Quick Overview
Paho MQTT Golang is an MQTT client library for the Go programming language. It provides a fully-featured implementation of the MQTT protocol versions 3.1.1 and 5.0, supporting both synchronous and asynchronous communication patterns.
Pros
- Supports both MQTT 3.1.1 and 5.0 protocols
- Offers both synchronous and asynchronous APIs
- Well-documented and actively maintained
- Supports TLS for secure connections
Cons
- Learning curve for developers new to MQTT or Go
- Limited built-in support for advanced MQTT features like message persistence
- May require additional configuration for complex networking scenarios
- Performance can be impacted in high-throughput scenarios without proper tuning
Code Examples
- Connecting to an MQTT broker:
opts := mqtt.NewClientOptions().AddBroker("tcp://broker.example.com:1883")
client := mqtt.NewClient(opts)
if token := client.Connect(); token.Wait() && token.Error() != nil {
panic(token.Error())
}
- Publishing a message:
topic := "example/topic"
payload := "Hello, MQTT!"
token := client.Publish(topic, 0, false, payload)
token.Wait()
- Subscribing to a topic:
topic := "example/topic"
if token := client.Subscribe(topic, 1, func(client mqtt.Client, msg mqtt.Message) {
fmt.Printf("Received message: %s from topic: %s\n", msg.Payload(), msg.Topic())
}); token.Wait() && token.Error() != nil {
fmt.Println(token.Error())
os.Exit(1)
}
Getting Started
-
Install the library:
go get github.com/eclipse/paho.mqtt.golang
-
Import the library in your Go code:
import mqtt "github.com/eclipse/paho.mqtt.golang"
-
Create a client and connect to a broker:
opts := mqtt.NewClientOptions().AddBroker("tcp://broker.example.com:1883") client := mqtt.NewClient(opts) if token := client.Connect(); token.Wait() && token.Error() != nil { panic(token.Error()) }
-
Use the client to publish and subscribe to topics as shown in the code examples above.
Competitor Comparisons
Java MQTT lightweight broker
Pros of Moquette
- Written in Java, offering better performance for JVM-based applications
- Includes an embedded MQTT broker, allowing for easy setup of standalone MQTT servers
- Supports MQTT 3.1 and 3.1.1 protocols out of the box
Cons of Moquette
- Less active community and fewer contributors compared to Paho.mqtt.golang
- Limited documentation and examples available
- Primarily focused on server-side implementation, while Paho.mqtt.golang is more versatile for client-side usage
Code Comparison
Moquette (Java):
Server server = new Server();
IConfig config = new MemoryConfig(new Properties());
server.startServer(config);
Paho.mqtt.golang (Go):
opts := mqtt.NewClientOptions().AddBroker("tcp://localhost:1883")
client := mqtt.NewClient(opts)
if token := client.Connect(); token.Wait() && token.Error() != nil {
panic(token.Error())
}
Both examples demonstrate basic setup, but Moquette focuses on creating an MQTT broker, while Paho.mqtt.golang is used for creating an MQTT client. Moquette's approach is more suitable for server-side applications, whereas Paho.mqtt.golang is more versatile for client-side implementations across various platforms.
High performance mqtt broker
Pros of hmq
- Standalone MQTT broker implementation in Go
- Supports clustering for high availability and scalability
- Includes built-in authentication and authorization mechanisms
Cons of hmq
- Less mature and less widely adopted compared to Paho
- Limited documentation and community support
- Fewer features and integrations with other systems
Code Comparison
paho.mqtt.golang (Client):
opts := mqtt.NewClientOptions().AddBroker("tcp://broker.hivemq.com:1883")
opts.SetClientID("go-client")
client := mqtt.NewClient(opts)
if token := client.Connect(); token.Wait() && token.Error() != nil {
panic(token.Error())
}
hmq (Broker):
b, err := broker.NewBroker(&broker.Config{
Host: "0.0.0.0",
Port: 1883,
ClusterHost: "0.0.0.0",
ClusterPort: 8080,
})
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
The main difference is that Paho is a client library for connecting to MQTT brokers, while hmq is a broker implementation itself. Paho is more suitable for applications that need to interact with MQTT brokers, while hmq is designed for those who want to run their own MQTT broker service.
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Eclipse Paho MQTT Go client
This repository contains the source code for the Eclipse Paho MQTT 3.1/3.11 Go client library.
This code builds a library which enable applications to connect to an MQTT broker to publish messages, and to subscribe to topics and receive published messages.
This library supports a fully asynchronous mode of operation.
A client supporting MQTT V5 is also available.
Installation and Build
The process depends upon whether you are using modules (recommended) or GOPATH
.
Modules
If you are using modules then import "github.com/eclipse/paho.mqtt.golang"
and start using it. The necessary packages will be download automatically when you run go build
.
Note that the latest release will be downloaded and changes may have been made since the release. If you have
encountered an issue, or wish to try the latest code for another reason, then run
go get github.com/eclipse/paho.mqtt.golang@master
to get the latest commit.
GOPATH
Installation is as easy as:
go get github.com/eclipse/paho.mqtt.golang
The client depends on Google's proxy package and the websockets package, also easily installed with the commands:
go get github.com/gorilla/websocket
go get golang.org/x/net/proxy
Usage and API
Detailed API documentation is available by using to godoc tool, or can be browsed online using the pkg.go.dev service.
Samples are available in the cmd
directory for reference.
Note:
The library also supports using MQTT over websockets by using the ws://
(unsecure) or wss://
(secure) prefix in the
URI. If the client is running behind a corporate http/https proxy then the following environment variables HTTP_PROXY
,
HTTPS_PROXY
and NO_PROXY
are taken into account when establishing the connection.
