RabbitMQ Production
Index for running RabbitMQ 4.x in production: version and upgrade gates, delivery patterns, sizing and monitoring thresholds, security hardening. References hold the full write-ups; canonical reference lives at https://www.rabbitmq.com/docs.
Scope
The rabbitmq-expert agent covers exchange types, queue topology design, clustering and HA, protocols, and first-aid diagnostics inline. This skill supplies what the agent defers here: version-specific upgrade gates, sizing and monitoring thresholds, full delivery-pattern write-ups, and security hardening. Load the matching reference below instead of reasoning from general RabbitMQ knowledge; defaults and limits change materially between minor versions.
When to use
- Planning or executing a RabbitMQ upgrade across major or minor versions
- Choosing a queue type for a new workload (classic, quorum, stream)
- Implementing a delivery pattern (retry, outbox, idempotency, RPC)
- Sizing a cluster or setting monitoring thresholds and alarms
- Hardening a broker for TLS or multi-tenancy
- Diagnosing an operational incident beyond first-aid
rabbitmqctl checks
How to use this skill
The quick tables below are for fast checks during a conversation. For anything version-sensitive or that changes broker behavior (an upgrade, a sizing decision, a security control, a delivery pattern implementation), load the matching reference file first rather than relying on the quick table alone. The quick tables summarize; the references are the source of truth within this skill.
Current state
Current stable series: RabbitMQ 4.3 (latest patch 4.3.4). Community support for 4.1 ended 2026-01-31, for 4.2 ended 2026-07-31; 4.3 is supported until 2026-11-30. Minimum Erlang 27.0. Source: https://www.rabbitmq.com/release-information (checked 2026-08-10).
Full timeline, breaking changes per version, and client/library compatibility: load versions-and-upgrades.md.
Queue type quick table
| Queue type |
Notes |
| classic |
CQv2, non-replicated; transient denied by default in 4.3 |
| quorum |
default for durable work; delivery-limit 20 default; 32 priorities and delayed retries in 4.3 |
| stream |
5M+ backlogs, fan-out, replay; no TTL, no priority, no DLX |
Topology ceilings and per-type operational limits: load operations.md. The queue-type decision list lives in the rabbitmq-expert agent.
Key thresholds quick table
| Threshold |
Value |
| Memory watermark |
0.4 to 0.7 (default 0.6) |
| Disk free minimum |
4 GB |
| File descriptors |
50K+ |
| Connection churn alarm |
above 100 connections/s |
| Default max message size |
16 MiB |
| Quorum topology ceiling |
roughly 5,000 queues per cluster |
| Prometheus scrape interval |
30s |
Full sizing methodology, alarm wiring, and diagnostic playbooks: load operations.md.
Delivery patterns (client-neutral)
Retry, outbox, idempotency, and RPC patterns are written in client-neutral pseudocode so they apply across AMQP client libraries. Load patterns.md before implementing any of them.
- Do not implement retry, outbox, idempotency, or RPC from general AMQP knowledge alone; load
patterns.md first
- The pattern snippets in the
rabbitmq-expert agent are quick illustrations, not the full write-up
Reference index
| Reference |
Load when |
versions-and-upgrades.md |
upgrades, breaking changes, client/library choices |
patterns.md |
implementing any delivery pattern |
operations.md |
sizing, monitoring, diagnostics beyond first aid |
security.md |
hardening, TLS, multi-tenancy |
1---2name: rabbitmq-production3description: Knowledge base for running the broker under real load, split into references loaded on demand. TRIGGER WHEN: designing, operating, upgrading, monitoring, or securing RabbitMQ in production, or implementing delivery patterns (retry, outbox, idempotency, RPC). DO NOT TRIGGER WHEN: the task is a quick conceptual question the rabbitmq-expert agent answers without production detail.4---56# RabbitMQ Production78Index for running RabbitMQ 4.x in production: version and upgrade gates, delivery patterns, sizing and monitoring thresholds, security hardening. References hold the full write-ups; canonical reference lives at https://www.rabbitmq.com/docs.910## Scope1112The `rabbitmq-expert` agent covers exchange types, queue topology design, clustering and HA, protocols, and first-aid diagnostics inline. This skill supplies what the agent defers here: version-specific upgrade gates, sizing and monitoring thresholds, full delivery-pattern write-ups, and security hardening. Load the matching reference below instead of reasoning from general RabbitMQ knowledge; defaults and limits change materially between minor versions.1314## When to use1516- Planning or executing a RabbitMQ upgrade across major or minor versions17- Choosing a queue type for a new workload (classic, quorum, stream)18- Implementing a delivery pattern (retry, outbox, idempotency, RPC)19- Sizing a cluster or setting monitoring thresholds and alarms20- Hardening a broker for TLS or multi-tenancy21- Diagnosing an operational incident beyond first-aid `rabbitmqctl` checks2223## How to use this skill2425The quick tables below are for fast checks during a conversation. For anything version-sensitive or that changes broker behavior (an upgrade, a sizing decision, a security control, a delivery pattern implementation), load the matching reference file first rather than relying on the quick table alone. The quick tables summarize; the references are the source of truth within this skill.2627## Current state2829Current stable series: RabbitMQ 4.3 (latest patch 4.3.4). Community support for 4.1 ended 2026-01-31, for 4.2 ended 2026-07-31; 4.3 is supported until 2026-11-30. Minimum Erlang 27.0. Source: https://www.rabbitmq.com/release-information (checked 2026-08-10).3031Full timeline, breaking changes per version, and client/library compatibility: load `versions-and-upgrades.md`.3233## Queue type quick table3435| Queue type | Notes |36|---|---|37| classic | CQv2, non-replicated; transient denied by default in 4.3 |38| quorum | default for durable work; delivery-limit 20 default; 32 priorities and delayed retries in 4.3 |39| stream | 5M+ backlogs, fan-out, replay; no TTL, no priority, no DLX |4041Topology ceilings and per-type operational limits: load `operations.md`. The queue-type decision list lives in the `rabbitmq-expert` agent.4243## Key thresholds quick table4445| Threshold | Value |46|---|---|47| Memory watermark | 0.4 to 0.7 (default 0.6) |48| Disk free minimum | 4 GB |49| File descriptors | 50K+ |50| Connection churn alarm | above 100 connections/s |51| Default max message size | 16 MiB |52| Quorum topology ceiling | roughly 5,000 queues per cluster |53| Prometheus scrape interval | 30s |5455Full sizing methodology, alarm wiring, and diagnostic playbooks: load `operations.md`.5657## Delivery patterns (client-neutral)5859Retry, outbox, idempotency, and RPC patterns are written in client-neutral pseudocode so they apply across AMQP client libraries. Load `patterns.md` before implementing any of them.6061- Do not implement retry, outbox, idempotency, or RPC from general AMQP knowledge alone; load `patterns.md` first62- The pattern snippets in the `rabbitmq-expert` agent are quick illustrations, not the full write-up6364## Reference index6566| Reference | Load when |67|---|---|68| `versions-and-upgrades.md` | upgrades, breaking changes, client/library choices |69| `patterns.md` | implementing any delivery pattern |70| `operations.md` | sizing, monitoring, diagnostics beyond first aid |71| `security.md` | hardening, TLS, multi-tenancy |
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