Installation

How to install BullMQ for Python

Install via pip

BullMQ is available as a Python package on PyPI and can be installed using pip:

pip install bullmq

Requirements

• Python: 3.10 or higher
• Redis: 5.0 or higher (6.2+ recommended for best performance)

Dependencies

The package automatically installs the following dependencies:

• redis (6.4.0) - Python Redis client
• msgpack (1.1.2) - MessagePack serialization
• semver (3.0.4) - Semantic versioning utilities

Development Installation

If you want to contribute to BullMQ Python or install from source:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq.git
cd bullmq/python

# Install in development mode
pip install -e .

# Install development dependencies
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Verify Installation

You can verify the installation by importing the package:

import bullmq
print(bullmq.__version__)

Redis Setup

BullMQ requires a Redis server. You can:

Run Redis Locally

# Using Docker
docker run -d -p 6379:6379 redis:latest

# Or install Redis directly
# On Ubuntu/Debian:
sudo apt-get install redis-server

# On macOS:
brew install redis

Use a Managed Redis Service

For production, consider using a managed Redis service:

• Redis Cloud
• AWS ElastiCache
• Google Cloud Memorystore
• Azure Cache for Redis

Connection Configuration

When creating a Queue or Worker, you can specify Redis connection details:

from bullmq import Queue

# Using connection string
queue = Queue(
    "myQueue",
    {"connection": "rediss://<user>:<password>@<host>:<port>"}
)

# Or using connection parameters (if using a custom Redis client)
# Note: The Python client handles connections internally

Common Issues

Binary Response Warnings

If you see warnings about binary responses, ensure your Redis client is configured with decode_responses=True:

If Redis responses are in binary format, pass the decode_responses=True option. See the redis-py documentation for more details.

Connection Errors

If you can’t connect to Redis:

1. Verify Redis is running: redis-cli ping (should return PONG)
2. Check your connection string has the correct host, port, and credentials
3. Ensure your firewall allows connections to the Redis port (default: 6379)

Next Steps

Usage Guide

Learn how to create queues and workers