For a long time, QueueExplorer has been a Windows-only application. That made sense when it was originally built for MSMQ, but over the years the world moved from Windows quite a bit. We added support for multiplatform queueing systems like RabbitMQ and ActiveMQ, but QueueExplorer itself needed Windows, or at least a Wine under Linux, which never run comparable to native application.
After a lot of work, experimentation, rewrites, and late nights, we now have the first public alpha version of QueueExplorer for macOS and Linux. This is still an early release, but the core application is already usable for day-to-day work.
https://www.cogin.com/mq/download
Current State of the Alpha Release
The current alpha version is roughly comparable to the QueueExplorer Standard edition in terms of available functionality, although a few Professional features are already included.
Most commonly used features are already working, including:
- Browsing queues and messages
- Copy/paste of messages
- Drag & drop operations
- Export and import of messages
- Message editing
- Searching and filtering
- Management of queues and other objects (topics, exchanges, policies…)
- Support for RabbitMQ (including browsing streams), Azure Service Bus, and ActiveMQ
The application is already very usable for everyday queue browsing and troubleshooting tasks.
At the moment, the following features are missing from the Alpha.1:
- Schema import/export
- Custom XML, JSON, Regex columns
- Message compression
There’s also no MSMQ support, but that’s technically not possible as any MSMQ operation (even remote one) has to go through local MSMQ service. Which doesn’t exist on Mac or Linux. We can probably work around that with QueueProxy, but that’s for one of the future releases.
Licensing During the Testing Period
During the testing period, QueueExplorer for macOS and Linux will be available to everyone.
Once the production release becomes available, access will be included for users with valid support coverage. In practical terms, this means users who, at the time when the final version is released:
- purchased QueueExplorer within the previous 12 months, or
- purchased additional yearly support, covering this period.
What Comes Next
We continue working on missing features, expecting to reach feature parity (except MSMQ) with the Beta release. You can download the Alpha version from QueueExplorer’s download page:
https://www.cogin.com/mq/download
If you decide to try the alpha release, feedback is extremely valuable. Bug reports, screenshots, crash reports, and even small UI annoyances help us improve the application much faster.