How to Configure RabbitMQ in Dropwizard

July 23, 2025

Dropwizard is great for building Java APIs, and integrating RabbitMQ can elevate your app’s messaging and event-handling capabilities. This guide explores how to configure RabbitMQ in a Dropwizard project—using Docker locally for development and Kubernetes for production deployments—while maintaining clear separation between environments through profile-based configuration.

1. Adding Dependencies to `pom.xml`

Include the following in your Maven project:

<dependencies>
  <!-- Dropwizard framework -->
  <dependency>
    <groupId>io.dropwizard</groupId>
    <artifactId>dropwizard-core</artifactId>
    <version>${dropwizard.version}</version>
  </dependency>

  <!-- RabbitMQ Java client -->
  <dependency>
    <groupId>com.rabbitmq</groupId>
    <artifactId>amqp-client</artifactId>
    <version>${rabbitmq.version}</version>
  </dependency>

  <!-- Kubernetes client library (optional for extended interactions) -->
  <dependency>
    <groupId>io.fabric8</groupId>
    <artifactId>kubernetes-client</artifactId>
    <version>${fabric8.version}</version>
  </dependency>
</dependencies>

This ensures your project includes Dropwizard, RabbitMQ for message brokering, and optional Kubernetes support.

2. Run RabbitMQ with Docker for Development

Create a docker-compose.yml for local testing:

version: '3'
services:
  rabbitmq:
    image: rabbitmq:3-management
    ports:
      - "5672:5672"
      - "15672:15672"

Then start it with:

docker-compose up -d

RabbitMQ will run locally on localhost:5672 for AMQP and localhost:15672 for its web management console.

3. Dev Configuration: `config-dev.yml`

Define the RabbitMQ settings for your development environment:

server:
  applicationConnectors:
    - type: http
      port: 8080

rabbitmq:
  host: localhost
  port: 5672
  username: guest
  password: guest
  virtualHost: /
  queue: dev-queue

Create a matching configuration class:

public class RabbitConfig {
  @JsonProperty public String host;
  @JsonProperty public int port;
  @JsonProperty public String username;
  @JsonProperty public String password;
  @JsonProperty public String virtualHost;
  @JsonProperty public String queue;
}
public class AppConfig extends Configuration {
  @JsonProperty("rabbitmq")
  public RabbitConfig rabbitmq;
}

Initialize RabbitMQ connection in your application class:

ConnectionFactory factory = new ConnectionFactory();
factory.setHost(config.rabbitmq.host);
factory.setPort(config.rabbitmq.port);
factory.setUsername(config.rabbitmq.username);
factory.setPassword(config.rabbitmq.password);
factory.setVirtualHost(config.rabbitmq.virtualHost);

Connection connection = factory.newConnection();
Channel channel = connection.createChannel();
channel.queueDeclare(config.rabbitmq.queue, true, false, false, null);

Run your app with:

java -jar target/myapp.jar server config-dev.yml

Test by publishing or consuming messages manually or via code.

4. Prepare for Kubernetes Production

Use ConfigMaps and Secrets to inject configuration securely in production:

kubectl create configmap rabbitmq-config \
  --from-literal=RABBIT_HOST=rabbitmq-service \
  --from-literal=RABBIT_PORT=5672 \
  --from-literal=RABBIT_VHOST=/ \
  --from-literal=RABBIT_QUEUE=prod-queue

kubectl create secret generic rabbitmq-secret \
  --from-literal=RABBIT_USERNAME=produser \
  --from-literal=RABBIT_PASSWORD=prodpass

5. Production Configuration: `config-prod.yml`

Tell Dropwizard to use environment variables in production:

server:
  applicationConnectors:
    - type: http
      port: 8080

rabbitmq:
  host: ${RABBIT_HOST}
  port: ${RABBIT_PORT}
  username: ${RABBIT_USERNAME}
  password: ${RABBIT_PASSWORD}
  virtualHost: ${RABBIT_VHOST}
  queue: ${RABBIT_QUEUE}

6. Kubernetes Deployment Snippet

Add the environment variables to your deployment YAML:

env:
  - name: RABBIT_HOST
    valueFrom:
      configMapKeyRef:
        name: rabbitmq-config
        key: RABBIT_HOST
  - name: RABBIT_PORT
    valueFrom:
      configMapKeyRef:
        name: rabbitmq-config
        key: RABBIT_PORT
  - name: RABBIT_VHOST
    valueFrom:
      configMapKeyRef:
        name: rabbitmq-config
        key: RABBIT_VHOST
  - name: RABBIT_QUEUE
    valueFrom:
      configMapKeyRef:
        name: rabbitmq-config
        key: RABBIT_QUEUE
  - name: RABBIT_USERNAME
    valueFrom:
      secretKeyRef:
        name: rabbitmq-secret
        key: RABBIT_USERNAME
  - name: RABBIT_PASSWORD
    valueFrom:
      secretKeyRef:
        name: rabbitmq-secret
        key: RABBIT_PASSWORD

Run your service with:

java -jar myapp.jar server config-prod.yml

7. Why This Approach Works

Fast feedback locally using Docker + dev config
Production safety, with secrets managed externally via Kubernetes
Clear environment separation, keeping both configs easy to maintain
Simple real-world messaging, ready to scale out with RabbitMQ

Using Docker for local development and Kubernetes for production, along with Dropwizard’s flexible configuration, enables you to build robust, secure, and maintainable messaging-powered applications. Your Dropwizard service can now send and receive messages with RabbitMQ confidently—no matter the environment, configuration stays clear, scalable, and under control.

1. Adding Dependencies to pom.xml