---
id: bullmq
version: "3.0.4"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# bullmq — BullMQ for Python

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 2.3M/mo

## What it is and what it does

BullMQ for Python is a Redis-backed distributed job queue that ports the core functionality of the NodeJS BullMQ library. It lets you enqueue jobs with metadata (priority, delay, deduplication settings), process them with workers, and track progress and events. Jobs can be regular, delayed, prioritized, deduplicated, or repeatable via a job scheduler. The library also supports job retries with backoff, per-job cancellation via cooperative abort, global concurrency limits, and a lock manager for batched operations.

You interact with it through a Queue object to add jobs and a Worker to process them. Because both the Python and NodeJS versions use the same underlying Lua scripts in Redis, queues created by one language can be consumed by the other—useful for polyglot systems. The library is in Alpha status, meaning the API may change, but it has active maintenance and a large user base.

Use it for:

- Background job processing: offload long-running tasks (email, image processing) from your web request handler.
- Job scheduling: use JobScheduler to run repeatable tasks at intervals, replacing cron for application-level scheduling.
- Priority-based task dispatch: ensure critical jobs (payment processing, alerts) run before lower-priority work.
- Deduplication and throttling: prevent duplicate work by deduplicating jobs or throttling submissions over a time window.
- Polyglot job queues: share a single queue between Python and NodeJS services using the same Lua-backed semantics.
- Distributed rate limiting: enforce global concurrency and rate limits across multiple workers or services.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

BullMQ for Python is a Redis-backed job queue library that lets you add, schedule, and process jobs with features like priority, deduplication, retries, and worker management.

Yes, if you need a Redis-backed job queue with priority, scheduling, and worker management in Python. The active maintenance, low install friction, permissive MIT license, and interoperability with NodeJS BullMQ make it a solid choice. The Alpha status means the API may shift—acceptable for new projects but worth monitoring if you depend on stability. No known security vulnerabilities.

## Install

pip install bullmq
uv add bullmq
poetry add bullmq

## Installing bullmq

Before you install: Low friction installation with four runtime dependencies (redis, msgpack, semver, croniter). Active maintenance—last commit 2026-08-14, released 2026-08-05. Alpha status (Development Status :: 3) means the API may shift, but the project has 9296 GitHub stars and steady downloads.

License in practice: MIT license (permissive). You can use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install bullmq

from bullmq import Queue

queue = Queue('my-queue')
job = await queue.add('my-job', {'foo': 'bar'})

Requires Python >= 3.10.0 and a running Redis server. Async/await syntax requires an async context.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the library supports all NodeJS BullMQ features or if gaps beyond those listed in the description exist.
- Performance characteristics and throughput limits for high-volume job processing.
- Compatibility guarantees between Python and NodeJS queue versions using the same Lua scripts.

## Package facts

- License: not declared (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 2.3M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

redis job queue python, task queue with priority, job scheduling and workers, distributed job processing, async task queue, job deduplication, queue with retries, job-queue, redis, async-workers

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