Introduction
With the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT), the MQTT protocol is being widely used by many companies and developers. In the journey of learning and using MQTT, MQTT client tools are used to connect to MQTT brokers for publishing, subscribing, and messages sending and receiving.
A handy client tool can greatly facilitate developers to explore MQTT features and debug IoT applications, shortening the development cycle. Given the variety of MQTT client tools available with different functional focuses, choosing a suitable MQTT client tool is challenging for beginners and even MQTT experts.
We have selected seven of the most useful MQTT client tools in 2023 and listed them by Desktop, Browser, Command Line, and Mobile categories. We hope this article will help you quickly find a suitable one for MQTT development.
How to Choose an MQTT Client?
A good MQTT client tool should possess the following key features.
Support for one-way and two-way SSL authentication.
Support for MQTT 5 features.
Maintain ease of use on a full-featured basis.
Support for multiple clients online at the same time.
Cross-platform, available under different operating systems.
Support MQTT over WebSocket.
Advanced features: Customized script, logging, payload format conversion, etc.
Free Public MQTT Broker
Before diving into the MQTT client desktop tools, we need an MQTT broker to communicate and test. We choose the free public MQTT broker available on broker.emqx.io.
MQTT Broker Info
TCP Port: 1883
WebSocket Port: 8083
SSL/TLS Port: 8883
Secure WebSocket Port: 8084
For more information, please check out: Free Public MQTT Broker.
MQTT Desktop Client Tools
MQTTX
MQTTX is an elegant cross-platform MQTT 5.0 desktop client that runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows. Its user-friendly chat-style interface enables users to easily create multiple MQTT/MQTTS connections and subscribe/publish MQTT messages.
MQTTX fully supports MQTT versions 5.0 and 3.1.1, MQTT over TLS, MQTT over WebSocket, and one-way and two-way SSL authentication. In addition to these essential features, MQTTX offers advanced functionality, such as customizable scripts for MQTT Pub/Sub simulation and support for codecs like Hex, Base64, and JSON payloads.
MQTTX is an open-source project developed with Electron and maintained by the EMQX team. The latest release is version 1.9.2 by the end of April 2023.
GitHub Project: github.com/emqx/mqttx
Features
User-friendly and easy-to-use UX design
Chatbox for sending/receiving MQTT messages
Fully support for MQTT versions 5.0 and 3.1.1
Support MQTT over TLS, and MQTT over WebSocket
Support for one-way and two-way SSL authentication
Hex, Base64, JSON, and Plaintext payload codec
Customized colors for different MQTT subscriptions
Customized script for MQTT Pub/Sub scenario simulation
Cross-platform, running on Windows, macOS, and Linux
Installation
MQTT Explorer
MQTT Explorer is an open-source MQTT client tool that provides an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) with a structured topic overview. It adopts a hierarchical main view and supports a visual chart display of received payload messages.
MQTT Explorer supports MQTT 5.0 and 3.1.1 protocols and allows developers to simultaneously create one MQTT/MQTTS connection.
MQTT Explorer is written in Typescript and developed by Thomas Nordquist. It’s cross-platform and can run on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It’s a pity that the project has been out of development since the last release of version 0.4.0-beta1 on April 28, 2020.
GitHub: github.com/thomasnordquist/MQTT-Explorer
Features
Quote from MQTT Explorer
Visualize topics and a dynamic preview of the change of topic
Delete the retained topics
Search/filter topics
Recursive delete topics
Difference view of current and previously received messages
Publish topics
Draw digital topics
Retain the historic record of every topic
Dark/Light topic
Download
MQTT Online Client Tools
MQTTX Web
MQTTX Web is a user-friendly, browser-based tool for online debugging, developing, and testing MQTT applications. It connects to an MQTT broker via a WebSocket client and offers an intuitive interface.
Developed by the EMQX team, MQTTX Web is an open-source tool that supports MQTT 3.1.1 and MQTT 5.0 protocols and WebSocket transports. It is licensed under Apache Version 2.0.
GitHub Project: github.com/emqx/MQTTX/tree/main/web
Try Now: emqx.io/online-mqtt-client
Additionally, MQTTX Web supports private deployment using Docker, which is beneficial when only a browser is available, or for testing in restricted intranet environments. Deploy from Docker Image:
docker pull emqx/mqttx-web
docker run -d --name mqttx-web -p 80:80 emqx/mqttx-web
MQTT.Cool Test Client
MQTT.Cool Test Client is a very simple and linear GUI (based on the MQTT.Cool API) through which you can test the interaction between the MQTT.Cool server and MQTT brokers. It supports connecting to the broker via MQTT TCP in the browser.
