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Azure Servicebus TS

MicrosoftOfficialCreated by Microsoft

  • Skill
  • Tool integration
  • Cloud and DevOps
  • MIT
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From the author

Build messaging applications using Azure Service Bus SDK for JavaScript (@azure/service-bus). Use when implementing queues, topics/subscriptions, message sessions, dead-letter handling, or enterprise messaging patterns.
— the description by Microsoft

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

This skill provides a comprehensive guide to using the @azure/service-bus SDK for building messaging applications. It covers core operations including sending and receiving messages, managing queues and topics, handling message sessions, implementing dead-letter queues, and managing message lifecycles. The documentation includes best practices for authentication using Microsoft Entra, error handling strategies, and patterns for both pull-based and event-driven messaging architectures.

What it does

  • Facilitates point-to-point messaging via queues and fan-out patterns via topics and subscriptions.
  • Supports message batching for efficient throughput.
  • Provides mechanisms for message settlement, including completion, abandonment, and deferral.
  • Enables advanced messaging features like message sessions for ordered processing and scheduled delivery.
  • Includes robust error handling patterns for transient and permanent service bus errors.
  • Demonstrates secure authentication using Azure Identity credentials.

When to use it

  • When building decoupled, event-driven microservices architectures.
  • When implementing reliable background job processing or task distribution.
  • When requiring ordered message processing using sessions.
  • When needing to handle complex messaging scenarios like dead-lettering and message deferral.
  • When integrating JavaScript or TypeScript applications with Azure messaging infrastructure.

Advantages

  • Native support for TypeScript with strong typing for messaging operations.
  • Built-in support for Azure-standard authentication and security practices.
  • Comprehensive error handling guidance for production reliability.
  • Flexible consumption models including both pull-based and push-based event-driven patterns.
  • Efficient resource management through client reuse and batching.

Usage examples

“How do I send a JSON message to an Azure Service Bus queue using TypeScript?”
The agent provides a code snippet using ServiceBusClient and ServiceBusSender to send a message with a JSON body and appropriate content type.
“Show me how to set up an event-driven subscriber for a Service Bus queue.”
The agent demonstrates using the receiver.subscribe() method with processMessage and processError callbacks for handling incoming messages.
“How should I handle a MessageLockLost error in my Service Bus application?”
The agent explains that this is a non-retryable error indicating the lock expired, and provides a pattern for handling it within the error callback.
“What is the best way to send multiple messages to a queue efficiently?”
The agent provides a pattern using createMessageBatch() and tryAddMessage() to optimize message throughput.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/microsoft/azure-servicebus-ts/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip azure-servicebus-ts.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Microsoft

Azure Service Bus SDK for TypeScript

Enterprise messaging with queues, topics, and subscriptions.

Installation

npm install @azure/service-bus @azure/identity

Environment Variables

SERVICEBUS_NAMESPACE=<namespace>.servicebus.windows.net
SERVICEBUS_QUEUE_NAME=my-queue
SERVICEBUS_TOPIC_NAME=my-topic
SERVICEBUS_SUBSCRIPTION_NAME=my-subscription
AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod # Required only if DefaultAzureCredential is used in production

Authentication

import { ServiceBusClient } from "@azure/service-bus";
import { DefaultAzureCredential, ManagedIdentityCredential } from "@azure/identity";

// Local dev: DefaultAzureCredential. Production: set AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod or AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=<specific_credential>
const credential = new DefaultAzureCredential({requiredEnvVars: ["AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS"]});
// Or use a specific credential directly in production:
// See https://learn.microsoft.com/javascript/api/overview/azure/identity-readme?view=azure-node-latest#credential-classes
// const credential = new ManagedIdentityCredential();

const fullyQualifiedNamespace = process.env.SERVICEBUS_NAMESPACE!;
const client = new ServiceBusClient(fullyQualifiedNamespace, credential);

Core Workflow

Send Messages to Queue
const sender = client.createSender("my-queue");

// Single message
await sender.sendMessages({
  body: { orderId: "12345", amount: 99.99 },
  contentType: "application/json",
});

// Batch messages
const batch = await sender.createMessageBatch();
batch.tryAddMessage({ body: "Message 1" });
batch.tryAddMessage({ body: "Message 2" });
await sender.sendMessages(batch);

await sender.close();
Receive Messages from Queue
const receiver = client.createReceiver("my-queue");

