azure-servicebus-py
Azure Service Bus SDK for Python messaging. Use for queues, topics, subscriptions, and enterprise messaging patterns.
About this skill
This skill integrates the Azure Service Bus SDK for Python, empowering AI agents to leverage enterprise-grade messaging patterns. It allows agents to interact with Azure Service Bus queues for point-to-point communication, and topics/subscriptions for publish-subscribe scenarios. This facilitates robust, asynchronous, and scalable communication for various cloud applications, ensuring reliable delivery and processing of messages. Agents can use this for task orchestration, event-driven architectures, distributed system integration, and processing background jobs.
Best use case
Implementing asynchronous communication between different AI services or microservices. Building event-driven architectures where AI agents react to or publish events. Orchestrating complex workflows by sending messages between different stages handled by AI agents. Decoupling components in a distributed system, allowing AI agents to perform tasks independently and reliably. Processing long-running tasks or background jobs initiated by an AI agent, ensuring message persistence and delivery.
Azure Service Bus SDK for Python messaging. Use for queues, topics, subscriptions, and enterprise messaging patterns.
The AI agent successfully sends messages to Azure Service Bus queues or topics, or receives messages from queues or subscriptions, facilitating reliable and asynchronous communication within a distributed system. This enables robust task delegation and event processing.
Practical example
Example input
{"command": "send_service_bus_message", "args": {"message_body": "Process this new customer order: ORD12345", "queue_name": "order_processing_queue", "message_id": "MSG_ORD12345_20240726"}}Example output
{"status": "success", "message": "Message successfully sent to Azure Service Bus queue 'order_processing_queue'. Message ID: MSG_ORD12345_20240726"}When to use this skill
- When an AI agent needs to send or receive messages reliably across distributed systems.
- When building applications that require decoupled components and asynchronous processing.
- For implementing enterprise messaging patterns like publish-subscribe or competing consumers.
- When integrating with other Azure services or applications that communicate via Service Bus.
When not to use this skill
- For simple, synchronous API calls where immediate responses are required.
- When dealing with very low-latency, real-time data streaming where other technologies (like Azure Event Hubs or WebSockets) might be more suitable.
- For storing large files or complex objects directly within messages (consider linking to blob storage instead).
- If the communication needs are solely within a single, tightly coupled application process without distributed concerns.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/azure-servicebus-py/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How azure-servicebus-py Compares
| Feature / Agent | azure-servicebus-py | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Claude | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | easy | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Azure Service Bus SDK for Python messaging. Use for queues, topics, subscriptions, and enterprise messaging patterns.
Which AI agents support this skill?
This skill is designed for Claude.
How difficult is it to install?
The installation complexity is rated as easy. You can find the installation instructions above.
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
Related Guides
AI Agents for Coding
Browse AI agent skills for coding, debugging, testing, refactoring, code review, and developer workflows across Claude, Cursor, and Codex.
Best AI Skills for Claude
Explore the best AI skills for Claude and Claude Code across coding, research, workflow automation, documentation, and agent operations.
Top AI Agents for Productivity
See the top AI agent skills for productivity, workflow automation, operational systems, documentation, and everyday task execution.
SKILL.md Source
# Azure Service Bus SDK for Python
Enterprise messaging for reliable cloud communication with queues and pub/sub topics.
