Configure a NATS JetStream stream with WorkQueue retention for single-consumption FIFO job distribution
domain: docs.nats.io · 6 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
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Steps
Create a stream and set its retention policy to WorkQueuePolicy (as opposed to the default LimitsPolicy or InterestPolicy)
Understand that WorkQueuePolicy enforces FIFO-style, consume-once semantics: each message is automatically deleted from the stream as soon as it is acknowledged by a consumer
Create only consumers whose subject filters do not overlap on a WorkQueue stream — the server enforces at most one consumer per subject on this stream type, since overlapping consumers could both claim the same message
Bind one or more worker processes to the same non-overlapping consumer (using a pull consumer with multiple pullers, for example) to distribute the FIFO workload among them while each message is still processed exactly once
Set upper-bound limits (MaxMsgs, MaxBytes, MaxAge) alongside WorkQueuePolicy if desired; these limits are additive/enforced on top of the work-queue consumption behavior, not a replacement for it
Ack each message promptly after processing so the stream storage doesn't grow unbounded waiting on unacknowledged messages
Known gotchas
Unlike InterestPolicy streams, WorkQueuePolicy streams require that no two consumers have overlapping subject filters — attempting to add a second consumer whose filter overlaps an existing one will fail
Because messages are deleted on ack, you cannot replay old messages from a WorkQueue stream the way you can from a LimitsPolicy stream — plan a separate durable audit/archive stream if replay is needed
Retention policy is set at stream creation and interacts with, but does not override, the stream's MaxMsgs/MaxBytes/MaxAge limits — verify current NATS server docs for the exact precedence rules before relying on both together
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