azure-servicebus-dotnet – DevOps & Infrastructure skill for AI agents

Azure.Messaging.ServiceBus (.NET)

Enterprise messaging SDK for reliable message delivery with queues, topics, subscriptions, and sessions.

Installation

dotnet add package Azure.Messaging.ServiceBus
dotnet add package Azure.Identity

Example SDK baseline: v7.20.1; verify the installed package and compatible API before adapting snippets.

Environment Variables

AZURE_SERVICEBUS_FULLY_QUALIFIED_NAMESPACE=<namespace>.servicebus.windows.net
# Or connection string (less secure)
AZURE_SERVICEBUS_CONNECTION_STRING=Endpoint=sb://...

Authentication

Microsoft Entra ID (Recommended)

using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.Messaging.ServiceBus;

string fullyQualifiedNamespace = "<namespace>.servicebus.windows.net";
await using ServiceBusClient client = new(fullyQualifiedNamespace, new DefaultAzureCredential());

Connection String

string connectionString = "<connection_string>";
await using ServiceBusClient client = new(connectionString);

ASP.NET Core Dependency Injection

services.AddAzureClients(builder =>
{
    builder.AddServiceBusClientWithNamespace("<namespace>.servicebus.windows.net");
    builder.UseCredential(new DefaultAzureCredential());
});

Client Hierarchy

ServiceBusClient
├── CreateSender(queueOrTopicName)      → ServiceBusSender
├── CreateReceiver(queueName)           → ServiceBusReceiver
├── CreateReceiver(topicName, subName)  → ServiceBusReceiver
├── AcceptNextSessionAsync(queueName)   → ServiceBusSessionReceiver
├── CreateProcessor(queueName)          → ServiceBusProcessor
└── CreateSessionProcessor(queueName)   → ServiceBusSessionProcessor

ServiceBusAdministrationClient (separate client for CRUD)

Use separate snippets independently and import Azure.Messaging.ServiceBus.Administration for CRUD and System.Transactions for TransactionScope. Confirm namespace/entity and least-privilege sender/receiver/admin roles. Receive can return null; DLQ and transaction examples also need that guard. Completing removes a message: perform the durable business operation first, make it idempotent for redelivery and reconcile uncertain sends/settlements. Abandoning every exception can create poison-message loops. Do not log message bodies or raw exceptions containing sensitive payloads. Session-enabled queues require session receivers; the basic receive example is for a different non-session queue. Processors need async disposal and bounded lock-renewal/shutdown policies.

Core Workflows

1. Send Messages

await using ServiceBusClient client = new(fullyQualifiedNamespace, new DefaultAzureCredential());
ServiceBusSender sender = client.CreateSender("my-queue");

// Single message
ServiceBusMessage message = new("Hello world!");
await sender.SendMessageAsync(message);

// Safe batching (recommended)
using ServiceBusMessageBatch batch = await sender.CreateMessageBatchAsync();
if (!batch.TryAddMessage(new ServiceBusMessage("Message 1")))
    throw new InvalidOperationException("Message 1 exceeds the batch capacity");
if (!batch.TryAddMessage(new ServiceBusMessage("Message 2")))
    throw new InvalidOperationException("Message 2 exceeds remaining batch capacity; flush and retry in a new batch");
await sender.SendMessagesAsync(batch);

2. Receive Messages

ServiceBusReceiver receiver = client.CreateReceiver("my-queue");

// Single message
ServiceBusReceivedMessage message = await receiver.ReceiveMessageAsync();
if (message is null) return; // A timed receive can return no message
string body = message.Body.ToString();
Console.WriteLine(body);

// Complete the message (removes from queue)
await receiver.CompleteMessageAsync(message);

// Batch receive
IReadOnlyList<ServiceBusReceivedMessage> messages = await receiver.ReceiveMessagesAsync(maxMessages: 10);
foreach (var msg in messages)
{
    Console.WriteLine(msg.Body.ToString());
    await receiver.CompleteMessageAsync(msg);
}

3. Message Settlement

// Complete - removes message from queue
await receiver.CompleteMessageAsync(message);

// Abandon - releases lock, message can be received again
await receiver.AbandonMessageAsync(message);

// Defer - prevents normal receive, use ReceiveDeferredMessageAsync
await receiver.DeferMessageAsync(message);

// Dead Letter - moves to dead letter subqueue
await receiver.DeadLetterMessageAsync(message, "InvalidFormat", "Message body was not valid JSON");

