RabbitMQ Java Cheat-Sheet

April 16, 2025•4 min read

RabbitMQ Java Cheat-Sheet

RabbitMQ Docker setup

Run RabbitMQ with the management plugin enabled:

docker run -d \
  --name rabbitmq \
  -p 5672:5672 \
  -p 15672:15672 \
  rabbitmq:management

The connection string is amqp://localhost:5672

You can connect to your instance using RabbitGUI at http://localhost:15672 (guest/guest)

Rabbitgui connexion screen

Docker compose setup for RabbitMQ

Create a docker-compose.yml file with custom credentials and persistent storage:

version: '3'
services:
  rabbitmq:
    image: rabbitmq:management
    container_name: rabbitmq
    ports:
      - "5672:5672"
      - "15672:15672"
    environment:
      RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER: user
      RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS: password
    volumes:
      - rabbitmq_data:/var/lib/rabbitmq
 
volumes:
  rabbitmq_data:

The connection string is amqp://user:password@localhost:5672

You can connect to your instance using RabbitGUI at http://localhost:15672 (user/password)

Installation in Java

Maven

Add the RabbitMQ Java client dependency to your pom.xml:

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.rabbitmq</groupId>
    <artifactId>amqp-client</artifactId>
    <version>5.20.0</version>
</dependency>

Gradle

Add the dependency to your build.gradle:

implementation 'com.rabbitmq:amqp-client:5.20.0'

Producer example

You can publish directly to a queue using the basicPublish method:

import com.rabbitmq.client.Channel;
import com.rabbitmq.client.Connection;
import com.rabbitmq.client.ConnectionFactory;
 
public class Producer {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        ConnectionFactory factory = new ConnectionFactory();
        factory.setHost("localhost");
 
        try (Connection connection = factory.newConnection();
             Channel channel = connection.createChannel()) {
 
            channel.queueDeclare("my_queue", false, false, false, null);
 
            String message = "Hello RabbitGUI!";
            channel.basicPublish("", "my_queue", null, message.getBytes());
 
            System.out.println("Sent: " + message);
        }
    }
}

Consumer example

Your consumer can listen to messages from a queue using the basicConsume method:

import com.rabbitmq.client.*;
 
public class Consumer {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        ConnectionFactory factory = new ConnectionFactory();
        factory.setHost("localhost");
 
        Connection connection = factory.newConnection();
        Channel channel = connection.createChannel();
 
        channel.queueDeclare("my_queue", false, false, false, null);
 
        DeliverCallback deliverCallback = (consumerTag, delivery) -> {
            String message = new String(delivery.getBody(), "UTF-8");
            System.out.println("Message: " + message);
        };
 
        channel.basicConsume("my_queue", true, deliverCallback, consumerTag -> {});
    }
}

Exchanges examples

Direct

A direct exchange routes messages to queues based on exact routing key matches:

import com.rabbitmq.client.*;
 
public class DirectExchange {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        ConnectionFactory factory = new ConnectionFactory();
        factory.setHost("localhost");
 
        try (Connection connection = factory.newConnection();
             Channel channel = connection.createChannel()) {
 
            channel.exchangeDeclare("my_exchange", "direct");
            channel.queueDeclare("my_queue", false, false, false, null);
            channel.queueBind("my_queue", "my_exchange", "my.routing.key");
 
            String message = "Hello RabbitGUI!";
            channel.basicPublish("my_exchange", "my.routing.key", null, message.getBytes());
 
            DeliverCallback deliverCallback = (consumerTag, delivery) -> {
                String msg = new String(delivery.getBody(), "UTF-8");
                System.out.println("Message: " + msg);
            };
 
            channel.basicConsume("my_queue", true, deliverCallback, consumerTag -> {});
        }
    }
}

Fanout

A fanout exchange broadcasts messages to all bound queues, ignoring routing keys:

import com.rabbitmq.client.*;
 
public class FanoutExchange {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        ConnectionFactory factory = new ConnectionFactory();
        factory.setHost("localhost");
 
        try (Connection connection = factory.newConnection();
             Channel channel = connection.createChannel()) {
 
            channel.exchangeDeclare("my_exchange", "fanout");
            channel.queueDeclare("my_queue", false, false, false, null);
            channel.queueBind("my_queue", "my_exchange", "");
 
            String message = "Hello RabbitGUI!";
            channel.basicPublish("my_exchange", "", null, message.getBytes());
 
