Running RocketMQ on Mac M1 with Docker: A Complete Step‑by‑Step Guide

Running RocketMQ on a Mac M1 can be challenging, especially when using Docker. This guide walks you through both source‑code and Docker approaches, ensuring the message queue starts correctly on macOS and Linux environments.

1. Running RocketMQ from Source

The author initially tried Docker but faced errors, then switched to building from source (version 4.9.2) available at https://github.com/apache/rocketmq . Detailed steps are referenced from a previous article.

2. Running RocketMQ with Docker

Three containers are required: a nameserver, a broker, and a dashboard. The images used are:

Nameserver: rocketmqinc/rocketmq Broker: dyrnq/rocketmq:4.8.0 Dashboard:

apacherocketmq/rocketmq-dashboard:latest

2.1 Pull the RocketMQ image

docker pull rocketmqinc/rocketmq

2.2 Start the nameserver

docker run -d -p 9876:9876 -v `pwd`/data/namesrv/logs:/root/logs -v `pwd`/data/namesrv/store:/root/store --name rmqnamesrv rocketmqinc/rocketmq sh mqnamesrv

2.3 Start the broker

docker run -d -p 10911:10911 -p 10909:10909 -v `pwd`/data/broker/logs:/root/logs -v `pwd`/data/broker/store:/root/store --name rmqbrokerv2 --link rmqnamesrv:namesrv -e "NAMESRV_ADDR=namesrv:9876" dyrnq/rocketmq:4.8.0 sh mqbroker -c ../conf/broker.conf

Enter the broker container to edit broker.conf: docker exec -it b6b /bin/bash Install vim if missing:

apt-get update
apt-get install vim

Add the line brokerIP1=192.168.10.197 (replace with your host IP). Find your IP with: ifconfig | grep "inet" The final broker.conf is shown in the original article.

3. Launching the RocketMQ Dashboard

The original rocketmq-console-ng has been removed; use the new rocketmq-dashboard repository ( https://github.com/apache/rocketmq-dashboard ).

docker run -d --name rocketmq-dashboard -e "JAVA_OPTS=-Drocketmq.namesrv.addr=172.16.8.62:9876 -Drocketmq.config.isVIPChannel=false" -p 8080:8080 -t apacherocketmq/rocketmq-dashboard:latest

Access the dashboard at http://localhost:8080/. Ensure isVIPChannel=false to retrieve data.

4. Testing Message Sending

Use the dashboard to send a message to test_topic. After sending, the message appears in the Message list, confirming successful delivery.

5. Common Issues and Solutions

Broker cannot connect to NameServer

Update broker.conf with the correct external IP and start the broker with the -c ../conf/broker.conf flag.

Broker startup error

The error Cannot link to a non running container: /rmqnamesrv indicates the nameserver container failed to start; ensure the nameserver is running before launching the broker.

Java code snippet for configuration parsing

if (commandLine.hasOption('c')) {
    String file = commandLine.getOptionValue('c');
    if (file != null) {
        configFile = file;
        InputStream in = new BufferedInputStream(new FileInputStream(file));
        properties = new Properties();
        properties.load(in);
        properties2SystemEnv(properties);
        MixAll.properties2Object(properties, brokerConfig);
        MixAll.properties2Object(properties, nettyServerConfig);
        MixAll.properties2Object(properties, nettyClientConfig);
        MixAll.properties2Object(properties, messageStoreConfig);
        BrokerPathConfigHelper.setBrokerConfigPath(file);
        in.close();
    }
}

Following these steps should allow you to run RocketMQ smoothly on a Mac M1 using Docker.