> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://upstash.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# BLMOVE

> Move an element between lists, blocking until one arrives.

Use `BLMOVE` to move an element from one list to another, blocking until the source has an element or the timeout expires.

It is the blocking form of [`LMOVE`](/docs/redis/commands/list/lmove): when the source list is not empty it behaves identically and returns immediately, and when it is empty the connection waits instead of returning null. The timeout is given in seconds, may be fractional, and `0` waits indefinitely. If several clients are waiting on the same key, the one that has been waiting longest is served first.

Because the element is never outside a list, this is the standard way to build a reliable queue: a worker blocks until work appears, atomically moves it to a processing list, and deletes it from there when done, so an interrupted job can be recovered instead of lost.

## Syntax

```redis theme={"system"}
BLMOVE <source> <destination> (LEFT | RIGHT) (LEFT | RIGHT) <timeout>
```

## Arguments

| Argument          | Required | Repeatable | Description                                                                                    |
| ----------------- | -------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `<source>`        | Yes      | No         | Redis key used as source.                                                                      |
| `<destination>`   | Yes      | No         | Redis key used as destination.                                                                 |
| `(LEFT \| RIGHT)` | Yes      | No         | Which end of the source list the element is taken from: `LEFT` (head) or `RIGHT` (tail).       |
| `(LEFT \| RIGHT)` | Yes      | No         | Which end of the destination list the element is pushed onto: `LEFT` (head) or `RIGHT` (tail). |
| `<timeout>`       | Yes      | No         | Seconds to block; `0` blocks indefinitely.                                                     |

## Important points

* A blocking form holds the request until data arrives or its timeout expires. Set the client/network timeout longer than the command timeout.

## Response

The reply reports the result of the operation. Error replies have the same shape in RESP2 and RESP3 and are surfaced as exceptions by the SDKs below.

| Protocol | Reply                                         |
| -------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| RESP2    | Bulk string or Null bulk string or null array |
| RESP3    | Bulk string or Null                           |

<Note>
  Client libraries often decode bulk strings, maps, sets, and numeric strings into language-native values. The table describes the Redis wire reply.
</Note>

## Examples

TCP examples use the TLS `REDIS_URL` from the Upstash console. REST examples use `UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL` and `UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN`.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Redis CLI" icon="terminal">
    ```bash theme={"system"}
    BLMOVE source-key destination-key LEFT LEFT 1.5
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="@upstash/redis" icon="node-js" iconType="brands">
    <Note>
      This command is not supported yet in `@upstash/redis`.
    </Note>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="upstash_redis" icon="python" iconType="brands">
    <Note>
      This command is not supported yet in `upstash_redis`.
    </Note>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="ioredis" icon="node-js" iconType="brands">
    ```ts theme={"system"}
    import Redis from "ioredis";

    const redis = new Redis(process.env.REDIS_URL!);
    const result = await redis.blmove("source-key", "destination-key", "LEFT", "LEFT", "1.5");
    console.log(result);
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="node-redis" icon="node-js" iconType="brands">
    ```ts theme={"system"}
    import { createClient } from "redis";

    const client = await createClient({ url: process.env.REDIS_URL })
      .on("error", console.error)
      .connect();
    const result = await client.blMove("source-key", "destination-key", "LEFT", "LEFT", 1.5);
    console.log(result);
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="redis-py" icon="python" iconType="brands">
    ```python theme={"system"}
    import os
    import redis

    client = redis.from_url(os.environ["REDIS_URL"])
    result = client.blmove("source-key", "destination-key", 1.5, "LEFT", "LEFT")
    print(result)
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="go-redis" icon="golang" iconType="brands">
    ```go theme={"system"}
    package main

    import (
        "context"
        "fmt"
        "os"
        "time"

        "github.com/redis/go-redis/v9"
    )

    func main() {
        opts, err := redis.ParseURL(os.Getenv("REDIS_URL"))
        if err != nil {
            panic(err)
        }
        client := redis.NewClient(opts)
        result, err := client.BLMove(context.Background(), "source-key", "destination-key", "LEFT", "LEFT", 1500*time.Millisecond).Result()
        if err != nil {
            panic(err)
        }
        fmt.Println(result)
    }
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="jedis" icon="java" iconType="brands">
    ```java theme={"system"}
    import java.net.URI;

    import redis.clients.jedis.Jedis;

    try (Jedis jedis = new Jedis(new URI(System.getenv("REDIS_URL")))) {
      Object result = jedis.blmove("source-key", "destination-key", redis.clients.jedis.args.ListDirection.LEFT, redis.clients.jedis.args.ListDirection.LEFT, 1.5);
      System.out.println(result);
    }
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="redis-rs" icon="rust" iconType="brands">
    ```rust theme={"system"}
    use redis::{Direction, TypedCommands};

    fn main() -> redis::RedisResult<()> {
        let url = std::env::var("REDIS_URL").expect("REDIS_URL is not set");
        let client = redis::Client::open(url)?;
        let mut connection = client.get_connection()?;

        let result = connection.blmove(
            "source-key",
            "destination-key",
            Direction::Left,
            Direction::Left,
            1.5,
        )?;
        println!("{result:?}");
        Ok(())
    }
    ```
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>


## Related topics

- [BRPOPLPUSH](/docs/redis/commands/list/brpoplpush.md)
- [LMOVE](/docs/redis/commands/list/lmove.md)