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New Python Binding for IBM MQ

By Dylan Goode posted 10/16/25 06:24 AM

  

For many years, PyMQI has been the go-to way to work with IBM MQ from Python. It has a strong community and has enabled countless automation and integration workflows. As IBM MQ has continued to evolve, new capabilities have been introduced that are not yet reflected in PyMQI. 

Python is widely used in automation, cloud, and AI environments. Ensuring MQ has a current Python interface is important for integration in these areas.  

To provide a maintained and up-to-date alternative, we’ve created a new open-source package: ibmmq. The ibmmq package will be the Python binding that tracks new IBM MQ levels going forward. If you are starting new projects or maintaining existing MQ applications in Python, we recommend evaluating this library. 

About the Package 

  • The ibmmq package is available now on PyPI and GitHub. 

  • The package is open-source, with issues and pull requests welcome. 

This package has been substantially rewritten from its predecessor, in order to modernize the implementation and make it more maintainable. Various obsolete features have been removed, while capabilities from the latest levels of IBM MQ (and some gaps left in pymqi) have been added. The design document provides background on many of these changes. 

Key Differences from pymqi 

  • Rewritten with a cleaner, maintainable codebase; Python and C layers are kept in sync at runtime. 

  • Adds support for features PyMQI never handled well (e.g. JWT). 

  • Simplifies structure versioning and string/byte handling. 

  • Requires Python 3.9+ and a 64-bit MQ client + SDK (9.1 or later). 

Migration and Documentation  

  • For simple migrations to the new version, see here. 
  • For detailed information on enhancements and removed features, see the CHANGELOG. 
  • Source code, documentation, and design notes are available in the GitHub repository. 
  • Feedback welcome — We’d appreciate input on migration experience, missing features, and any bugs you hit. Please open issues or PRs on GitHub. 

 

Finally, many thanks to Mark Taylor, Soheel Chughtai, and Richard Coppen for their work on this project. 

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