Use automatic request batching for Amazon SQS with the AWS SDK for Java 2.x

The Automatic Request Batching API for Amazon SQS is a high-level library that provides an efficient way to batch and buffer requests for SQS operations. By using the batching API, you reduce the number of requests to SQS, which improves throughput and minimizes costs.

Because the batch API methods match the SqsAsyncClient methods—sendMessage, changeMessageVisibility, deleteMessage, receiveMessage—you can use the batch API as a drop-in replacement with minimal changes.

This topic gives you an overview of how to configure and work with the Automatic Request Batching API for Amazon SQS.

Check prerequisites

You need to use version 2.28.0 or later of the SDK for Java 2.x to have access to the batching API. Your Maven pom.xml should at least contain the following elements.

<dependencyManagement>
    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
            <artifactId>bom</artifactId>
            <version>2.28.231</version>
            <type>pom</type>
            <scope>import</scope>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>
</dependencyManagement>
<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
        <artifactId>sqs</artifactId>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

¹ Latest version

Create a batch manager

The automatic request batching API is implemented by the SqsAsyncBatchManager interface. You can create an instance of the manager a couple ways.

1. Default configuration by using SqsAsyncClient

The simplest way you can create a batch manager is to call the batchManager factory method on an existing SqsAsyncClient instance. The simple approach is shown in the following snippet.

SqsAsyncClient asyncClient = SqsAsyncClient.create();
SqsAsyncBatchManager sqsAsyncBatchManager = asyncClient.batchManager();

When you use this approach, the SqsAsyncBatchManager instance uses the default values that are shown in the table in the Override configuration settings for SqsAsyncBatchManager section. Additionally, the SqsAsyncBatchManager instance uses the ExecutorService of the SqsAsyncClient instance that it was created from.

1. Custom configuration by using SqsAsyncBatchManager.Builder

For more advanced use cases, you can customize the batch manager using the SqsAsyncBatchManager.Builder. By using this approach to create a SqsAsyncBatchManager instance, you can fine tune the batching behavior. The following snippet shows an example of how to use the builder to customize batching behavior.

SqsAsyncBatchManager batchManager = SqsAsyncBatchManager.builder()
    .client(SqsAsyncClient.create())
    .scheduledExecutor(Executors.newScheduledThreadPool(5))
    .overrideConfiguration(b -> b
        .receiveMessageMinWaitDuration(Duration.ofSeconds(10))
        .receiveMessageVisibilityTimeout(Duration.ofSeconds(1))
        .receiveMessageAttributeNames(Collections.singletonList("*"))
        .receiveMessageSystemAttributeNames(Collections.singletonList(MessageSystemAttributeName.ALL)))
    .build();

When you use this approach, you can adjust the settings on the BatchOverrideConfiguration object that are shown in the table in the Override configuration settings for SqsAsyncBatchManager section. You can also provide a custom ScheduledExecutorService for the batch manager by using this approach.

Send messages

To send messages with the batch manager, use the SqsAsyncBatchManager#sendMessage method. The SDK buffers requests and sends them as a batch when the maxBatchSize or sendRequestFrequency values are reached.

The following example show a sendMessage request immediately following by another request. In this case, the SDK sends both messages in a single batch.

// Sending the first message
CompletableFuture<SendMessageResponse> futureOne = 
    sqsAsyncBatchManager.sendMessage(r -> r.messageBody("One").queueUrl("queue"));

// Sending the second message
CompletableFuture<SendMessageResponse> futureTwo = 
    sqsAsyncBatchManager.sendMessage(r -> r.messageBody("Two").queueUrl("queue"));

// Waiting for both futures to complete and retrieving the responses
SendMessageResponse messageOne = futureOne.join();
SendMessageResponse messageTwo = futureTwo.join();

Change the message visibility timeout

You can change the visibility timeout of messages in a batch by using the SqsAsyncBatchManager#changeMessageVisibility method. The SDK buffers requests and sends them as a batch when the maxBatchSize or sendRequestFrequency values are reached.

The following example shows how to call the changeMessageVisibility method.

CompletableFuture<ChangeMessageVisibilityResponse> futureOne =
    sqsAsyncBatchManager.changeMessageVisibility(r -> 
        r.receiptHandle("receiptHandle")
         .queueUrl("queue"));
ChangeMessageVisibilityResponse response = futureOne.join();

Delete messages

You can delete messages in a batch using the SqsAsyncBatchManager#deleteMessage method. The SDK buffers requests and sends them as a batch when the maxBatchSize or sendRequestFrequency values are reached.

The following example shows how you can call the deleteMessage method.

CompletableFuture<DeleteMessageResponse> futureOne = 
    sqsAsyncBatchManager.deleteMessage(r -> 
        r.receiptHandle("receiptHandle")
         .queueUrl("queue"));
DeleteMessageResponse response = futureOne.join();

Receive messages

Use default settings

When you poll the SqsAsyncBatchManager#receiveMessage method in your application, the batch manager fetches messages from its internal buffer, which the SDK automatically updates in the background.

The following example shows how to call the receiveMessage method.

CompletableFuture<ReceiveMessageResponse> responseFuture = 
    sqsAsyncBatchManager.receiveMessage(r -> r.queueUrl("queueUrl"));

Use custom settings

If you want to customize the request further, for example by setting custom wait times and specifying the number of messages to retrieve, you can customize the request as shown in the following example.

CompletableFuture<ReceiveMessageResponse> response = 
    sqsAsyncBatchManager.receiveMessage(r -> 
        r.queueUrl("queueUrl")
         .waitTimeSeconds(5)
         .visibilityTimeout(20));

Override configuration settings for SqsAsyncBatchManager

You can adjust the following settings when you create an SqsAsyncBatchManager instance. The following list of settings are available on the BatchOverrideConfiguration.Builder.