@azure/storage-queue (TypeScript/JavaScript)

SDK for Azure Queue Storage operations — send, receive, peek, and manage messages in queues.

Installation

npm install @azure/storage-queue @azure/identity

Current Version: 12.x
Node.js: >= 18.0.0

Environment Variables

AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT_NAME=<account-name>
AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT_KEY=<account-key>
# OR connection string
AZURE_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING=DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;AccountName=...

Authentication

DefaultAzureCredential (Recommended)

import { QueueServiceClient } from "@azure/storage-queue";
import { DefaultAzureCredential } from "@azure/identity";

const accountName = process.env.AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT_NAME!;
const client = new QueueServiceClient(
  `https://${accountName}.queue.core.windows.net`,
  new DefaultAzureCredential()
);

Connection String

import { QueueServiceClient } from "@azure/storage-queue";

const client = QueueServiceClient.fromConnectionString(
  process.env.AZURE_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING!
);

StorageSharedKeyCredential (Node.js only)

import { QueueServiceClient, StorageSharedKeyCredential } from "@azure/storage-queue";

const accountName = process.env.AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT_NAME!;
const accountKey = process.env.AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT_KEY!;

const sharedKeyCredential = new StorageSharedKeyCredential(accountName, accountKey);
const client = new QueueServiceClient(
  `https://${accountName}.queue.core.windows.net`,
  sharedKeyCredential
);

SAS Token

import { QueueServiceClient } from "@azure/storage-queue";

const accountName = process.env.AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT_NAME!;
const sasToken = process.env.AZURE_STORAGE_SAS_TOKEN!;

const client = new QueueServiceClient(
  `https://${accountName}.queue.core.windows.net${sasToken}`
);

Client Hierarchy

QueueServiceClient (account level)
└── QueueClient (queue level)
    └── Messages (send, receive, peek, delete)

Queue Operations

Create Queue

const queueClient = client.getQueueClient("my-queue");
await queueClient.create();

// Or create if not exists
await queueClient.createIfNotExists();

List Queues

for await (const queue of client.listQueues()) {
  console.log(queue.name);
}

// With prefix filter
for await (const queue of client.listQueues({ prefix: "task-" })) {
  console.log(queue.name);
}

Delete Queue

await queueClient.delete();

// Or delete if exists
await queueClient.deleteIfExists();

Get Queue Properties

const properties = await queueClient.getProperties();
console.log("Approximate message count:", properties.approximateMessagesCount);
console.log("Metadata:", properties.metadata);

Set Queue Metadata

await queueClient.setMetadata({
  department: "engineering",
  priority: "high",
});

Message Operations

Send Message

const queueClient = client.getQueueClient("my-queue");

// Simple message
await queueClient.sendMessage("Hello, World!");

// With options
await queueClient.sendMessage("Delayed message", {
  visibilityTimeout: 60, // Hidden for 60 seconds
  messageTimeToLive: 3600, // Expires in 1 hour
});

// JSON message (must be string)
const task = { type: "process", data: { id: 123 } };
await queueClient.sendMessage(JSON.stringify(task));

Receive Messages

// Receive up to 32 messages (default: 1)
const response = await queueClient.receiveMessages({
  numberOfMessages: 10,
  visibilityTimeout: 30, // 30 seconds to process
});

for (const message of response.receivedMessageItems) {
  console.log("Message ID:", message.messageId);
  console.log("Content:", message.messageText);
  console.log("Dequeue Count:", message.dequeueCount);
  console.log("Pop Receipt:", message.popReceipt);
  
  // Process the message...
  
  // Delete after processing
  await queueClient.deleteMessage(message.messageId, message.popReceipt);
}

Peek Messages

Peek without removing from queue (no visibility timeout).

const response = await queueClient.peekMessages({
  numberOfMessages: 5,
});

for (const message of response.peekedMessageItems) {
  console.log("Message ID:", message.messageId);
  console.log("Content:", message.messageText);
  // Note: No popReceipt - cannot delete peeked messages
}

Update Message

Extend visibility timeout or update content.

