Getting Started

# Getting Started

Install Varc and make your first connection.

> Varc is pre-release. These docs describe the app as it is being built —
> sections will fill in as features land. Check the [download page](/download)
> for release status.

## Install

Varc ships for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Grab the build for your platform
from the [download page](/download).

| Platform | Package               |
| -------- | --------------------- |
| macOS    | Universal `.dmg`      |
| Windows  | `.exe` installer      |
| Linux    | `.AppImage` or `.deb` |

## Connect

1. Open Varc and choose **New connection**.
2. Enter a host and port — `127.0.0.1:6379` for a local Redis or Valkey server.
3. Pick the topology: **Standalone**, **Cluster**, or **Sentinel**. Varc
   handles routing for all three; you don't need different workflows.
4. Hit **Connect**. The key browser opens on the left, ready to scan.

Need TLS, mTLS, or an SSH tunnel? See [Connections](/docs/connections).

## Your first scan

Type a pattern in the key browser — `user:*`, `cache:*`, or just `*` — and
Varc streams matching keys into a windowed view. Scans are cancellable at any
time, and memory stays flat even on databases with tens of millions of keys.

Select any key to inspect and edit its value. Every Redis type is supported,
and values are handled as raw bytes, so binary data is always safe to view
and edit.

## Next steps

- [Migrate a database](/docs/migration) with a live copy or a portable Varc bundle.
- [Set up a debugger session](/docs/debugger) and breakpoint live traffic.
- [Rewind a write](/docs/rewind) that shouldn't have happened.

Varc is pre-release. These docs describe the app as it is being built — sections will fill in as features land. Check the download page for release status.

Install

Varc ships for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Grab the build for your platform from the download page.

Platform	Package
macOS	Universal `.dmg`
Windows	`.exe` installer
Linux	`.AppImage` or `.deb`

Connect

Open Varc and choose New connection.
Enter a host and port — 127.0.0.1:6379 for a local Redis or Valkey server.
Pick the topology: Standalone, Cluster, or Sentinel. Varc handles routing for all three; you don’t need different workflows.
Hit Connect. The key browser opens on the left, ready to scan.

Need TLS, mTLS, or an SSH tunnel? See Connections.

Your first scan

Type a pattern in the key browser — user:*, cache:*, or just * — and Varc streams matching keys into a windowed view. Scans are cancellable at any time, and memory stays flat even on databases with tens of millions of keys.

Select any key to inspect and edit its value. Every Redis type is supported, and values are handled as raw bytes, so binary data is always safe to view and edit.

Next steps

Migrate a database with a live copy or a portable Varc bundle.
Set up a debugger session and breakpoint live traffic.
Rewind a write that shouldn’t have happened.