// Receive batch
const messages = await receiver.receiveMessages(10, { maxWaitTimeInMs: 5000 });
for (const message of messages) {
  console.log(`Received: ${message.body}`);
  await receiver.completeMessage(message);
}

await receiver.close();
Subscribe to Messages (Event-Driven)
const receiver = client.createReceiver("my-queue");

const subscription = receiver.subscribe({
  processMessage: async (message) => {
    console.log(`Processing: ${message.body}`);
    // Message auto-completed on success
  },
  processError: async (args) => {
    console.error(`Error: ${args.error}`);
  },
});

// Stop after some time
setTimeout(async () => {
  await subscription.close();
  await receiver.close();
}, 60000);
Topics and Subscriptions
// Send to topic
const topicSender = client.createSender("my-topic");
await topicSender.sendMessages({
  body: { event: "order.created", data: { orderId: "123" } },
  applicationProperties: { eventType: "order.created" },
});

// Receive from subscription
const subscriptionReceiver = client.createReceiver("my-topic", "my-subscription");
const messages = await subscriptionReceiver.receiveMessages(10);

Message Sessions

// Send session message
const sender = client.createSender("session-queue");
await sender.sendMessages({
  body: { step: 1, data: "First step" },
  sessionId: "workflow-123",
});

// Receive session messages
const sessionReceiver = await client.acceptSession("session-queue", "workflow-123");
const messages = await sessionReceiver.receiveMessages(10);

// Get/set session state
const state = await sessionReceiver.getSessionState();
await sessionReceiver.setSessionState(Buffer.from(JSON.stringify({ progress: 50 })));

await sessionReceiver.close();

Dead-Letter Handling

// Move to dead-letter
await receiver.deadLetterMessage(message, {
  deadLetterReason: "Validation failed",
  deadLetterErrorDescription: "Missing required field: orderId",
});

// Process dead-letter queue
const dlqReceiver = client.createReceiver("my-queue", { subQueueType: "deadLetter" });
const dlqMessages = await dlqReceiver.receiveMessages(10);
for (const msg of dlqMessages) {
  console.log(`DLQ Reason: ${msg.deadLetterReason}`);
  // Reprocess or log
  await dlqReceiver.completeMessage(msg);
}

Scheduled Messages

const sender = client.createSender("my-queue");

// Schedule for future delivery
const scheduledTime = new Date(Date.now() + 60000); // 1 minute from now
const sequenceNumber = await sender.scheduleMessages(
  { body: "Delayed message" },
  scheduledTime
);

// Cancel scheduled message
await sender.cancelScheduledMessages(sequenceNumber);

Message Deferral

// Defer message for later
await receiver.deferMessage(message);

// Receive deferred message by sequence number
const deferredMessage = await receiver.receiveDeferredMessages(message.sequenceNumber!);
await receiver.completeMessage(deferredMessage[0]);

Peek Messages (Non-Destructive)

const receiver = client.createReceiver("my-queue");

// Peek without removing
const peekedMessages = await receiver.peekMessages(10);
for (const msg of peekedMessages) {
  console.log(`Peeked: ${msg.body}`);
}

Key Types

import {
  ServiceBusClient,
  ServiceBusSender,
  ServiceBusReceiver,
  ServiceBusSessionReceiver,
  ServiceBusMessage,
  ServiceBusReceivedMessage,
  ProcessMessageCallback,
  ProcessErrorCallback,
} from "@azure/service-bus";

Receive Modes

// Peek-Lock (default) - message locked until completed/abandoned
const receiver = client.createReceiver("my-queue", { receiveMode: "peekLock" });
await receiver.completeMessage(message);   // Remove from queue
await receiver.abandonMessage(message);    // Return to queue
await receiver.deferMessage(message);      // Defer for later
await receiver.deadLetterMessage(message); // Move to DLQ

// Receive-and-Delete - message removed immediately
const receiver = client.createReceiver("my-queue", { receiveMode: "receiveAndDelete" });

Best Practices

  1. Use Microsoft Entra Token Credential - Use DefaultAzureCredential for local development; use ManagedIdentityCredential or WorkloadIdentityCredential for production

  2. Reuse clients - Create ServiceBusClient once, share across senders/receivers

  3. Close resources - Always close senders/receivers when done

  4. Handle errors - Implement processError callback for subscription receivers

  5. Use sessions for ordering - When message order matters within a group

  6. Configure dead-letter - Always handle DLQ messages

  7. Batch sends - Use createMessageBatch() for multiple messages

Reference Documentation

For detailed patterns, see:

Files

references/queues-topics.md

Queues vs Topics Patterns

Detailed patterns for Azure Service Bus queues and topics with @azure/service-bus.

Queue Patterns (Point-to-Point)

Queues deliver each message to exactly one consumer. Use for work distribution.

