Service Bus

Introduction

Azure Service Bus is a fully managed enterprise message broker that supports queues and publish/subscribe topics. It helps decouple distributed systems and build reliable asynchronous messaging workflows. Service Bus is commonly used for command processing, event distribution, and integration between independent services. For more information, see What is Azure Service Bus?

LocalStack for Azure provides a local environment for building and testing applications that make use of Azure Service Bus. The supported APIs are available on our API Coverage section, which provides information on the extent of Service Bus’s integration with LocalStack.

Getting started

This guide is designed for users new to Service Bus and assumes basic knowledge of the Azure CLI and our azlocal wrapper script.

Launch LocalStack using your preferred method. For more information, see Introduction to LocalStack for Azure. Once the container is running, enable Azure CLI interception by running:

azlocal start-interception

This command points the az CLI away from the public Azure management REST API and toward the LocalStack for Azure emulator API. To revert this configuration, run:

azlocal stop-interception

This reconfigures the az CLI to send commands to the official Azure management REST API.

Create a resource group

Create a resource group to contain your Service Bus resources:

az group create \
  --name rg-servicebus-demo \
  --location westeurope

Output

{
  "id": "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/rg-servicebus-demo",
  "location": "westeurope",
  "managedBy": null,
  "name": "rg-servicebus-demo",
  "properties": {
    "provisioningState": "Succeeded"
  },
  "tags": null,
  "type": "Microsoft.Resources/resourceGroups"
}

Create a Service Bus namespace

Create a Service Bus namespace in the resource group:

az servicebus namespace create \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo \
  --name sbnsdoc83 \
  --location westeurope \
  --sku Standard

Output

{
  "id": "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/rg-servicebus-demo/providers/Microsoft.ServiceBus/namespaces/sbnsdoc83",
  "name": "sbnsdoc83",
  "location": "westeurope",
  "provisioningState": "Succeeded",
  "serviceBusEndpoint": "https://sbnsdoc83.localhost.localstack.cloud:4511",
  "sku": {
    "name": "Standard",
    "tier": "Standard"
  },
  ...
}

Get and list namespaces:

az servicebus namespace show \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo \
  --name sbnsdoc83

az servicebus namespace list \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo

Create and inspect a queue

Create a queue in the namespace:

az servicebus queue create \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo \
  --namespace-name sbnsdoc83 \
  --name orders-queue

Output

{
  "id": "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/rg-servicebus-demo/providers/Microsoft.ServiceBus/namespaces/sbnsdoc83/queues/orders-queue",
  "name": "orders-queue",
  "location": "westeurope",
  "status": "Active",
  "messageCount": 0,
  "maxSizeInMegabytes": 1024,
  ...
}

Get and list queues:

az servicebus queue show \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo \
  --namespace-name sbnsdoc83 \
  --name orders-queue

Output

{
  "accessedAt": "2026-03-18T10:13:18.3906198Z",
  "autoDeleteOnIdle": "P10675199DT2H48M5.4775807S",
  "countDetails": {
    "activeMessageCount": 0,
    "deadLetterMessageCount": 0,
    "scheduledMessageCount": 0,
    "transferDeadLetterMessageCount": 0,
    "transferMessageCount": 0
  },
  ...
  "name": "orders-queue",
  ...
  "status": "Active",
  "type": "Microsoft.ServiceBus/namespaces/queues",
  ...
}

az servicebus queue list \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo \
  --namespace-name sbnsdoc83

Output

[
  {
    "accessedAt": "2026-03-18T10:14:44.3808099Z",
    "autoDeleteOnIdle": "P10675199DT2H48M5.4775807S",
    "countDetails": {
      "activeMessageCount": 0,
      "deadLetterMessageCount": 0,
      "scheduledMessageCount": 0,
      "transferDeadLetterMessageCount": 0,
      "transferMessageCount": 0
    },
    ...
    "name": "orders-queue",
    ...
    "status": "Active",
    "type": "Microsoft.ServiceBus/namespaces/queues",
    ...
  }
]

Note

The values under countDetails may not be accurate in the emulator.

Create topic and subscription

Create a topic and a subscription:

az servicebus topic create \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo \
  --namespace-name sbnsdoc83 \
  --name orders-topic

az servicebus topic subscription create \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo \
  --namespace-name sbnsdoc83 \
  --topic-name orders-topic \
  --name orders-sub

Output

{
  "name": "orders-topic",
  "status": "Active",
  "subscriptionCount": 0,
  ...
}
{
  "name": "orders-sub",
  "status": "Active",
  "messageCount": 0,
  ...
}

Get and list subscriptions:

az servicebus topic subscription show \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo \
  --namespace-name sbnsdoc83 \
  --topic-name orders-topic \
  --name orders-sub

Output

{
  "accessedAt": "2026-03-18T10:13:18.3906198Z",
  "autoDeleteOnIdle": "P10675199DT2H48M5.4775807S",
  "countDetails": {
    "activeMessageCount": 0,
    "deadLetterMessageCount": 0,
    "scheduledMessageCount": 0,
    "transferDeadLetterMessageCount": 0,
    "transferMessageCount": 0
  },
  ...
  "name": "orders-sub",
  ...
  "status": "Active",
  "type": "Microsoft.ServiceBus/namespaces/topics/subscriptions",
  ...
}

az servicebus topic subscription list \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo \
  --namespace-name sbnsdoc83 \
  --topic-name orders-topic

Output

[
  {
    "accessedAt": "2026-03-18T10:14:44.3808099Z",
    "autoDeleteOnIdle": "P10675199DT2H48M5.4775807S",
    "countDetails": {
      "activeMessageCount": 0,
      "deadLetterMessageCount": 0,
      "scheduledMessageCount": 0,
      "transferDeadLetterMessageCount": 0,
      "transferMessageCount": 0
    },
    ...
    "name": "orders-sub",
    ...
    "status": "Active",
    "type": "Microsoft.ServiceBus/namespaces/topics/subscriptions",
    ...
  }
]

Note

The values under countDetails may not be accurate in the emulator.