4. Background Processing with Processor

ServiceBusProcessor processor = client.CreateProcessor("my-queue", new ServiceBusProcessorOptions
{
    AutoCompleteMessages = false,
    MaxConcurrentCalls = 2
});

processor.ProcessMessageAsync += async (args) =>
{
    try
    {
        string body = args.Message.Body.ToString();
        Console.WriteLine($"Received: {body}");
        await args.CompleteMessageAsync(args.Message);
    }
    catch (Exception ex)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Error processing: {ex.Message}");
        await args.AbandonMessageAsync(args.Message);
    }
};

processor.ProcessErrorAsync += (args) =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Error source: {args.ErrorSource}");
    Console.WriteLine($"Entity: {args.EntityPath}");
    Console.WriteLine($"Exception: {args.Exception}");
    return Task.CompletedTask;
};

await processor.StartProcessingAsync();
// ... application runs
await processor.StopProcessingAsync();

5. Sessions (Ordered Processing)

// Send session message
ServiceBusMessage message = new("Hello")
{
    SessionId = "order-123"
};
await sender.SendMessageAsync(message);

// Receive from next available session
ServiceBusSessionReceiver receiver = await client.AcceptNextSessionAsync("my-queue");

// Or receive from specific session
ServiceBusSessionReceiver receiver = await client.AcceptSessionAsync("my-queue", "order-123");

// Session state management
await receiver.SetSessionStateAsync(new BinaryData("processing"));
BinaryData state = await receiver.GetSessionStateAsync();

// Renew session lock
await receiver.RenewSessionLockAsync();

6. Dead Letter Queue

// Receive from dead letter queue
ServiceBusReceiver dlqReceiver = client.CreateReceiver("my-queue", new ServiceBusReceiverOptions
{
    SubQueue = SubQueue.DeadLetter
});

ServiceBusReceivedMessage dlqMessage = await dlqReceiver.ReceiveMessageAsync();

// Access dead letter metadata
string reason = dlqMessage.DeadLetterReason;
string description = dlqMessage.DeadLetterErrorDescription;
Console.WriteLine($"Dead letter reason: {reason} - {description}");

7. Topics and Subscriptions

// Send to topic
ServiceBusSender topicSender = client.CreateSender("my-topic");
await topicSender.SendMessageAsync(new ServiceBusMessage("Broadcast message"));

// Receive from subscription
ServiceBusReceiver subReceiver = client.CreateReceiver("my-topic", "my-subscription");
var message = await subReceiver.ReceiveMessageAsync();

8. Administration (CRUD)

var adminClient = new ServiceBusAdministrationClient(
    fullyQualifiedNamespace, 
    new DefaultAzureCredential());

// Create queue
var options = new CreateQueueOptions("my-queue")
{
    MaxDeliveryCount = 10,
    LockDuration = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30),
    RequiresSession = true,
    DeadLetteringOnMessageExpiration = true
};
QueueProperties queue = await adminClient.CreateQueueAsync(options);

// Update queue
queue.LockDuration = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(60);
await adminClient.UpdateQueueAsync(queue);

// Create topic and subscription
await adminClient.CreateTopicAsync(new CreateTopicOptions("my-topic"));
await adminClient.CreateSubscriptionAsync(new CreateSubscriptionOptions("my-topic", "my-subscription"));

// Delete
await adminClient.DeleteQueueAsync("my-queue");

9. Cross-Entity Transactions

var options = new ServiceBusClientOptions { EnableCrossEntityTransactions = true };
await using var client = new ServiceBusClient(connectionString, options);

ServiceBusReceiver receiverA = client.CreateReceiver("queueA");
ServiceBusSender senderB = client.CreateSender("queueB");

ServiceBusReceivedMessage receivedMessage = await receiverA.ReceiveMessageAsync();

using (var ts = new TransactionScope(TransactionScopeAsyncFlowOption.Enabled))
{
    await receiverA.CompleteMessageAsync(receivedMessage);
    await senderB.SendMessageAsync(new ServiceBusMessage("Forwarded"));
    ts.Complete();
}

Key Types Reference

| Type | Purpose |

|------|---------|

| ServiceBusClient | Main entry point, manages connection |

| ServiceBusSender | Sends messages to queues/topics |

| ServiceBusReceiver | Receives messages from queues/subscriptions |

| ServiceBusSessionReceiver | Receives session messages |

| ServiceBusProcessor | Background message processing |

| ServiceBusSessionProcessor | Background session processing |

| ServiceBusAdministrationClient | CRUD for queues/topics/subscriptions |

| ServiceBusMessage | Message to send |

|

… (full content is in the download package)