Setting up RabbitMQ with Docker and Docker Compose

November 28, 2025•5 min read

Quick Start: Run RabbitMQ with Docker

The fastest way to get RabbitMQ up and running is with a single Docker command:

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

This command:

Runs RabbitMQ in detached mode (-d)
Names the container rabbitmq
Exposes port 5672 for AMQP protocol (your applications connect here)
Exposes port 15672 for the management UI (RabbitGUI can connect here)
Uses the latest rabbitmq:management image

You can now connect to:

AMQP protocol: amqp://guest:guest@localhost:5672
Management UI: http://localhost:15672 (credentials: guest/guest)
RabbitGUI: Connect at http://localhost:15672 with guest/guest

Docker Compose Setup

For more complex setups or production environments, Docker Compose is the recommended approach. Create a docker-compose.yml file:

version: '3.8'
services:
  rabbitmq:
    image: rabbitmq:management
    container_name: rabbitmq
    ports:
      - "5672:5672"
      - "15672:15672"
    environment:
      RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER: admin
      RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS: secure_password
    volumes:
      - rabbitmq_data:/var/lib/rabbitmq
      - rabbitmq_log:/var/log/rabbitmq
 
volumes:
  rabbitmq_data:
  rabbitmq_log:

Start your RabbitMQ instance:

docker-compose up -d

Stop it:

docker-compose down

The connection string is now: amqp://admin:secure_password@localhost:5672

Important Configuration Settings

Custom Credentials

Always change the default credentials in production environments using environment variables:

environment:
  RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER: your_username
  RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS: your_password

The default guest user can only connect from localhost for security reasons. Custom users can connect remotely.

Persistent Storage

Without volumes, all your queues, exchanges, and messages disappear when the container stops. Always use volumes for data persistence:

volumes:
  - rabbitmq_data:/var/lib/rabbitmq

This ensures your RabbitMQ configuration and messages survive container restarts.

Memory and Resource Limits

Control how much memory RabbitMQ can use to prevent it from consuming all system resources:

services:
  rabbitmq:
    image: rabbitmq:management
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          memory: 2G
        reservations:
          memory: 1G
    environment:
      RABBITMQ_VM_MEMORY_HIGH_WATERMARK: 1536MB

The RABBITMQ_VM_MEMORY_HIGH_WATERMARK setting tells RabbitMQ to block publishers when memory usage reaches this threshold, preventing out-of-memory crashes.

Hostname Configuration

RabbitMQ uses the hostname as part of its node identifier. For consistent data persistence, set a fixed hostname:

services:
  rabbitmq:
    image: rabbitmq:management
    hostname: rabbitmq-server
    environment:
      RABBITMQ_NODENAME: rabbit@rabbitmq-server

Without this, changing the hostname can make RabbitMQ unable to read its persisted data.

Virtual Hosts (vhosts)

Create isolated environments within a single RabbitMQ instance using virtual hosts:

environment:
  RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_VHOST: /production

You can also create multiple vhosts through the management UI or using RabbitGUI. This is useful for separating development, staging, and production environments.

Enable Additional Plugins

RabbitMQ comes with many optional plugins. Enable them using environment variables:

environment:
  RABBITMQ_PLUGINS: rabbitmq_management rabbitmq_prometheus rabbitmq_shovel rabbitmq_federation

Common useful plugins:

rabbitmq_management - Web UI (included in management image)
rabbitmq_prometheus - Prometheus metrics for monitoring
rabbitmq_shovel - Move messages between queues/exchanges
rabbitmq_federation - Link exchanges across different RabbitMQ instances
rabbitmq_tracing - Debug message flow

Custom Configuration File

For advanced configurations, mount a custom rabbitmq.conf file:

services:
  rabbitmq:
    image: rabbitmq:management
    volumes:
      - ./rabbitmq.conf:/etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.conf
      - rabbitmq_data:/var/lib/rabbitmq

Example rabbitmq.conf:

# Networking
listeners.tcp.default = 5672
 
# Memory
vm_memory_high_watermark.relative = 0.6
 
# Disk
disk_free_limit.absolute = 2GB
 
# Heartbeat
heartbeat = 60
 
# Logging
log.console.level = info
log.file.level = info

SSL/TLS Configuration

For secure connections, configure SSL certificates:

services:
  rabbitmq:
    image: rabbitmq:management
    ports:
      - "5671:5671"  # AMQPS port
      - "15672:15672"
    volumes:
      - ./certs:/etc/rabbitmq/certs
      - ./rabbitmq.conf:/etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.conf
    environment:
      RABBITMQ_SSL_CACERTFILE: /etc/rabbitmq/certs/ca_certificate.pem
      RABBITMQ_SSL_CERTFILE: /etc/rabbitmq/certs/server_certificate.pem
      RABBITMQ_SSL_KEYFILE: /etc/rabbitmq/certs/server_key.pem

