QueueServer#

The Bluesky QueueServer (QS) lets operators queue and execute scan plans remotely without an interactive Python session. Each beamline has its own QS host process and configuration.

QS Configuration Files#

Beamline

Config file

Launch script

4IDB

src/id4_b_qserver/qs-config.yml

src/id4_b_qserver/qs_host.sh

4IDG

src/id4_g_qserver/qs-config.yml

src/id4_g_qserver/qs_host.sh

4IDH

src/id4_h_qserver/qs-config.yml

src/id4_h_qserver/qs_host.sh

Raman

src/id4_raman_qserver/qs-config.yml

src/id4_raman_qserver/qs_host.sh

Shared

src/id4_common_qserver/

—

Starting / Stopping the QS Host#

Use the qs_host.sh script for your beamline. The restart command is the normal way to (re)start — it stops any running instance first, then starts fresh in a screen session in the background.

# 4IDB example:
./src/id4_b_qserver/qs_host.sh restart
./src/id4_b_qserver/qs_host.sh status
./src/id4_b_qserver/qs_host.sh stop

All available commands:

Usage: qs_host.sh {start|stop|restart|status|checkup|console|run} [NAME]

    COMMANDS
        console   attach to process console if process is running in screen
        checkup   check that process is running, restart if not
        restart   restart process
        run       run process in console (not screen)
        start     start process
        status    report if process is running
        stop      stop process

Install screen (if not present)#

sudo apt install screen

GUI Client#

Launch the queue-monitor GUI from any terminal with the Conda environment activated:

queue-monitor &

Running Directly (without screen)#

cd ./src/id4_b_qserver
start-re-manager --config=./qs-config.yml

QS Context Detection#

startup.py detects when it is running inside the QueueServer and adjusts behavior automatically (no interactive prompts, no shutter suspenders, no %matplotlib magic):

from apsbits.utils.helper_functions import running_in_queueserver

if running_in_queueserver():
    # import everything for remote plan submission
    import bluesky.plans as bp
    import bluesky.plan_stubs as bps
else:
    # interactive session setup
    ...

Redis Backend#

The QS uses Redis (localhost:6379) for inter-process communication. Redis must be running before starting the QS host:

redis-server &

Or via systemd on beamline servers:

systemctl status redis

qs-config.yml Key Settings#

# IPython kernel backend
worker_class: bluesky_queueserver.manager.worker.IPythonWorker

# Startup scripts loaded by the worker
startup_script: path/to/startup.py

# Redis connection
redis_addr: localhost:6379

# Plan allow-list (empty = allow all)
allowed_plans_and_devices: []

See the Bluesky QueueServer documentation for the full qs-config.yml reference.