Basic Queue Sender
import { ServiceBusClient, ServiceBusMessage } from "@azure/service-bus";
import { DefaultAzureCredential } from "@azure/identity";

const client = new ServiceBusClient(
  process.env.SERVICEBUS_NAMESPACE!,
  new DefaultAzureCredential()
);

const sender = client.createSender("order-queue");

// Send single message
const message: ServiceBusMessage = {
  body: { orderId: "12345", amount: 99.99 },
  contentType: "application/json",
  messageId: "unique-id-12345",
  correlationId: "request-abc",
  applicationProperties: {
    priority: "high",
    source: "web-app",
  },
};

await sender.sendMessages(message);
await sender.close();
const sender = client.createSender("order-queue");

// Create batch with size limits
const batch = await sender.createMessageBatch();

const orders = [
  { orderId: "001", amount: 50 },
  { orderId: "002", amount: 75 },
  { orderId: "003", amount: 100 },
];

for (const order of orders) {
  const added = batch.tryAddMessage({ body: order });
  if (!added) {
    // Batch is full - send current batch and create new one
    await sender.sendMessages(batch);
    const newBatch = await sender.createMessageBatch();
    newBatch.tryAddMessage({ body: order });
  }
}

// Send remaining messages
if (batch.count > 0) {
  await sender.sendMessages(batch);
}

await sender.close();
Queue Receiver (Pull Model)
const receiver = client.createReceiver("order-queue", {
  receiveMode: "peekLock", // Default - message locked until settled
});

// Receive batch of messages
const messages = await receiver.receiveMessages(10, {
  maxWaitTimeInMs: 5000,
});

for (const message of messages) {
  try {
    const order = message.body;
    console.log(`Processing order: ${order.orderId}`);
    
    // Process successfully - remove from queue
    await receiver.completeMessage(message);
  } catch (error) {
    // Processing failed - return to queue for retry
    await receiver.abandonMessage(message);
  }
}

await receiver.close();
Queue Subscriber (Push Model - Event-Driven)
const receiver = client.createReceiver("order-queue");

const subscription = receiver.subscribe({
  processMessage: async (message) => {
    console.log(`Received: ${JSON.stringify(message.body)}`);
    // Message auto-completed on success when using subscribe()
  },
  processError: async (args) => {
    console.error(`Error source: ${args.errorSource}`);
    console.error(`Error: ${args.error.message}`);
    
    if (args.error.code === "MessageLockLost") {
      console.log("Message lock expired - will be redelivered");
    }
  },
}, {
  autoCompleteMessages: true, // Default
  maxConcurrentCalls: 5,
});

// Graceful shutdown
process.on("SIGTERM", async () => {
  await subscription.close();
  await receiver.close();
  await client.close();
});

Topic Patterns (Publish-Subscribe)

Topics deliver messages to multiple subscriptions. Use for fan-out scenarios.

Topic Publisher
// Sending to a topic is identical to sending to a queue
const sender = client.createSender("order-events");

await sender.sendMessages({
  body: { event: "order.created", orderId: "12345" },
  applicationProperties: {
    eventType: "order.created",
    region: "us-west",
  },
  subject: "orders/created", // Can be used for filtering
});

await sender.close();
Subscription Receiver
// Receive from a specific subscription
const receiver = client.createReceiver(
  "order-events",      // Topic name
  "billing-service"    // Subscription name
);

const messages = await receiver.receiveMessages(10);

for (const message of messages) {
  console.log(`Billing received: ${message.body.event}`);
  await receiver.completeMessage(message);
}
Multiple Subscriptions (Fan-Out)
// Each subscription gets a copy of every message
// Create receivers for different services

const billingReceiver = client.createReceiver("order-events", "billing");
const inventoryReceiver = client.createReceiver("order-events", "inventory");
const notificationReceiver = client.createReceiver("order-events", "notifications");

// Each processes independently
billingReceiver.subscribe({
  processMessage: async (msg) => {
    await processBilling(msg.body);
  },
  processError: async (args) => console.error(args.error),
});

inventoryReceiver.subscribe({
  processMessage: async (msg) => {
    await updateInventory(msg.body);
  },
  processError: async (args) => console.error(args.error),
});

Session-Enabled Queues (Ordered Processing)

Sessions guarantee FIFO ordering within a session and enable stateful processing.