Try Now: testclient-cloud.mqtt.cool
MQTT CLI Tools
MQTTX CLI
MQTTX CLI is a lightweight and easy-to-use MQTT 5.0 command line tool. With various commands for MQTT publishing, subscribing, benchmarking, and IoT data simulation, it is one of the most powerful tools for MQTT development.
MQTTX CLI is an open-source project written in Node.js and developed by the EMQX team. It’s cross-platform and can work on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
GitHub Project: github.com/emqx/MQTTX/tree/main/cli
Features
Fully support for both MQTT v3.1.1 and MQTT v5.0
Cross-platform compatibility with Windows, MacOS, and Linux
Dependency-free setup allowing for quick installation without prerequisites
Supports CA, self-signed certificates, and one-way and two-way SSL authentication
Performance testing capabilities for quickly evaluating MQTT service performance.
Installation
MQTTX CLI is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux. For additional installation options, please consult the documentation.
Docker
docker pull emqx/mqttx-cli docker run -it --rm emqx/mqttx-cliHomebrew
brew install emqx/mqttx/mqttx-cliDownload
Usage Example
Connect
Test connecting to an MQTT broker:
mqttx conn -h 'broker.emqx.io' -p 1883 -u 'test' -P 'test'Subscribe
Subscribe to an MQTT topic:
mqttx sub -t 'topic/#' -h 'broker.emqx.io' -p 1883Publish
Publish a QoS1 message to an MQTT topic:
mqttx pub -t 'topic' -q 1 -h 'broker.emqx.io' -p 1883 -m 'Hello from MQTTX CLI'Publishing multiple messages
The MQTTX CLI also supports publishing multiple messages. Add a -M parameter and a -s parameter to the command in the editor, and newline it after each entry.
Benchmark
For MQTTX CLI, the
benchcommand is easy to use and concise in its content output. For a large number of connections, subscriptions, and publications, the display method has been optimized by dynamically updating the real-time numbers to avoid being overwhelmed by a large number of output logs during use.
Mosquitto CLI
Mosquitto is a widely used open-source MQTT broker with the popular mosquitto_pub and mosquitto_sub command line clients. These CLI tools offer a wide range of options to connect, subscribe to, and publish messages to an MQTT broker.
The Mosquitto project is written in C/C++ and maintained by the Eclipse Foundation. Mosquitto is highly portable and can be deployed on various platforms, including Linux, Mac, Windows, and Raspberry Pi.
GitHub Project: github.com/eclipse/mosquitto
Features
Lightweight and easy to use
Support for MQTT v3.1.1 and v5.0 protocols
Extensive command-line parameters
Support for SSL/TLS encryption/authentication
MQTT v5.0 request/response functionality
Installation
Docker
docker pull eclipse-mosquittoHomebrew
brew install mosquittoDownload
Usage Example
Publish
Publish a QoS1 message to an MQTT topic:
mosquitto_pub -t 'topic' -q 1 -h 'broker.emqx.io' -p 1883 -m 'Hello from Mosquitto CLI'Subscribe
Subscribe to an MQTT topic:
mosquitto_sub -t 'topic/#' -h 'broker.emqx.io' -p 1883Request/Response
mosquitto_rr -t 'req-topic' -e 'rep-topic' -m 'request message' -h 'broker.emqx.io' mosquitto_pub -t 'rep-topic' -m 'response message' -h 'broker.emqx.io'
MQTT Mobile Client Tools
EasyMQTT
EasyMQTT is an MQTT client for iPhone, iPad, and macOS, allowing you to interact with any MQTT Broker. Use it to manage your own setup at home, control things like Zigbee2MQTT or monitor a remote broker. It features a simple, user friendly interface, supporting both light and dark modes.
Download
apps.apple.com/us/app/easymqtt/id1523099606..
Conclusion
In conclusion, we have provided a detailed introduction to MQTT client tools in different categories.
Among these, the MQTTX open-source project stands out as a fast-growing client tool that offers a modern chat-style interface, full MQTT 5.0 support, and a rich set of features that provides a great user experience. With three versions available - Desktop, Command Line, and Browser - MQTTX can fulfill your MQTT testing requirements in diverse scenarios. Undoubtedly, MQTTX is among the top MQTT client tools of 2023.