## Installation
```bash
pip install azure-servicebus azure-identity
```
## Environment Variables
```bash
SERVICEBUS_FULLY_QUALIFIED_NAMESPACE=<namespace>.servicebus.windows.net
SERVICEBUS_QUEUE_NAME=myqueue
SERVICEBUS_TOPIC_NAME=mytopic
SERVICEBUS_SUBSCRIPTION_NAME=mysubscription
```
## Authentication
```python
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.servicebus import ServiceBusClient
credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
namespace = "<namespace>.servicebus.windows.net"
client = ServiceBusClient(
fully_qualified_namespace=namespace,
credential=credential
)
```
## Client Types
| Client | Purpose | Get From |
|--------|---------|----------|
| `ServiceBusClient` | Connection management | Direct instantiation |
| `ServiceBusSender` | Send messages | `client.get_queue_sender()` / `get_topic_sender()` |
| `ServiceBusReceiver` | Receive messages | `client.get_queue_receiver()` / `get_subscription_receiver()` |
## Send Messages (Async)
```python
import asyncio
from azure.servicebus.aio import ServiceBusClient
from azure.servicebus import ServiceBusMessage
from azure.identity.aio import DefaultAzureCredential
async def send_messages():
credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
async with ServiceBusClient(
fully_qualified_namespace="<namespace>.servicebus.windows.net",
credential=credential
) as client:
sender = client.get_queue_sender(queue_name="myqueue")
async with sender:
# Single message
message = ServiceBusMessage("Hello, Service Bus!")
await sender.send_messages(message)
# Batch of messages
messages = [ServiceBusMessage(f"Message {i}") for i in range(10)]
await sender.send_messages(messages)
# Message batch (for size control)
batch = await sender.create_message_batch()
for i in range(100):
try:
batch.add_message(ServiceBusMessage(f"Batch message {i}"))
except ValueError: # Batch full
await sender.send_messages(batch)
batch = await sender.create_message_batch()
batch.add_message(ServiceBusMessage(f"Batch message {i}"))
await sender.send_messages(batch)
asyncio.run(send_messages())
```
## Receive Messages (Async)
```python
async def receive_messages():
credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
async with ServiceBusClient(
fully_qualified_namespace="<namespace>.servicebus.windows.net",
credential=credential
) as client:
receiver = client.get_queue_receiver(queue_name="myqueue")
async with receiver:
# Receive batch
messages = await receiver.receive_messages(
max_message_count=10,
max_wait_time=5 # seconds
)
for msg in messages:
print(f"Received: {str(msg)}")
await receiver.complete_message(msg) # Remove from queue
asyncio.run(receive_messages())
```
## Receive Modes
| Mode | Behavior | Use Case |
|------|----------|----------|
| `PEEK_LOCK` (default) | Message locked, must complete/abandon | Reliable processing |
| `RECEIVE_AND_DELETE` | Removed immediately on receive | At-most-once delivery |
```python
from azure.servicebus import ServiceBusReceiveMode
receiver = client.get_queue_receiver(
queue_name="myqueue",
receive_mode=ServiceBusReceiveMode.RECEIVE_AND_DELETE
)
```
## Message Settlement
```python
async with receiver:
messages = await receiver.receive_messages(max_message_count=1)
for msg in messages:
try:
# Process message...
await receiver.complete_message(msg) # Success - remove from queue
except ProcessingError:
await receiver.abandon_message(msg) # Retry later
except PermanentError:
await receiver.dead_letter_message(
msg,
reason="ProcessingFailed",
error_description="Could not process"
)
```
| Action | Effect |
|--------|--------|
| `complete_message()` | Remove from queue (success) |
| `abandon_message()` | Release lock, retry immediately |
| `dead_letter_message()` | Move to dead-letter queue |
| `defer_message()` | Set aside, receive by sequence number |
## Topics and Subscriptions
```python
# Send to topic
sender = client.get_topic_sender(topic_name="mytopic")
async with sender:
await sender.send_messages(ServiceBusMessage("Topic message"))
# Receive from subscription
receiver = client.get_subscription_receiver(
topic_name="mytopic",
subscription_name="mysubscription"
)
async with receiver:
messages = await receiver.receive_messages(max_message_count=10)
```
## Sessions (FIFO)
```python
# Send with session
message = ServiceBusMessage("Session message")
message.session_id = "order-123"
