goblin-core.conf. Restart the service after changing it.

ARM Linux: Ubuntu 26.04

The signed APT repository now provides native ARM64 (arm64) packages for Ubuntu 26.04, including AWS Graviton hosts.

Download the ARM64 Ubuntu package directly, or use APT below for installation and updates.

Follow the repository setup instructions, which select your machine's architecture automatically. Then install and start the server:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install goblin-core
sudo systemctl enable --now goblin-core

Loongson: Kylin V10

Loongson is a first-class platform in my work. This release includes a native loongarch64 package for Kylin V10 SP1.

The Kylin package is a standalone .deb file. With it in your current directory, install and start the server:

sudo apt-get install ./goblin-core_0.10.6-2+kylin1_loongarch64.deb
sudo systemctl enable --now goblin-core

The Loongson installation notes cover the native package and configuration. Once installed, connect with the same Redis clients as on the other platforms.

Try it

With redis-cli installed, check the connection:

redis-cli -h 127.0.0.1 -p 6379 PING

You should get PONG. On Debian, Ubuntu, or Kylin, sudo apt-get install redis-tools provides redis-cli.

You can then connect your application to 127.0.0.1:6379 using an ordinary Redis client. The command reference lists the commands Goblin Core supports.

The full installation guide covers configuration, Unix socket connections, and managing the service. For getting started, the package manager is all you need.