fix(proxy): don't import redis.asyncio on startup when transaction buffer is disabled

litellm/proxy/proxy_server.py

@@ -7277,7 +7277,6 @@ class ProxyStartupEvent:
         Returns None when the buffer is disabled, or when no Redis host or url
         is set in the environment.
         """
-        from litellm._redis import _redis_kwargs_from_environment
         from litellm.secret_managers.main import str_to_bool
 
         _use_redis_transaction_buffer: bool | str | None = general_settings.get("use_redis_transaction_buffer", False)
@@ -7287,6 +7286,8 @@ class ProxyStartupEvent:
         if not _use_redis_transaction_buffer:
             return None
 
+        from litellm._redis import _redis_kwargs_from_environment
+
         redis_env_kwargs = _redis_kwargs_from_environment()
         if "host" not in redis_env_kwargs and "url" not in redis_env_kwargs:
             return None

tests/test_litellm/proxy/db/db_transaction_queue/test_redis_update_buffer.py

@@ -360,6 +360,20 @@ def test_get_transaction_buffer_redis_cache_none_without_host_or_url():
     assert result is None
 
 
+def test_get_transaction_buffer_redis_cache_does_not_import_redis_when_disabled():
+    """
+    When the buffer is disabled, litellm._redis (which imports redis.asyncio) must not be
+    imported, so the proxy starts even in deployments without the redis package installed.
+
+    Regression test for https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm/issues/32592
+    """
+    with patch.dict(sys.modules, {"litellm._redis": None}):
+        result = ProxyStartupEvent._get_transaction_buffer_redis_cache(
+            general_settings={},
+        )
+    assert result is None
+
+
 def test_get_transaction_buffer_redis_cache_parses_string_flag(monkeypatch):
     """
     use_redis_transaction_buffer accepts a string value (e.g. from env/YAML); "true"