diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8a3a28d..2c0de9e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
     - [Server defaults](#server-defaults)
     - [Metrics defaults](#metrics-defaults)
     - [Rootless Defaults](#rootless-defaults)
+    - [Session, Cache and Queue](#session-cache-and-queue)
   - [Single-Pod Configurations](#single-pod-configurations)
   - [Additional _app.ini_ settings](#additional-appini-settings)
     - [User defined environment variables in app.ini](#user-defined-environment-variables-in-appini)
@@ -229,6 +230,16 @@ If `.Values.image.rootless: true`, then the following will occur. In case you us
 
   [see deployment.yaml](./templates/gitea/deployment.yaml) template inside container "env" declarations
 
+#### Session, Cache and Queue
+
+The session, cache and queue settings are set to use the built-in Redis Cluster sub-chart dependency.
+If Redis Cluster is disabled, the chart will fall back to the Gitea defaults which use "memory" for `session` and `cache` and "level" for `queue`.
+
+While these will work and even not cause immediate issues after startup, **they are not recommended for production use**.
+Reasons being that a single pod will take on all the work for `session` and `cache` tasks in its available memory.
+It is likely that the pod will run out of memory or will face substantial memory spikes, depending on the workload.
+External tools such as `redis-cluster` or `memcached` handle these workloads much better.
+
 ### Single-Pod Configurations
 
