/sqs

name: sqs
description: AWS SQS message queue service for decoupled architectures. Use when creating queues, configuring dead-letter queues, managing visibility timeouts, implementing FIFO ordering, or integrating with Lambda.
last_updated: "2026-01-07"
doc_source: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSSimpleQueueService/latest/SQSDeveloperGuide/

AWS SQS

Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) is a fully managed message queuing service for decoupling and scaling microservices, distributed systems, and serverless applications.

Table of Contents

• [Core Concepts](#core-concepts)
• [Common Patterns](#common-patterns)
• [CLI Reference](#cli-reference)
• [Best Practices](#best-practices)
• [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
• [References](#references)

Core Concepts

Queue Types

| Type | Description | Use Case | |------|-------------|----------| | **Standard** | At-least-once, best-effort ordering | High throughput | | **FIFO** | Exactly-once, strict ordering | Order-sensitive processing |

Key Settings

| Setting | Description | Default | |---------|-------------|---------| | **Visibility Timeout** | Time message is hidden after receive | 30 seconds | | **Message Retention** | How long messages are kept | 4 days (max 14) | | **Delay Seconds** | Delay before message is available | 0 | | **Max Message Size** | Maximum message size | 256 KB |

Dead-Letter Queue (DLQ)

Queue for messages that failed processing after maxReceiveCount attempts.

Common Patterns

Create a Standard Queue

**AWS CLI:**

aws sqs create-queue \
  --queue-name my-queue \
  --attributes '{
    "VisibilityTimeout": "60",
    "MessageRetentionPeriod": "604800",
    "ReceiveMessageWaitTimeSeconds": "20"
  }'

**boto3:**

import boto3

sqs = boto3.client('sqs')

response = sqs.create_queue(
    QueueName='my-queue',
    Attributes={
        'VisibilityTimeout': '60',
        'MessageRetentionPeriod': '604800',
        'ReceiveMessageWaitTimeSeconds': '20'  # Long polling
    }
)
queue_url = response['QueueUrl']

Create FIFO Queue

aws sqs create-queue \
  --queue-name my-queue.fifo \
  --attributes '{
    "FifoQueue": "true",
    "ContentBasedDeduplication": "true"
  }'

Configure Dead-Letter Queue

# Create DLQ
aws sqs create-queue --queue-name my-queue-dlq

# Get DLQ ARN
DLQ_ARN=$(aws sqs get-queue-attributes \
  --queue-url https://sqs.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/123456789012/my-queue-dlq \
  --attribute-names QueueArn \
  --query 'Attributes.QueueArn' --output text)

# Set redrive policy on main queue
aws sqs set-queue-attributes \
  --queue-url https://sqs.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/123456789012/my-queue \
  --attributes "{
    \"RedrivePolicy\": \"{\\\"deadLetterTargetArn\\\":\\\"${DLQ_ARN}\\\",\\\"maxReceiveCount\\\":\\\"3\\\"}\"
  }"

Send Messages

import boto3
import json

sqs = boto3.client('sqs')
queue_url = 'https://sqs.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/123456789012/my-queue'

# Send single message
sqs.send_message(
    QueueUrl=queue_url,
    MessageBody=json.dumps({'order_id': '12345', 'action': 'process'}),
    MessageAttributes={
        'MessageType': {
            'DataType': 'String',
            'StringValue': 'Order'
        }
    }
)

# Send to FIFO queue
sqs.send_message(
    QueueUrl='https://sqs.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/123456789012/my-queue.fifo',
    MessageBody=json.dumps({'order_id': '12345'}),
    MessageGroupId='order-12345',
    MessageDeduplicationId='unique-id-12345'
)

# Batch send (up to 10 messages)
sqs.send_message_batch(
    QueueUrl=queue_url,
    Entries=[
        {'Id': '1', 'MessageBody': json.dumps({'id': 1})},
        {'Id': '2', 'MessageBody': json.dumps({'id': 2})},
        {'Id': '3', 'MessageBody': json.dumps({'id': 3})}
    ]
)

Receive and Process Messages

import boto3
import json

sqs = boto3.client('sqs')
queue_url = 'https://sqs.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/123456789012/my-queue'

while True:
    # Long polling (wait up to 20 seconds)
    response = sqs.receive_message(
        QueueUrl=queue_url,
        MaxNumberOfMessages=10,
        WaitTimeSeconds=20,
        MessageAttributeNames=['All'],
        AttributeNames=['All']
    )

    messages = response.get('Messages', [])

    for message in messages:
        try:
            body = json.loads(message['Body'])
            print(f"Processing: {body}")

            # Process message...

            # Delete on success
            sqs.delete_message(
                QueueUrl=queue_url,
                ReceiptHandle=message['ReceiptHandle']
            )
        except Exception as e:
            print(f"Error processing message: {e}")
            # Message will become visible again after visibility timeout

Lambda Integration

# Create event source mapping
aws lambda create-event-source-mapping \
  --function-name my-function \
  --event-source-arn arn:aws:sqs:us-east-1:123456789012:my-queue \
  --batch-size 10 \
  --maximum-batching-window-in-seconds 5

Lambda handler:

def handler(event, context):
    for record in event['Records']:
        body = json.loads(record['body'])
        message_id = record['messageId']

        try:
            process_message(body)
        except Exception as e:
            # Raise to put message back in queue
            raise

    return {'batchItemFailures': []}

CLI Reference

Queue Management

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | `aws sqs create-queue` | Create queue | | `aws sqs delete-queue` | Delete queue | | `aws sqs list-queues` | List queues | | `aws sqs get-queue-url` | Get queue URL by name | | `aws sqs get-queue-attributes` | Get queue settings | | `aws sqs set-queue-attributes` | Update queue settings |

Messaging

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | `aws sqs send-message` | Send single message | | `aws sqs send-message-batch` | Send up to 10 messages | | `aws sqs receive-message` | Receive messages | |