Health Checks

Add health checks to ensure RabbitMQ is ready before your applications try to connect:

services:
  rabbitmq:
    image: rabbitmq:management
    healthcheck:
      test: rabbitmq-diagnostics -q ping
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 5
      start_period: 40s

Complete Production-Ready Example

Here's a comprehensive Docker Compose setup combining all the important settings:

version: '3.8'
 
services:
  rabbitmq:
    image: rabbitmq:3.13-management
    container_name: rabbitmq-production
    hostname: rabbitmq-server
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5672:5672"
      - "15672:15672"
    environment:
      RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER: admin
      RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS: ${RABBITMQ_PASSWORD:-changeme}
      RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_VHOST: /production
      RABBITMQ_NODENAME: rabbit@rabbitmq-server
      RABBITMQ_VM_MEMORY_HIGH_WATERMARK: 1536MB
    volumes:
      - rabbitmq_data:/var/lib/rabbitmq
      - rabbitmq_log:/var/log/rabbitmq
      - ./rabbitmq.conf:/etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.conf:ro
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          memory: 2G
          cpus: '2'
        reservations:
          memory: 1G
          cpus: '1'
    healthcheck:
      test: rabbitmq-diagnostics -q ping
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 5
      start_period: 40s
    networks:
      - backend
 
networks:
  backend:
    driver: bridge
 
volumes:
  rabbitmq_data:
    driver: local
  rabbitmq_log:
    driver: local

Start it with:

RABBITMQ_PASSWORD=your_secure_password docker-compose up -d

Clustering Multiple RabbitMQ Nodes

For high availability, you can set up a RabbitMQ cluster with Docker Compose:

version: '3.8'
 
services:
  rabbitmq1:
    image: rabbitmq:management
    hostname: rabbitmq1
    environment:
      RABBITMQ_ERLANG_COOKIE: 'secret_cookie_value'
      RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER: admin
      RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS: password
    ports:
      - "5672:5672"
      - "15672:15672"
    networks:
      - rabbitmq_cluster
 
  rabbitmq2:
    image: rabbitmq:management
    hostname: rabbitmq2
    environment:
      RABBITMQ_ERLANG_COOKIE: 'secret_cookie_value'
    depends_on:
      - rabbitmq1
    networks:
      - rabbitmq_cluster
    command: >
      bash -c "
        rabbitmq-server -detached &&
        rabbitmqctl stop_app &&
        rabbitmqctl join_cluster rabbit@rabbitmq1 &&
        rabbitmqctl start_app &&
        tail -f /dev/null
      "
 
  rabbitmq3:
    image: rabbitmq:management
    hostname: rabbitmq3
    environment:
      RABBITMQ_ERLANG_COOKIE: 'secret_cookie_value'
    depends_on:
      - rabbitmq1
    networks:
      - rabbitmq_cluster
    command: >
      bash -c "
        rabbitmq-server -detached &&
        rabbitmqctl stop_app &&
        rabbitmqctl join_cluster rabbit@rabbitmq1 &&
        rabbitmqctl start_app &&
        tail -f /dev/null
      "
 
networks:
  rabbitmq_cluster:
    driver: bridge

All three nodes share the same Erlang cookie and form a cluster where queues and exchanges are replicated.

Monitoring and Management

Once your RabbitMQ instance is running, you can manage it using:

RabbitMQ Management UI: Basic web interface at http://localhost:15672
RabbitGUI: Advanced RabbitMQ IDE with features like:
- Visual routing exploration
- Bulk message operations
- Dead-letter queue management
- Custom views and saved queries
- Multi-environment support

To connect with RabbitGUI, simply point it to your RabbitMQ management endpoint with your credentials.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting

Container Exits Immediately

Check the logs:

docker logs rabbitmq

Common causes:

Hostname conflicts with persisted data
Insufficient memory
Port conflicts

Cannot Connect from Host Machine

Ensure ports are properly exposed and not blocked by firewall:

docker ps  # Check port mappings
netstat -an | grep 5672  # Check if port is listening

Lost Data After Restart

Make sure you have volumes configured:

docker volume ls  # List volumes
docker volume inspect rabbitmq_data  # Check volume details

Next Steps

Now that you have RabbitMQ running, you might want to:

Learn about setting up dead-letter queues
Explore RabbitMQ bindings visually
Check out our RabbitMQ cheat sheets for different programming languages

With Docker and Docker Compose, getting RabbitMQ up and running is straightforward. Start with the quick example, then gradually add configuration options as your needs grow.