 If HA is not needed/desired, the following configurations can be used to deploy a single-pod Gitea instance.
diff --git a/templates/NOTES.txt b/templates/NOTES.txt
index 25b35e7..ad5a8fa 100644
--- a/templates/NOTES.txt
+++ b/templates/NOTES.txt
@@ -18,3 +18,19 @@
   echo "Visit http://127.0.0.1:{{ .Values.service.http.port }} to use your application"
   kubectl --namespace {{ .Release.Namespace }} port-forward svc/{{ .Release.Name }}-http {{ .Values.service.http.port }}:{{ .Values.service.http.port }}
 {{- end }}
+{{- $warnings := list -}}
+{{- if eq (get .Values.gitea.config.cache "ADAPTER") "memory" -}}
+  {{- $warnings = append $warnings "Gitea uses 'memory' for caching which is not recommended for production use. See https://docs.gitea.com/next/administration/config-cheat-sheet#cache-cache for available options." -}}
+{{- end }}
+{{- if eq (get .Values.gitea.config.queue "TYPE") "level" -}}
+  {{- $warnings = append $warnings "Gitea uses 'leveldb' for queue actions which is not recommended for production use. See https://docs.gitea.com/next/administration/config-cheat-sheet#queue-queue-and-queue for available options." -}}
+{{- end }}
+{{- if eq (get .Values.gitea.config.session "PROVIDER") "memory" -}}
+  {{- $warnings = append $warnings "Gitea uses 'memory' for sessions which is not recommended for production use. See https://docs.gitea.com/next/administration/config-cheat-sheet#session-session for available options." -}}
+{{- end }}
+{{- if gt (len $warnings) 0 }}
+2. Review these warnings:
+{{- range $warnings }}
+  - {{ . }}
+{{- end }}
+{{- end }}
diff --git a/templates/_helpers.tpl b/templates/_helpers.tpl
index 0843da5..727401c 100644
--- a/templates/_helpers.tpl
+++ b/templates/_helpers.tpl
@@ -290,23 +290,33 @@ https
   {{- if not (hasKey .Values.gitea.config.metrics "ENABLED") -}}
     {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.metrics "ENABLED" .Values.gitea.metrics.enabled -}}
   {{- end -}}
-  {{- if (index .Values "redis-cluster").enabled -}}
-    {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.cache "ENABLED" "true" -}}
-    {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.cache "ADAPTER" "redis" -}}
-    {{- if not (.Values.gitea.config.cache.HOST) -}}
-      {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.cache "HOST" (include "redis.dns" .) -}}
-    {{- end -}}
-  {{- end -}}
   {{- /* redis queue */ -}}
   {{- if (index .Values "redis-cluster").enabled -}}
     {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.queue "TYPE" "redis" -}}
     {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.queue "CONN_STR" (include "redis.dns" .) -}}
-  {{- end -}}
-  {{- if not (get .Values.gitea.config.session "PROVIDER") -}}
     {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.session "PROVIDER" "redis" -}}
-  {{- end -}}
-  {{- if not (get .Values.gitea.config.session "PROVIDER_CONFIG") -}}
     {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.session "PROVIDER_CONFIG" (include "redis.dns" .) -}}
+    {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.cache "ADAPTER" "redis" -}}
+    {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.cache "HOST" (include "redis.dns" .) -}}
+  {{- else -}}
+    {{- if not (get .Values.gitea.config.session "PROVIDER") -}}
+      {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.session "PROVIDER" "memory" -}}
+    {{- end -}}
+    {{- if not (get .Values.gitea.config.session "PROVIDER_CONFIG") -}}
+      {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.session "PROVIDER_CONFIG" "" -}}
+    {{- end -}}
+    {{- if not (get .Values.gitea.config.queue "TYPE") -}}
+      {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.queue "TYPE" "level" -}}
+    {{- end -}}
+    {{- if not (get .Values.gitea.config.queue "CONN_STR") -}}
+      {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.queue "CONN_STR" "" -}}
+    {{- end -}}
+    {{- if not (get .Values.gitea.config.cache "ADAPTER") -}}
+      {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.cache "ADAPTER" "memory" -}}
+    {{- end -}}
+    {{- if not (get .Values.gitea.config.cache "HOST") -}}
+      {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.cache "HOST" "" -}}
+    {{- end -}}
   {{- end -}}
   {{- if not .Values.gitea.config.indexer.ISSUE_INDEXER_TYPE -}}
      {{- $_ := set .Values.gitea.config.indexer "ISSUE_INDEXER_TYPE" "db" -}}
diff --git a/unittests/config/cache-config.yaml b/unittests/config/cache-config.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cd55d90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/unittests/config/cache-config.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+suite: config template | cache config
+release:
+  name: gitea-unittests
+  namespace: testing
+tests:
+  - it: "cache is configured correctly for redis-cluster"
+    template: templates/gitea/config.yaml
+    set:
+      redis-cluster:
+        enabled: true
+    asserts:
+      - documentIndex: 0
+        equal:
+          path: stringData.cache
+          value: |-
+            ADAPTER=redis
+            HOST=redis+cluster://:@gitea-unittests-redis-cluster-headless.testing.svc.cluster.local:6379/0?pool_size=100&idle_timeout=180s&
+
+  - it: "cache is configured correctly for 'memory' when redis-cluster is disabled"
+    template: templates/gitea/config.yaml
+    set:
+      redis-cluster:
+        enabled: false
+    asserts:
+      - documentIndex: 0
+        equal:
+          path: stringData.cache
+          value: |-
+            ADAPTER=memory
+            HOST=
+
+  - it: "cache can be customized when redis-cluster is disabled"
+    template: templates/gitea/config.yaml
+    set:
+      redis-cluster:
+        enabled: false
+      gitea.config.cache.ADAPTER: custom-adapter
+      gitea.config.cache.HOST: custom-host
+    asserts:
+      - documentIndex: 0
+        equal:
+          path: stringData.cache
+          value: |-
+            ADAPTER=custom-adapter
+            HOST=custom-host
diff --git a/unittests/config/queue-config.yaml b/unittests/config/queue-config.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f83543a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/unittests/config/queue-config.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+suite: config template | queue config
+release:
+  name: gitea-unittests
+  namespace: testing
+tests:
+  - it: "queue is configured correctly for redis-cluster"
+    template: templates/gitea/config.yaml
+    set:
+      redis-cluster:
+        enabled: true
+    asserts:
+      - documentIndex: 0
+        equal:
+          path: stringData.queue
+          value: |-
+            CONN_STR=redis+cluster://:@gitea-unittests-redis-cluster-headless.testing.svc.cluster.local:6379/0?pool_size=100&idle_timeout=180s&
+            TYPE=redis
+
+  - it: "queue is configured correctly for 'levelDB' when redis-cluster is disabled"
+    template: templates/gitea/config.yaml
+    set:
+      redis-cluster:
+        enabled: false
+    asserts:
+      - documentIndex: 0
+        equal:
+          path: stringData.queue
+          value: |-
+            CONN_STR=
+            TYPE=level
+
+  - it: "queue can be customized when redis-cluster is disabled"
+    template: templates/gitea/config.yaml
+    set:
+      redis-cluster:
+        enabled: false
+      gitea.config.queue.TYPE: custom-type
+      gitea.config.queue.CONN_STR: custom-connection-string
+    asserts:
+      - documentIndex: 0
+        equal:
+          path: stringData.queue
+          value: |-
+            CONN_STR=custom-connection-string
+            TYPE=custom-type
diff --git a/unittests/config/session-config.yaml b/unittests/config/session-config.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2b6e771
--- /dev/null
+++ b/unittests/config/session-config.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+suite: config template | session config
+release:
+  name: gitea-unittests
+  namespace: testing
+tests:
+  - it: "session is configured correctly for redis-cluster"
+    template: templates/gitea/config.yaml
+    set:
+      redis-cluster:
+        enabled: true
+    asserts:
+      - documentIndex: 0
+        equal:
+          path: stringData.session
+          value: |-
+            PROVIDER=redis
+            PROVIDER_CONFIG=redis+cluster://:@gitea-unittests-redis-cluster-headless.testing.svc.cluster.local:6379/0?pool_size=100&idle_timeout=180s&
+
+  - it: "session is configured correctly for 'memory' when redis-cluster is disabled"
+    template: templates/gitea/config.yaml
+    set:
+      redis-cluster:
+        enabled: false
+    asserts:
+      - documentIndex: 0
+        equal:
+          path: stringData.session
+          value: |-
+            PROVIDER=memory
+            PROVIDER_CONFIG=
+
+  - it: "session can be customized when redis-cluster is disabled"
+    template: templates/gitea/config.yaml
+    set:
+      redis-cluster:
+        enabled: false
+      gitea.config.session.PROVIDER: custom-provider
+      gitea.config.session.PROVIDER_CONFIG: custom-provider-config
+    asserts:
+      - documentIndex: 0
+        equal:
+          path: stringData.session
+          value: |-
+            PROVIDER=custom-provider
+            PROVIDER_CONFIG=custom-provider-config