Replace REDIS_PASSWORD with REDISCLI_AUTH in redis-cli commands

[man4red]

Replace REDIS_PASSWORD with REDISCLI_AUTH in redis-cli commands

Problem

Using -a in redis-cli triggers warnings that clutter logs:

Warning: Using a password with '-a' or '-u' option on the command line interface may not be safe.

Also exposes passwords in process lists.
Here you can see password clear text

{"level":"error","ts":"2025-12-03T22:05:56Z","msg":"Could not execute command","controller":"rediscluster","controllerGroup":"redis.redis.opstreelabs.in","controllerKind":"RedisCluster","RedisCluster":{"name":"my-redis-cluster","namespace":"redis"},"namespace":"redis","name":"my-redis-cluster","reconcileID":"3da66c06-5474-457f-8a85-ed454f8f8764","Command":["redis-cli","--cluster","create","172.16.118.120:6379","172.16.177.178:6379","172.16.118.25:6379","--cluster-yes","-a","password"],"Output":">>> Performing hash slots allocation on 3 nodes...\nMaster[0] -> Slots 0 - 5460\nMaster[1] -> Slots 5461 - 10922\nMaster[2] -> Slots 10923 - 16383\nM: c30a9996ba9fe82b14446dfb4cf67aaddec629ee 172.16.118.120:6379\n   slots:[0-5460] (5461 slots) master\nM: 8cfc54bb1f1f58a170ebf3601348f8f3f186e079 172.16.177.178:6379\n   slots:[5461-10922] (5462 slots) master\nM: e4bfe6da8d02d1fa050a85222db449d2fb3ce387 172.16.118.25:6379\n   slots:[10923-16383] (5461 slots) master\n>>> Nodes configuration updated\n>>> Assign a different config epoch to each node\n>>> Sending CLUSTER MEET messages to join the cluster\nWaiting for the cluster to join\n.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................","error":"execute command with error: command terminated with exit code 137, stderr: Warning: Using a password with '-a' or '-u' option on the command line interface may not be safe.\n","stacktrace":"github.com/OT-CONTAINER-KIT/redis-operator/internal/k8sutils.executeCommand\n\t/workspace/internal/k8sutils/redis.go:575\ngithub.com/OT-CONTAINER-KIT/redis-operator/internal/k8sutils.ExecuteRedisClusterCommand\n\t/workspace/internal/k8sutils/redis.go:259\ngithub.com/OT-CONTAINER-KIT/redis-operator/internal/controller/rediscluster.(*Reconciler).Reconcile\n\t/workspace/internal/controller/rediscluster/rediscluster_controller.go:229\nsigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/internal/controller.(*Controller).Reconcile\n\t/go/pkg/mod/sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime@v0.17.2/pkg/internal/controller/controller.go:119\nsigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/internal/controller.(*Controller).reconcileHandler\n\t/go/pkg/mod/sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime@v0.17.2/pkg/internal/controller/controller.go:316\nsigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/internal/controller.(*Controller).processNextWorkItem\n\t/go/pkg/mod/sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime@v0.17.2/pkg/internal/controller/controller.go:266\nsigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/internal/controller.(*Controller).Start.func2.2\n\t/go/pkg/mod/sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime@v0.17.2/pkg/internal/controller/controller.go:227"}

Solution

Use REDISCLI_AUTH env var instead - redis-cli reads it automatically without warnings.

# Current
redis-cli -a "${REDIS_PASSWORD}" ping

# Proposed
redis-cli ping

Considerations

• version compatibility for REDISCLI_AUTH

Cleaner, no warnings, more secure. Keep REDIS_PASSWORD for applications, add REDISCLI_AUTH for CLI operations.