20.9K ·GitHub
What is this?
This is the NATS server — the high-performance core of NATS.io, a messaging system for connecting digital systems, services and devices. It's a CNCF project.
This is the NATS server — the high-performance core of NATS.io, a messaging system for connecting digital systems, services and devices. It's a CNCF project.Is this the server itself, or do I install something in my apps as well?This repo is just the server. Your applications connect to it as clients, using one of the 40+ client implementations available for other languages.
This repo is just the server. Your applications connect to it as clients, using one of the 40+ client implementations available for other languages.How do I get a server up and running?The README skips install steps and points to the official docs. Prebuilt release binaries and Docker images are published, so the path is: grab one, start the server, connect clients.
The README skips install steps and points to the official docs. Prebuilt release binaries and Docker images are published, so the path is: grab one, start the server, connect clients.Do I need anything else installed before it will run?No — it's a self-contained Go server with an empty external-dependency list. Applications only need a NATS client library for their language.
No — it's a self-contained Go server with an empty external-dependency list. Applications only need a NATS client library for their language.What kinds of systems do people wire together with it?Anything where many services or devices need to exchange messages: cloud microservices, on-prem clusters, and edge or IoT fleets — the repo's topics even call out connected vehicles.
Anything where many services or devices need to exchange messages: cloud microservices, on-prem clusters, and edge or IoT fleets — the repo's topics even call out connected vehicles.Can it really run on something as small as a Raspberry Pi?Yes — it runs on-premise, in the cloud, at the edge, and even on a Raspberry Pi, which makes it a fit for resource-constrained edge devices.
Yes — it runs on-premise, in the cloud, at the edge, and even on a Raspberry Pi, which makes it a fit for resource-constrained edge devices.Can I use it in commercial products, or is the license restrictive?Apache 2.0 — permissive, with no restrictions on commercial use, so you can embed it in proprietary products freely.
Apache 2.0 — permissive, with no restrictions on commercial use, so you can embed it in proprietary products freely.Is NATS.io the same thing as this repo?NATS is the messaging system as a whole; this repo holds only its high-performance server. Client libraries, docs and tooling live in separate repositories in the nats.io ecosystem.
NATS is the messaging system as a whole; this repo holds only its high-performance server. Client libraries, docs and tooling live in separate repositories in the nats.io ecosystem.Is this an active project or abandonware?Very active: the codebase dates back to 2012, has around 21,000 stars, and CI runs nightly builds. It's CNCF-backed, with a public roadmap and an adopters list of production users.
Very active: the codebase dates back to 2012, has around 21,000 stars, and CI runs nightly builds. It's CNCF-backed, with a public roadmap and an adopters list of production users.Has the code ever been security audited?Yes — Trail of Bits performed a third-party security audit in April 2025, arranged through OSTIF, and the full report is linked from the README.
Yes — Trail of Bits performed a third-party security audit in April 2025, arranged through OSTIF, and the full report is linked from the README.Can regular MQTT clients connect to it?Yes — the repo's CI includes a dedicated MQTT compatibility workflow (mqtt-test.yaml), so the server's MQTT support is kept tested alongside its native protocol.
Yes — the repo's CI includes a dedicated MQTT compatibility workflow (mqtt-test.yaml), so the server's MQTT support is kept tested alongside its native protocol.Which topics is it in?edge-computing, microservices-architecture, cloud-computing, edge, pubsub, message-queue, edge-ai, messaging, iot, raspberry-pi, cloud-native, high-performance
edge-computing, microservices-architecture, cloud-computing, edge, pubsub, message-queue, edge-ai, messaging, iot, raspberry-pi, cloud-native, high-performance