Troubleshooting
If you are new to MQTT and your application is not working as expected reviewing the MQTT specification, which this library implements, is a good first step. MQTT.org has some good resources that answer many common questions.
Error Handling
The asynchronous nature of this library makes it easy to forget to check for errors. Consider using a go routine to log these:
t := client.Publish("topic", qos, retained, msg)
go func() {
_ = t.Wait() // Can also use '<-t.Done()' in releases > 1.2.0
if t.Error() != nil {
log.Error(t.Error()) // Use your preferred logging technique (or just fmt.Printf)
}
}()
Logging
If you are encountering issues then enabling logging, both within this library and on your broker, is a good way to begin troubleshooting. This library can produce various levels of log by assigning the logging endpoints, ERROR, CRITICAL, WARN and DEBUG. For example:
func main() {
mqtt.ERROR = log.New(os.Stdout, "[ERROR] ", 0)
mqtt.CRITICAL = log.New(os.Stdout, "[CRIT] ", 0)
mqtt.WARN = log.New(os.Stdout, "[WARN] ", 0)
mqtt.DEBUG = log.New(os.Stdout, "[DEBUG] ", 0)
// Connect, Subscribe, Publish etc..
}
Common Problems
- Seemingly random disconnections may be caused by another client connecting to the broker with the same client identifier; this is as per the spec.
- Unless ordered delivery of messages is essential (and you have configured your broker to support this e.g.
max_inflight_messages=1
in mosquitto) then setClientOptions.SetOrderMatters(false)
. Doing so will avoid the below issue (deadlocks due to blocking message handlers). - A
MessageHandler
(called when a new message is received) must not block (unlessClientOptions.SetOrderMatters(false)
set). If you wish to perform a long-running task, or publish a message, then please use a go routine (blocking in the handler is a common cause of unexpectedpingresp not received, disconnecting
errors). - When QOS1+ subscriptions have been created previously and you connect with
CleanSession
set to false it is possible that the broker will deliver retained messages beforeSubscribe
can be called. To process these messages either configure a handler withAddRoute
or set aDefaultPublishHandler
. If there is no handler (orDefaultPublishHandler
) then inbound messages will not be acknowledged. Adding a handler (even if it'sopts.SetDefaultPublishHandler(func(mqtt.Client, mqtt.Message) {})
) is highly recommended to avoid inadvertently hitting inflight message limits. - Loss of network connectivity may not be detected immediately. If this is an issue then consider setting
ClientOptions.KeepAlive
(sends regular messages to check the link is active). - Reusing a
Client
is not completely safe. After callingDisconnect
please create a new Client (NewClient()
) rather than attempting to reuse the existing one (note that features such asSetAutoReconnect
mean this is rarely necessary). - Brokers offer many configuration options; some settings may lead to unexpected results.
- Publish tokens will complete if the connection is lost and re-established using the default options.SetAutoReconnect(true) functionality (token.Error() will return nil). Attempts will be made to re-deliver the message but there is currently no easy way know when such messages are delivered.
If using Mosquitto then there are a range of fairly common issues:
listener
- By default Mosquitto v2+ listens on loopback interfaces only (meaning it will only accept connections made from the computer its running on).max_inflight_messages
- Unless this is set to 1 mosquitto does not guarantee ordered delivery of messages.max_queued_messages
/max_queued_bytes
- These impose limits on the number/size of queued messages. The defaults may lead to messages being silently dropped.persistence
- Defaults to false (messages will not survive a broker restart)max_keepalive
- defaults to 65535 and, from version 2.0.12,SetKeepAlive(0)
will result in a rejected connection by default.
Reporting bugs
Please report bugs by raising issues for this project in github https://github.com/eclipse/paho.mqtt.golang/issues
A limited number of contributors monitor the issues section so if you have a general question please see the resources in the more information section for help.
We welcome bug reports, but it is important they are actionable. A significant percentage of issues reported are not resolved due to a lack of information. If we cannot replicate the problem then it is unlikely we will be able to fix it. The information required will vary from issue to issue but almost all bug reports would be expected to include:
- Which version of the package you are using (tag or commit - this should be in your
go.mod
file) - A full, clear, description of the problem (detail what you are expecting vs what actually happens).
- Configuration information (code showing how you connect, please include all references to
ClientOption
) - Broker details (name and version).
If at all possible please also include:
- Details of your attempts to resolve the issue (what have you tried, what worked, what did not).
- A Minimal, Reproducible Example. Providing an example
is the best way to demonstrate the issue you are facing; it is important this includes all relevant information
(including broker configuration). Docker (see
cmd/docker
) makes it relatively simple to provide a working end-to-end example. - Broker logs covering the period the issue occurred.
- Application Logs covering the period the issue occurred. Unless you have isolated the root cause of the issue please include a link to a full log (including data from well before the problem arose).
It is important to remember that this library does not stand alone; it communicates with a broker and any issues you are seeing may be due to:
- Bugs in your code.
- Bugs in this library.
- The broker configuration.
- Bugs in the broker.
- Issues with whatever you are communicating with.
When submitting an issue, please ensure that you provide sufficient details to enable us to eliminate causes outside of this library.
Contributing
We welcome pull requests but before your contribution can be accepted by the project, you need to create and electronically sign the Eclipse Contributor Agreement (ECA) and sign off on the Eclipse Foundation Certificate of Origin.
More information is available in the Eclipse Development Resources; please take special note of the requirement that the commit record contain a "Signed-off-by" entry.
More information
Stack Overflow has a range questions/answers covering a range of common issues (both relating to use of this library and MQTT in general). This is the best place to ask general questions (including those relating to the use of this library).
Discussion of the Paho clients takes place on the Eclipse paho-dev mailing list.
General questions about the MQTT protocol are discussed in the MQTT Google Group.
There is much more information available via the MQTT community site.
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