diff --git a/apps/base/jellyfin/kustomization.yaml b/apps/base/jellyfin/kustomization.yaml
index 1374887..e1b1262 100644
--- a/apps/base/jellyfin/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/apps/base/jellyfin/kustomization.yaml
@@ -20,8 +20,6 @@ resources:
   - statefulset.yaml
   - pdb.yaml
   - service.yaml
-  - redis-deployment.yaml
-  - redis-pvc.yaml
-  - redis-service.yaml
+  - valkey.yaml
   - gateway.yaml
   - httproute.yaml
diff --git a/apps/base/jellyfin/redis-deployment.yaml b/apps/base/jellyfin/redis-deployment.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index eeae15b..0000000
--- a/apps/base/jellyfin/redis-deployment.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,66 +0,0 @@
----
-apiVersion: apps/v1
-kind: Deployment
-metadata:
-  name: redis
-  namespace: jellyfin
-spec:
-  replicas: 1
-  selector:
-    matchLabels:
-      app: redis
-  strategy:
-    type: Recreate
-  template:
-    metadata:
-      labels:
-        app: redis
-    spec:
-      containers:
-        - name: redis
-          image: redis:7-alpine
-          imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
-          command:
-            - redis-server
-            - --save
-            - "20"
-            - "1"
-          ports:
-            - containerPort: 6379
-              name: redis
-              protocol: TCP
-          livenessProbe:
-            exec:
-              command:
-                - redis-cli
-                - ping
-            failureThreshold: 3
-            initialDelaySeconds: 30
-            periodSeconds: 30
-            successThreshold: 1
-            timeoutSeconds: 5
-          readinessProbe:
-            exec:
-              command:
-                - redis-cli
-                - ping
-            failureThreshold: 3
-            initialDelaySeconds: 5
-            periodSeconds: 10
-            successThreshold: 1
-            timeoutSeconds: 5
-          resources:
-            limits:
-              cpu: 500m
-              memory: 512Mi
-            requests:
-              cpu: 50m
-              memory: 128Mi
-          volumeMounts:
-            - mountPath: /data
-              name: data
-      restartPolicy: Always
-      volumes:
-        - name: data
-          persistentVolumeClaim:
-            claimName: jellyfin-redis-data
diff --git a/apps/base/jellyfin/redis-pvc.yaml b/apps/base/jellyfin/redis-pvc.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index a6717ad..0000000
--- a/apps/base/jellyfin/redis-pvc.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
----
-apiVersion: v1
-kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
-metadata:
-  name: jellyfin-redis-data
-  namespace: jellyfin
-  annotations:
-    # Exclude from the jellyfin-config k8up Schedule (skipWithoutAnnotation is
-    # false cluster-wide, so unannotated PVCs are swept in). Redis holds only
-    # ephemeral transcode-lease state; RWO would also fail to mount while in use.
-    k8up.io/backup: "false"
-spec:
-  accessModes:
-    - ReadWriteOnce
-  resources:
-    requests:
-      storage: 5Gi
-  storageClassName: cephrbd-fast-delete
-  volumeMode: Filesystem
diff --git a/apps/base/jellyfin/redis-service.yaml b/apps/base/jellyfin/redis-service.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 6e0e34f..0000000
--- a/apps/base/jellyfin/redis-service.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,17 +0,0 @@
----
-apiVersion: v1
-kind: Service
-metadata:
-  name: redis
-  namespace: jellyfin
-spec:
-  internalTrafficPolicy: Cluster
-  ports:
-    - name: redis
-      port: 6379
-      protocol: TCP
-      targetPort: redis
-  selector:
-    app: redis
-  sessionAffinity: None
-  type: ClusterIP
diff --git a/apps/base/jellyfin/statefulset.yaml b/apps/base/jellyfin/statefulset.yaml
index 11fdbd4..273acc3 100644
--- a/apps/base/jellyfin/statefulset.yaml
+++ b/apps/base/jellyfin/statefulset.yaml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ metadata:
   name: jellyfin
   namespace: jellyfin
 spec:
-  # HA: two replicas coordinate transcode session ownership through Redis and
+  # HA: two replicas coordinate transcode session ownership through Valkey and
   # resume each other's HLS segments off the shared RWX transcode PVC. Stable
   # pod names (jellyfin-0/1) are the lease owner identity, hence StatefulSet.
   replicas: 2
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ spec:
               containerPort: 8096
               protocol: TCP
           env:
-            # Pod identity for the Redis transcode lease owner. The fork reads
+            # Pod identity for the Valkey transcode lease owner. The fork reads
             # JELLYFIN_INSTANCE_ID (falling back to MachineName); the stable
             # StatefulSet pod name gives each replica a unique lease identity so
             # takeover can target a dead replica. JELLYFIN_HA_POD_NAME is set for
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ spec:
               value: /config/config
             # Distributed transcode session store (jellyfin-ha additions).
             - name: Jellyfin__TranscodeStore__RedisConnectionString
-              value: "redis:6379,abortConnect=false"
+              value: "valkey-jellyfin-valkey:6379,abortConnect=false"
             - name: Jellyfin__TranscodeStore__LeaseDurationSeconds
               value: "30"
             # PostgreSQL main DB via the CNPG-generated app secret, routed through
diff --git a/apps/base/jellyfin/valkey.yaml b/apps/base/jellyfin/valkey.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bd018a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/jellyfin/valkey.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+---
+# Single-instance Valkey managed by valkey-operator, replacing the self-managed
+# redis Deployment as Jellyfin's distributed transcode-session store. shards:1 +
+# replicas:0 is one primary with no replicas. This operator always runs Valkey
+# cluster-mode-enabled with protected-mode off and leaves the built-in `default`
+# user passwordless, so clients connect with no auth/TLS (parity with the old
+# open redis); StackExchange.Redis auto-discovers the single node. HA (more
+# shards/replicas) is a follow-up. Persistence is intentionally omitted so /data
+# is an emptyDir: the lease state is ephemeral, and the operator-managed PVC
+# cannot carry the k8up.io/backup:"false" annotation the namespace's cluster-wide
+# k8up Schedule needs to skip an in-use RWO volume.
+apiVersion: valkey.io/v1alpha1
+kind: ValkeyCluster
+metadata:
+  name: jellyfin-valkey
+  namespace: jellyfin
+spec:
+  shards: 1
+  replicas: 0
+  image: artifactapi.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net/dockerhub/valkey/valkey:9.0.0
+  exporter:
+    enabled: false
+  resources:
+    requests:
+      cpu: 50m
+      memory: 128Mi
+    limits:
+      cpu: 500m
+      memory: 512Mi