// Receive a message
const response = await queueClient.receiveMessages();
const message = response.receivedMessageItems[0];

if (message) {
  // Update content and extend visibility
  const updateResponse = await queueClient.updateMessage(
    message.messageId,
    message.popReceipt,
    "Updated content",
    60 // New visibility timeout in seconds
  );
  
  // Use new popReceipt for subsequent operations
  console.log("New pop receipt:", updateResponse.popReceipt);
}

Delete Message

// After receiving
const response = await queueClient.receiveMessages();
const message = response.receivedMessageItems[0];

if (message) {
  await queueClient.deleteMessage(message.messageId, message.popReceipt);
}

Clear All Messages

await queueClient.clearMessages();

Message Processing Patterns

Basic Worker Pattern

async function processQueue(queueClient: QueueClient): Promise<void> {
  while (true) {
    const response = await queueClient.receiveMessages({
      numberOfMessages: 10,
      visibilityTimeout: 30,
    });

    if (response.receivedMessageItems.length === 0) {
      // No messages, wait before polling again
      await sleep(5000);
      continue;
    }

    for (const message of response.receivedMessageItems) {
      try {
        await processMessage(message.messageText);
        await queueClient.deleteMessage(message.messageId, message.popReceipt);
      } catch (error) {
        console.error(`Failed to process message ${message.messageId}:`, error);
        // Message will become visible again after timeout
      }
    }
  }
}

async function processMessage(content: string): Promise<void> {
  const task = JSON.parse(content);
  // Process task...
}

function sleep(ms: number): Promise<void> {
  return new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
}

Poison Message Handling

const MAX_DEQUEUE_COUNT = 5;

async function processWithPoisonHandling(
  queueClient: QueueClient,
  poisonQueueClient: QueueClient
): Promise<void> {
  const response = await queueClient.receiveMessages({
    numberOfMessages: 10,
    visibilityTimeout: 30,
  });

  for (const message of response.receivedMessageItems) {
    if (message.dequeueCount > MAX_DEQUEUE_COUNT) {
      // Move to poison queue
      await poisonQueueClient.sendMessage(message.messageText);
      await queueClient.deleteMessage(message.messageId, message.popReceipt);
      console.log(`Moved message ${message.messageId} to poison queue`);
      continue;
    }

    try {
      await processMessage(message.messageText);
      await queueClient.deleteMessage(message.messageId, message.popReceipt);
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(`Processing failed (attempt ${message.dequeueCount}):`, error);
    }
  }
}

Batch Processing with Visibility Extension

async function processBatchWithExtension(queueClient: QueueClient): Promise<void> {
  const response = await queueClient.receiveMessages({
    numberOfMessages: 1,
    visibilityTimeout: 60,
  });

  const message = response.receivedMessageItems[0];
  if (!message) return;

  let popReceipt = message.popReceipt;

  // Start visibility extension timer
  const extensionInterval = setInterval(async () => {
    try {
      const updateResponse = await queueClient.updateMessage(
        message.messageId,
        popReceipt,
        message.messageText,
        60 // Extend by another 60 seconds
      );
      popReceipt = updateResponse.popReceipt;
    } catch (error) {
      console.error("Failed to extend visibility:", error);
    }
  }, 45000); // Extend every 45 seconds

  try {
    await longRunningProcess(message.messageText);
    await queueClient.deleteMessage(message.messageId, popReceipt);
  } finally {
    clearInterval(extensionInterval);
  }
}

Message Encoding

By default, messages are Base64 encoded. You can customize this:

import { QueueClient } from "@azure/storage-queue";

// Custom encoder/decoder for plain text
const queueClient = new QueueClient(
  `https://${accountName}.queue.core.windows.net/my-queue`,
  credential,
  {
    messageEncoding: "text", // "base64" (default) or "text"
  }
);