            DeliverCallback deliverCallback = (consumerTag, delivery) -> {
                String msg = new String(delivery.getBody(), "UTF-8");
                System.out.println("Message: " + msg);
            };
 
            channel.basicConsume("my_queue", true, deliverCallback, consumerTag -> {});
        }
    }
}

Topic

A topic exchange routes messages based on wildcard pattern matching (* for one word, # for zero or more words):

import com.rabbitmq.client.*;
 
public class TopicExchange {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        ConnectionFactory factory = new ConnectionFactory();
        factory.setHost("localhost");
 
        try (Connection connection = factory.newConnection();
             Channel channel = connection.createChannel()) {
 
            channel.exchangeDeclare("my_exchange", "topic");
            channel.queueDeclare("my_queue", false, false, false, null);
            channel.queueBind("my_queue", "my_exchange", "*.routing.*");
 
            String message = "Hello RabbitGUI!";
            channel.basicPublish("my_exchange", "my.routing.key", null, message.getBytes());
 
            DeliverCallback deliverCallback = (consumerTag, delivery) -> {
                String msg = new String(delivery.getBody(), "UTF-8");
                System.out.println("Message: " + msg);
            };
 
            channel.basicConsume("my_queue", true, deliverCallback, consumerTag -> {});
        }
    }
}

Message acknowledgements

Automatic acknowledgement

RabbitMQ will dequeue messages as soon as they've been sent down the wire.

channel.basicConsume("my_queue", true, deliverCallback, consumerTag -> {});

Manual acknowledgement

Manually acknowledge messages after processing to ensure they are removed from the queue:

DeliverCallback deliverCallback = (consumerTag, delivery) -> {
    String message = new String(delivery.getBody(), "UTF-8");
    // Process message...
    channel.basicAck(delivery.getEnvelope().getDeliveryTag(), false);
};
 
channel.basicConsume("my_queue", false, deliverCallback, consumerTag -> {});

Reject and requeue

Reject a message and put it back in the queue for reprocessing:

DeliverCallback deliverCallback = (consumerTag, delivery) -> {
    String message = new String(delivery.getBody(), "UTF-8");
    // Process message...
    channel.basicNack(delivery.getEnvelope().getDeliveryTag(), false, true);
};
 
channel.basicConsume("my_queue", false, deliverCallback, consumerTag -> {});

Reject and do not requeue

Reject a message and discard it (sends to dead letter queue if configured):

DeliverCallback deliverCallback = (consumerTag, delivery) -> {
    String message = new String(delivery.getBody(), "UTF-8");
    // Process message...
    channel.basicNack(delivery.getEnvelope().getDeliveryTag(), false, false);
};
 
channel.basicConsume("my_queue", false, deliverCallback, consumerTag -> {});

Dead Letter Queues

Configure a queue with a dead letter exchange to catch rejected or expired messages:

import com.rabbitmq.client.Channel;
import com.rabbitmq.client.Connection;
import com.rabbitmq.client.ConnectionFactory;
 
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;
 
public class DeadLetterQueue {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        ConnectionFactory factory = new ConnectionFactory();
        factory.setHost("localhost");
 
        try (Connection connection = factory.newConnection();
             Channel channel = connection.createChannel()) {
 
            // Create the dead letter exchange and queue
            channel.exchangeDeclare("dlx_exchange", "direct");
            channel.queueDeclare("dead_letter_queue", false, false, false, null);
            channel.queueBind("dead_letter_queue", "dlx_exchange", "");
 
            // Create main queue with dead letter configuration
            Map<String, Object> args = new HashMap<>();
            args.put("x-dead-letter-exchange", "dlx_exchange");
            args.put("x-dead-letter-routing-key", "");
 
            channel.queueDeclare("my_queue", false, false, false, args);
        }
    }
}

More articles about RabbitMQ

How to introspect dead-letter queues with RabbitMQHow to introspect dead-letter queues with RabbitMQBy design, RabbitMQ has no API to peek at arbitrary messages, search for a specific one, or pick one at random. RabbitGUI is a tool that lets you introspect your dead-letter queues easilyRabbitMQ Python Cheat-SheetRabbitMQ Python Cheat-SheetA comprehensive guide to using RabbitMQ with Python, including setup, producers, consumers, exchanges, and message handlingProperly setting up dead-letter queues in RabbitMQProperly setting up dead-letter queues in RabbitMQLearn how to set up dead-letter queues in RabbitMQ, including creating a dead-letter exchange, binding it to a queue, and managing rejected messages via policies

RabbitGUI, the missing RabbitMQ IDE

Debug, monitor, and manage RabbitMQ with a modern developer interface.

Try nowRabbitGUI screenshot