await sender.send_messages(message)
# Receive from specific session
receiver = client.get_queue_receiver(
queue_name="session-queue",
session_id="order-123"
)
# Receive from next available session
from azure.servicebus import NEXT_AVAILABLE_SESSION
receiver = client.get_queue_receiver(
queue_name="session-queue",
session_id=NEXT_AVAILABLE_SESSION
)
```
## Scheduled Messages
```python
from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
message = ServiceBusMessage("Scheduled message")
scheduled_time = datetime.now(timezone.utc) + timedelta(minutes=10)
# Schedule message
sequence_number = await sender.schedule_messages(message, scheduled_time)
# Cancel scheduled message
await sender.cancel_scheduled_messages(sequence_number)
```
## Dead-Letter Queue
```python
from azure.servicebus import ServiceBusSubQueue
# Receive from dead-letter queue
dlq_receiver = client.get_queue_receiver(
queue_name="myqueue",
sub_queue=ServiceBusSubQueue.DEAD_LETTER
)
async with dlq_receiver:
messages = await dlq_receiver.receive_messages(max_message_count=10)
for msg in messages:
print(f"Dead-lettered: {msg.dead_letter_reason}")
await dlq_receiver.complete_message(msg)
```
## Sync Client (for simple scripts)
```python
from azure.servicebus import ServiceBusClient, ServiceBusMessage
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
with ServiceBusClient(
fully_qualified_namespace="<namespace>.servicebus.windows.net",
credential=DefaultAzureCredential()
) as client:
with client.get_queue_sender("myqueue") as sender:
sender.send_messages(ServiceBusMessage("Sync message"))
with client.get_queue_receiver("myqueue") as receiver:
for msg in receiver:
print(str(msg))
receiver.complete_message(msg)
```
## Best Practices
1. **Use async client** for production workloads
2. **Use context managers** (`async with`) for proper cleanup
3. **Complete messages** after successful processing
4. **Use dead-letter queue** for poison messages
5. **Use sessions** for ordered, FIFO processing
6. **Use message batches** for high-throughput scenarios
7. **Set `max_wait_time`** to avoid infinite blocking
## Reference Files
| File | Contents |
|------|----------|
| references/patterns.md | Competing consumers, sessions, retry patterns, request-response, transactions |
| references/dead-letter.md | DLQ handling, poison messages, reprocessing strategies |
| scripts/setup_servicebus.py | CLI for queue/topic/subscription management and DLQ monitoring |
## When to Use
This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.Related Skills
microsoft-azure-webjobs-extensions-authentication-events-dotnet
Microsoft Entra Authentication Events SDK for .NET. Azure Functions triggers for custom authentication extensions.
azure-web-pubsub-ts
Real-time messaging with WebSocket connections and pub/sub patterns.
azure-storage-queue-ts
Azure Queue Storage JavaScript/TypeScript SDK (@azure/storage-queue) for message queue operations. Use for sending, receiving, peeking, and deleting messages in queues.
azure-storage-queue-py
Azure Queue Storage SDK for Python. Use for reliable message queuing, task distribution, and asynchronous processing.
azure-storage-file-share-ts
Azure File Share JavaScript/TypeScript SDK (@azure/storage-file-share) for SMB file share operations.
azure-storage-file-share-py
Azure Storage File Share SDK for Python. Use for SMB file shares, directories, and file operations in the cloud.
azure-storage-file-datalake-py
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 SDK for Python. Use for hierarchical file systems, big data analytics, and file/directory operations.
azure-storage-blob-ts
Azure Blob Storage JavaScript/TypeScript SDK (@azure/storage-blob) for blob operations. Use for uploading, downloading, listing, and managing blobs and containers.
azure-storage-blob-rust
Azure Blob Storage SDK for Rust. Use for uploading, downloading, and managing blobs and containers.
azure-storage-blob-py
Azure Blob Storage SDK for Python. Use for uploading, downloading, listing blobs, managing containers, and blob lifecycle.
azure-speech-to-text-rest-py
Azure Speech to Text REST API for short audio (Python). Use for simple speech recognition of audio files up to 60 seconds without the Speech SDK.
azure-servicebus-dotnet
Azure Service Bus SDK for .NET. Enterprise messaging with queues, topics, subscriptions, and sessions.