Migrating from ActiveMQ

ActiveMQ is a multi-protocol broker, so there is no single migration path. Which connector you use — and which guide you follow — depends on which protocol your client speaks and which ActiveMQ variant (Classic or Artemis) you run. This page is the router: it points you at the right per-protocol guide and calls out the one thing that does not migrate at all.

KubeMQ serves ActiveMQ workloads through three existing connectors — AMQP 1.0, STOMP, and MQTT — depending on the protocol. All three are opt-in (Enable = false by default); you enable only the connector(s) your clients need. The per-protocol guides carry the full code; this page keeps the endpoint deltas and the cross-cutting deviations in one place.

Choose your path

Pick the row that matches your client, then follow the linked guide for the connection snippet, destination mapping, and a working code example.

Java/JMS applications keep their JMS code and swap only the ConnectionFactory implementation to Apache Qpid JMS — a client-swap. STOMP, MQTT, and native AMQP 1.0 clients are endpoint-only: change the broker host and credentials, nothing else.

Default ports (when the connector is enabled):

Enable only what you need. Each connector has its own enable variable:

CONNECTORS_AMQP10_ENABLE=true   # Java/JMS via Qpid JMS, and native AMQP 1.0 (Artemis) clients
CONNECTORS_STOMP_ENABLE=true    # STOMP clients (Classic and Artemis)
CONNECTORSMQTT_ENABLE=true      # MQTT clients (note: no underscore)

Compatibility Matrix

This matrix is self-contained for the ActiveMQ workload across all three connectors. Where a capability differs by path, the cell names the path it applies to.

Footnotes:

• ² ActiveMQ RPC via the AMQP 1.0 (Qpid JMS) path only; STOMP reply-to works but requires a pre-existing reply subscription.
• ⁶ See What Does NOT Migrate → Hard blockers for the authoritative statement.

Connection / Endpoint Migration

The change is the same shape on every path: point the client at the KubeMQ host and supply a KubeMQ JWT as the credential. The full code lives in the linked per-protocol guides — these tabs show only the endpoint delta.

# Before (ActiveMQ Classic, OpenWire — must switch protocol)
tcp://activemq.example.com:61616

# Before (ActiveMQ Artemis, native AMQP 1.0)
amqp://artemis.example.com:5672

# After (KubeMQ)
amqp://kubemq.example.com:5672
amqps://kubemq.example.com:5671   # TLS

# Before (ActiveMQ Classic STOMP)
host: activemq.example.com
port: 61613

# After (KubeMQ STOMP)
host: kubemq.example.com
port: 61613   # same port; TLS on 61614

# Before (ActiveMQ Classic MQTT)
host: activemq.example.com
port: 1883

# After (KubeMQ MQTT)
host: kubemq.example.com
port: 1883   # plain; TLS on 8883; WS on 8083

Concept & Destination Mapping

ActiveMQ concepts map onto KubeMQ patterns through the connector chosen for each client type.

AMQP 1.0 path (Qpid JMS / Artemis)

The JMS capability hint (queue / topic) lets Qpid JMS Queue("orders") and Topic("orders") map automatically without an explicit prefix — see Migrating from JMS for details.

STOMP path

MQTT path

Wildcards + and # are supported for Events subscriptions only.

Security

All three connectors accept the same KubeMQ JWT as the credential, but deliver it differently:

All three connectors are opt-in (Enable = false). They do not open listeners until explicitly enabled. When Authentication.Enable = false (the server default), listeners accept unauthenticated clients — enable authentication or firewall the ports when the server is reachable from untrusted networks.

TLS: each connector uses the server-wide Security block. TLS is active on the TLS port only when Security is configured. mTLS (client-certificate auth) is available on the AMQP 1.0 path via SASL EXTERNAL (cert CN = ClientID).

Authorization (Casbin): with Authorization.Enable = true, Write is enforced on SEND / produce, and Read on SUBSCRIBE / consume, against the resolved KubeMQ channel.

See Authentication & Security and the configuration reference.

What Does NOT Migrate / Deviations

Hard blockers

Behavioral deviations

Verification Smoke Test

Choose the path that matches your application, enable the relevant connector(s), and point a test client at the KubeMQ endpoint. The AMQP 1.0 and MQTT paths defer to their guides for the full client snippet; the STOMP quick check is below.

• AMQP 1.0 path (Java/JMS) — requires the AMQP 1.0 connector enabled (CONNECTORS_AMQP10_ENABLE=true). See Migrating from JMS for the full Qpid JMS snippet, and Migrating from AMQP 1.0 for the native go-amqp snippet.
• MQTT path — requires the MQTT connector enabled (CONNECTORSMQTT_ENABLE=true). See Migrating from MQTT for the full paho-mqtt snippet.

STOMP path — requires the STOMP connector enabled (CONNECTORS_STOMP_ENABLE=true):

# stomp.py 8.x — publish one message, consume it, confirm arrival
# Symbols: stomp.Connection, conn.connect, conn.send, conn.subscribe,
#          ConnectionListener.on_message, conn.ack, conn.disconnect

import stomp, time

class Listener(stomp.ConnectionListener):
    def __init__(self): self.received = []
    def on_message(self, frame):
        self.received.append(frame.body)
        print(f"received: {frame.body}")

listener = Listener()
conn = stomp.Connection([("kubemq.example.com", 61613)])
conn.set_listener("", listener)
conn.connect(login="user", passcode="<jwt-or-empty>", wait=True)

# Subscribe before publishing (required for Events pattern)
conn.subscribe("/topic/smoke-test", id=1, ack="auto")

# Publish
conn.send("/topic/smoke-test", body="hello from activemq migration")
time.sleep(1)

assert len(listener.received) == 1, "smoke test failed: no message received"
print("smoke test passed")
conn.disconnect()

See Also