Azure Storage Queues Client Library for C++
Matthew Sanders
Published Feb 16, 2026
Azure Queue storage is a service for storing large numbers of messages that can be accessed from anywhere in the world via authenticated calls using HTTP or HTTPS. A single queue message can be up to 64 KB in size, and a queue can contain millions of messages, up to the total capacity limit of a storage account.
Install the package
The easiest way to acquire the C++ SDK is leveraging vcpkg package manager. See the corresponding Azure SDK for C++ readme section.
To install Azure Storage packages via vcpkg:
vcpkg install azure-storage-queues-cpp
Then, use in your CMake file:
find_package(azure-storage-queues-cpp CONFIG REQUIRED)
target_link_libraries(<your project name> PRIVATE Azure::azure-storage-queues)
Prerequisites
You need an Azure subscription and a Storage Account to use this package.
To create a new Storage Account, you can use the Azure Portal, Azure PowerShell, or the Azure CLI.
Build from Source
First, download the repository to your local folder:
git clone
Create a new folder under the root directory of local cloned repo, switch into this folder and run below commands:
Windows:
cmake .. -A x64
cmake --build . --target azure-storage-queues
or Unix:
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug
cmake --build . --target azure-storage-queues
Common uses of Queue storage include:
- Creating a backlog of work to process asynchronously
- Passing messages between different parts of a distributed application
Learn more about options for authentication (including Connection Strings, Shared Key, Shared Key Signatures, Active Directory, and anonymous public access) in our samples.
Thread safety
We guarantee that all client instance methods are thread-safe and independent of each other (guideline). This ensures that the recommendation of reusing client instances is always safe, even across threads.
Additional concepts
Client Options | Accessing the response | Long-running operations | Handling failures
Send messages
++
const std::string connectionString = "<connection_string>";
const std::string queueName = "sample-queue";
QueueClient queueClient = QueueClient(connectionString, queueName);
queueClient.Create();
queueClient.EnqueueMessage("Hello, Azure1!");
queueClient.EnqueueMessage("Hello, Azure2!");
queueClient.EnqueueMessage("Hello, Azure3!");
Receive messages
++
ReceiveMessagesOptions receiveOptions;
receiveOptions.MaxMessages = 3;
auto receiveMessagesResult = queueClient.ReceiveMessages(receiveOptions).Value;
for (auto& msg : receiveMessagesResult.Messages)
{
std::cout << msg.MessageText << std::endl;
queueClient.DeleteMessage(msg.MessageId, updateResponse.Value.PopReceipt);
}
All Azure Storage Queue service operations will throw a StorageException on failure with helpful ErrorCodes. Many of these errors are recoverable.
++
try
{
queueClient.Delete();
}
catch (Azure::Storage::StorageException& e)
{
if (e.ErrorCode == "QueueNotFound")
{
}
else
{
}
}
Get started with our Queue samples:
See the Storage CONTRIBUTING.md for details on building, testing, and contributing to these libraries.
This project welcomes contributions and suggestions. Most contributions require you to agree to a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) declaring that you have the right to, and actually do, grant us the rights to use your contribution. For details, visit cla.microsoft.com.
This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct. For more information see the Code of Conduct FAQ or contact with any additional questions or comments.