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HTTP Pub plugin

VerneMQ provides a HTTP REST pub plugin for publishing messages using HTTP/REST. The http_pub plugin accepts HTTP POST requests containing message payloads, and then forwards those messages to the appropriate MQTT subscribers.

The HTTP REST plugin can be used to publish messages from a wider range of devices and platforms, that may not support MQTT natively. Please note, while the plugin can handle a decent amount of requests, the primary protocol of VerneMQ is MQTT. Whenever possible, it is recommended to use MQTT natively to communicate with VerneMQ.

Enabling the plugin

The MQTTplugin (vmq_http_pub) is distributed with VerneMQ as an integrated plugin, but is not enabled by default. After configuring the plugin as described below, make sure to enable the plugin by setting (vernemq.conf):

plugins.vmq_http_pub = on

Configuration

Bind plugin to HTTP(s) listener

By default the plugin is not bound to any listener. It is recommended to use a dedicated HTTPS listener. For security, reasons the use of HTTPS instead of HTTP is prefered. It is possible to have more than one listener.

listener.https.http_pub = 10.241.15.174:3001
listener.https.http_pub.http_module.vmq_http_pub.auth.mode = apikey
listener.https.http_pub.http_modules = vmq_http_pub

This configuration defines an HTTPS listener for an application running on the server at IP address 127.0.0.1 and using port 3001. The listener is used to forward HTTP requests to vmq_http_pub.

Additionally, this configuration sets the authentication method for the vmq_http_pub instance to API key. This means that a valid API key is required to access this instance.

It is important to note that this configuration is only a part of a larger configuration file, and that other settings such as SSL certificates, encryption, protocol versions, etc. may also be defined to improve the security and performance of the HTTPS listener.

Authenthication and Authorization

The plugin currently supports two authenticatation and authorization modes: "on-behalf-of" and "predefined". "On-behalf-of" means, that the client_id, user and password used for authentication and authorization is part of request (payload). Afterwards, the regular VerneMQ authentication and authorization flows are used. When using "predefined" the client, user, and password is bound to the plugin instance. It is recommended to use "on-behalf-of" and use a seperate client_id, user and password for REST-based clients.

For on-behalf-of authentication use:

listener.https.http_pub.http_modules.vmq_http_pub.mqtt_auth.mode = on-behalf-of

For predefined, please use a configuration similar to:

listener.https.http_pub.http_modules.vmq_http_pub.mqtt_auth.mode = predefined
listener.https.http_pub.http_modules.vmq_http_pub.mqtt_auth.user = restUser
listener.https.http_pub.http_modules.vmq_http_pub.mqtt_auth.password = restPasswd
listener.https.http_pub.http_modules.vmq_http_pub.mqtt_auth.client_id = restClient

If you configure a listener with "predefined" authorization, but provide authorization information (username, password, client_id) those will be ignored.

MQTT Payload

The plugin currently supports three different payload encodings:

  • JSON (regular and base64) in body
  • Header parameters, and payload in body
  • Query String parameters, and payload in body

Which one to choose is depends on your application.

JSON

{
	"topic": "testtopic/testtopic1",
	"user": "testuser",
	"password": "test123",
	"qos": 1,
	"retain": false,
	"payload": "this is a payload string",
	"user_properties": [{"a":"b"}]
}

In order to allow more complex payload to be encoded as part of the json, the payload itself can be also be base64 encoded. The query string "encoding=base64" has to be used to indicate that the payload is base64 encoded. The encoding query string paramater can either be "base64" or "plain". Plain is the default.

Header parameters

Topic, user, password, qos, retain and user_properties can also be part of the HTTP header. The HTTP body is used for the actual message payload. The payload then does not need to be base64 encoded.

The following header options are supported:

Header Description
Content-Type application/json or application/octet-stream
user User (on-behalf-authorization)
password Password (on-behalf-authorization)
client_id Client ID (on-behalf-authorization)
topic Topic as string
qos QoS (0,1,2)
retain Boolean, true or false
user_properties Json-style array

Query String

Topic, user, password, qos and retain flag can also be uurlencoded as part of the query string. The HTTP body is used for the actual message payload. There is no need to specify the encoding in the query string. Query String currently does not support user_properties.

Examples

All required information encoded in the payload

curl --request POST \
  --url https://mqtt.myhost.example:3001/restmqtt/api/v1/publish \
  --header 'Authorization: Basic ...' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
	"topic": "T1",
	"user": "myuser",
	"password": "test123",
	"client_id": "myclient",
	"qos": 1,
	"retain": false,
	"payload": "asddsadsadas22dasasdsad",
	"user_properties": [{"a":"b"}]
}'

All required information encoded in the payload (base64payload)

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://mqtt.myhost.example:3001/restmqtt/api/v1/publish?encoding=base64' \
  --header 'Authorization: Basic ...' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
	"topic": "a/b/c",
	"user": "myuser",
	"password": "test123",
	"client_id": "myclient",
	"qos": 1,
	"retain": false,
	"payload": "aGFsbG8gd2VsdA==",
	"user_properties": [{"a":"b"}]
}'

MQTT information encoded in header parameters

curl --request POST \
  --url https://mqtt.myhost.example:3001/restmqtt/api/v1/publish \
  --header 'Authorization: Basic ...' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'QoS: 1' \
  --header 'clientid: myclient' \
  --header 'password: test123' \
  --header 'retain: false' \
  --header 'topic: T1' \
  --header 'user: myuser' \
  --header 'user_properties: [{"a":"b2"}]' \
  --data '{"hello": "world"}'

MQTT information encoded in query string

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://mqtt.myhost.example:3001/restmqtt/api/v1/publish?topic=a%2Fb%2Fc&user=test-user3&password=test123&client_id=test-client3&qos=0' \
  --header 'Authorization: Basic Og==' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{"Just a": "test"}'

Metrics

The plugin exposes three metrics:

  • The number of messages sent through the REST Publish API
  • Number of errors reported by the REST Publish API
  • Number of Auth errors reported by the REST Publish API

Misc Notes

  • The plugin allows the authentication and authorization flows to override mountpoint, max_message_size, qos and topic.
  • Currently, the regular (non m5) authentication and authorization flow is used.
  • The query string payload does not allow to set user parameters.
  • The plugin currently checks the maximum payload size before base64 decoding.
  • The plugin always expect MQTT-based authentication. No authentication is not supported.
  • The verbs "put" and "post" are supported. There is no difference in functionality.