Create and list subscription rules

Create a SQL filter rule for the subscription:

az servicebus topic subscription rule create \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo \
  --namespace-name sbnsdoc83 \
  --topic-name orders-topic \
  --subscription-name orders-sub \
  --name high-priority \
  --filter-sql-expression "priority = 'high'"

Output

{
  "name": "high-priority",
  "filterType": "SqlFilter",
  "sqlFilter": {
    "sqlExpression": "priority = 'high'",
    ...
  },
  ...
}

List rules for the subscription:

az servicebus topic subscription rule list \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo \
  --namespace-name sbnsdoc83 \
  --topic-name orders-topic \
  --subscription-name orders-sub

Create and manage namespace authorization rules

Create an authorization rule:

az servicebus namespace authorization-rule create \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo \
  --namespace-name sbnsdoc83 \
  --name app-policy \
  --rights Listen Send

Output

{
  "name": "app-policy",
  "rights": [
    "Listen",
    "Send"
  ],
  ...
}

List authorization rules:

az servicebus namespace authorization-rule list \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo \
  --namespace-name sbnsdoc83

List and regenerate keys:

az servicebus namespace authorization-rule keys list \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo \
  --namespace-name sbnsdoc83 \
  --name app-policy

az servicebus namespace authorization-rule keys renew \
  --resource-group rg-servicebus-demo \
  --namespace-name sbnsdoc83 \
  --name app-policy \
  --key PrimaryKey

Output

{
  "keyName": "app-policy",
  "primaryConnectionString": "Endpoint=https://sbnsdoc83.localhost.localstack.cloud:4511/;SharedAccessKeyName=app-policy;SharedAccessKey=...;UseDevelopmentEmulator=true",
  "secondaryConnectionString": "Endpoint=https://sbnsdoc83.localhost.localstack.cloud:4511/;SharedAccessKeyName=app-policy;SharedAccessKey=...;UseDevelopmentEmulator=true",
  ...
}
{
  "keyName": "app-policy",
  "primaryConnectionString": "Endpoint=https://sbnsdoc83.localhost.localstack.cloud:4511/;SharedAccessKeyName=app-policy;SharedAccessKey=...;UseDevelopmentEmulator=true",
  ...
}

Features

The emulator includes the following core capabilities:

• Data Plane REST API: Supports message-level operations, including Send, Receive, and Peek.
• Control Plane REST API: Enables CRUD operations for namespaces and messaging entities (queues, topics, and subscriptions) via Azure Resource Manager (ARM).
• Multiple Authentication Modes: Supports both Connection String and Managed Identity authentication.
• Containerized Deployment: Runs as a lightweight, Linux-based Docker container.
• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Fully compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux environments.
• Flexible Configuration: Manage Service Bus entities via the Service Bus Administration Client or through JSON-based configuration files.
• Advanced Streaming: Supports message streaming via the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP).

Limitations

The current version of the emulator does not support the following:

• Protocols: JMS protocol streaming and AMQP Web Sockets (AMQP over TCP is the only supported transport).
• Messaging Patterns: Transactions, auto-forwarding (queue chaining), and message lock renewal.
• Validation: Enforcements such as maximum entity counts or maximum message sizes.
• Metrics: Property-based message counts for queues, topics, and subscriptions may be inaccurate.

The following Azure-native features are currently unavailable in the emulator:

• Scaling & Resiliency: Autoscale, Geo-disaster recovery, and Large Message support.
• Monitoring: Visual metrics, alerts, and telemetry dashboards.

Samples

Explore the following samples to get started with Service Bus on LocalStack:

• Azure Functions App with Service Bus Messaging
• Azure Service Bus with Spring Boot

Features

The emulator includes the following core capabilities:

• Data Plane REST API: Supports message-level operations, including Send, Receive, and Peek.
• Control Plane REST API: Enables CRUD operations for namespaces and messaging entities (queues, topics, and subscriptions) via Azure Resource Manager (ARM).
• Multiple Authentication Modes: Supports both Connection String and Managed Identity authentication.
• Containerized Deployment: Runs as a lightweight, Linux-based Docker container.
• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Fully compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux environments.
• Flexible Configuration: Manage Service Bus entities via the Service Bus Administration Client or through JSON-based configuration files.
• Advanced Streaming: Supports message streaming via the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP).

Limitations

The current version of the emulator does not support the following:

• Protocols: JMS protocol streaming and AMQP Web Sockets (AMQP over TCP is the only supported transport).
• Messaging Patterns: Transactions, auto-forwarding (queue chaining), and message lock renewal.
• Validation: Enforcements such as maximum entity counts or maximum message sizes.
• Metrics: Property-based message counts for queues, topics, and subscriptions may be inaccurate.

The following Azure-native features are currently unavailable in the emulator:

• Scaling & Resiliency: Autoscale, Geo-disaster recovery, and Large Message support.
• Monitoring: Visual metrics, alerts, and telemetry dashboards.

Samples

Explore the following samples to get started with Service Bus on LocalStack:

• Azure Functions App with Service Bus Messaging
• Azure Service Bus with Spring Boot

API Coverage

Operation ▲	Implemented ▼

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