Send Session Messages
const sender = client.createSender("workflow-queue");

// All messages with same sessionId processed in order by same receiver
await sender.sendMessages([
  { body: { step: 1, action: "validate" }, sessionId: "order-123" },
  { body: { step: 2, action: "charge" }, sessionId: "order-123" },
  { body: { step: 3, action: "fulfill" }, sessionId: "order-123" },
]);
Accept Specific Session
// Lock a specific session
const sessionReceiver = await client.acceptSession(
  "workflow-queue",
  "order-123"
);

// Process all messages for this session in order
const messages = await sessionReceiver.receiveMessages(10);

for (const message of messages) {
  console.log(`Step ${message.body.step}: ${message.body.action}`);
  await sessionReceiver.completeMessage(message);
}

await sessionReceiver.close();
Accept Next Available Session
// Accept any available session (load balancing)
const sessionReceiver = await client.acceptNextSession("workflow-queue", {
  maxAutoLockRenewalDurationInMs: 300000, // 5 minutes
});

console.log(`Processing session: ${sessionReceiver.sessionId}`);

// Get/set session state for checkpointing
const state = await sessionReceiver.getSessionState();
if (state) {
  const checkpoint = JSON.parse(state.toString());
  console.log(`Resuming from step: ${checkpoint.lastStep}`);
}

// Process messages...

// Save checkpoint
await sessionReceiver.setSessionState(
  Buffer.from(JSON.stringify({ lastStep: 3, status: "complete" }))
);

await sessionReceiver.close();

Receive Modes

Peek-Lock (Default - At-Least-Once)
const receiver = client.createReceiver("my-queue", {
  receiveMode: "peekLock",
});

const [message] = await receiver.receiveMessages(1);

// Message is locked - other receivers can't see it
// You MUST settle the message:

await receiver.completeMessage(message);   // Success - remove from queue
await receiver.abandonMessage(message);    // Failure - return to queue
await receiver.deferMessage(message);      // Defer - retrieve by sequence number
await receiver.deadLetterMessage(message); // Move to DLQ
Receive-and-Delete (At-Most-Once)
const receiver = client.createReceiver("my-queue", {
  receiveMode: "receiveAndDelete",
});

const [message] = await receiver.receiveMessages(1);

// Message is immediately deleted - no settlement needed
// If processing fails, message is lost
console.log(`Received and deleted: ${message.body}`);

Message Settlement Actions

const receiver = client.createReceiver("my-queue");
const [message] = await receiver.receiveMessages(1);

// COMPLETE: Processing succeeded, remove message
await receiver.completeMessage(message);

// ABANDON: Processing failed, return to queue for retry
// Increments deliveryCount
await receiver.abandonMessage(message, {
  propertiesToModify: { retryReason: "timeout" },
});

// DEFER: Can't process now, retrieve later by sequence number
await receiver.deferMessage(message);
// Later: await receiver.receiveDeferredMessages([message.sequenceNumber!]);

// DEAD LETTER: Poison message, move to DLQ
await receiver.deadLetterMessage(message, {
  deadLetterReason: "ValidationFailed",
  deadLetterErrorDescription: "Missing required field: customerId",
});

Scheduled Messages

const sender = client.createSender("my-queue");

// Schedule for future delivery
const scheduledTime = new Date(Date.now() + 60 * 60 * 1000); // 1 hour from now

const sequenceNumbers = await sender.scheduleMessages(
  [
    { body: "Reminder: Complete your order" },
    { body: "Your cart is waiting" },
  ],
  scheduledTime
);

console.log(`Scheduled messages: ${sequenceNumbers}`);

// Cancel scheduled messages if needed
await sender.cancelScheduledMessages(sequenceNumbers);

Peek Messages (Non-Destructive)

const receiver = client.createReceiver("my-queue");

// Peek without removing or locking
const peekedMessages = await receiver.peekMessages(10);

for (const msg of peekedMessages) {
  console.log(`Peeked: ${msg.body}`);
  console.log(`Sequence: ${msg.sequenceNumber}`);
  console.log(`Enqueued: ${msg.enqueuedTimeUtc}`);
}

// Peek from specific sequence number
const moreMessages = await receiver.peekMessages(10, {
  fromSequenceNumber: 100n,
});

When to Use Queues vs Topics

ScenarioUse
Work distribution (one consumer per message)Queue
Fan-out (multiple consumers per message)Topic
Competing consumers (load balancing)Queue
Event broadcastingTopic
Request-reply patternQueue with reply-to
Ordered processingSession-enabled Queue
Filtered deliveryTopic with subscription filters

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs Node.js

Security

No issues found by our static scan· No issues found

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Attribution and licence

Created by
Microsoft
Publisher
Microsoft (Official)
Source
microsoft/skills · .github/plugins/azure-sdk-typescript/skills/azure-servicebus-ts · commit 0696600
Licence
MIT License (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
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