// Or with custom encoder
const customQueueClient = new QueueClient(
  `https://${accountName}.queue.core.windows.net/my-queue`,
  credential,
  {
    messageEncoding: {
      encode: (message: string) => Buffer.from(message).toString("base64"),
      decode: (message: string) => Buffer.from(message, "base64").toString(),
    },
  }
);

SAS Token Generation (Node.js only)

Generate Queue SAS

import {
  QueueSASPermissions,
  generateQueueSASQueryParameters,
  StorageSharedKeyCredential,
} from "@azure/storage-queue";

const sharedKeyCredential = new StorageSharedKeyCredential(accountName, accountKey);

const sasToken = generateQueueSASQueryParameters(
  {
    queueName: "my-queue",
    permissions: QueueSASPermissions.parse("raup"), // read, add, update, process
    startsOn: new Date(),
    expiresOn: new Date(Date.now() + 3600 * 1000), // 1 hour
  },
  sharedKeyCredential
).toString();

const sasUrl = `https://${accountName}.queue.core.windows.net/my-queue?${sasToken}`;

Generate Account SAS

import {
  AccountSASPermissions,
  AccountSASResourceTypes,
  AccountSASServices,
  generateAccountSASQueryParameters,
} from "@azure/storage-queue";

const sasToken = generateAccountSASQueryParameters(
  {
    services: AccountSASServices.parse("q").toString(), // queue
    resourceTypes: AccountSASResourceTypes.parse("sco").toString(),
    permissions: AccountSASPermissions.parse("rwdlacupi"),
    expiresOn: new Date(Date.now() + 24 * 3600 * 1000),
  },
  sharedKeyCredential
).toString();

Error Handling

import { RestError } from "@azure/storage-queue";

try {
  await queueClient.sendMessage("test");
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof RestError) {
    switch (error.statusCode) {
      case 404:
        console.log("Queue not found");
        break;
      case 400:
        console.log("Bad request - message too large or invalid");
        break;
      case 403:
        console.log("Access denied");
        break;
      case 409:
        console.log("Queue already exists or being deleted");
        break;
      default:
        console.error(`Storage error ${error.statusCode}: ${error.message}`);
    }
  }
  throw error;
}

TypeScript Types Reference

import {
  // Clients
  QueueServiceClient,
  QueueClient,

  // Authentication
  StorageSharedKeyCredential,
  AnonymousCredential,

  // SAS
  QueueSASPermissions,
  AccountSASPermissions,
  AccountSASServices,
  AccountSASResourceTypes,
  generateQueueSASQueryParameters,
  generateAccountSASQueryParameters,

  // Messages
  DequeuedMessageItem,
  PeekedMessageItem,
  QueueSendMessageResponse,
  QueueReceiveMessageResponse,
  QueueUpdateMessageResponse,

  // Queue
  QueueItem,
  QueueGetPropertiesResponse,

  // Errors
  RestError,
} from "@azure/storage-queue";

Message Limits

Limit	Value
Max message size	64 KB
Max visibility timeout	7 days
Max time-to-live	7 days (or -1 for infinite)
Max messages per receive	32
Default visibility timeout	30 seconds

Best Practices

1. Use DefaultAzureCredential — Prefer AAD over connection strings/keys
2. Always delete after processing — Prevent duplicate processing
3. Handle poison messages — Move failed messages to a dead-letter queue
4. Use appropriate visibility timeout — Set based on expected processing time
5. Extend visibility for long tasks — Update message to prevent timeout
6. Use JSON for structured data — Serialize objects to JSON strings
7. Check dequeueCount — Detect repeatedly failing messages
8. Use batch receive — Receive multiple messages for efficiency

Platform Differences

Feature	Node.js	Browser
StorageSharedKeyCredential	✅	❌
SAS generation	✅	❌
DefaultAzureCredential	✅	❌
Anonymous/SAS access	✅	✅
All message operations	✅	✅

When to Use

This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.