BullMQ & Redis tools
Durabull vs Arena
Arena (npm bull-arena) is an Express GUI for Bee Queue, Bull, and BullMQ, originally built by Mixmax and now maintained in the bee-queue GitHub organization (latest release v4.10.0, July 2026). It remains useful for mixed Bee/Bull estates. The README still describes BullMQ support as “preliminary.”
Choose Arena when you already run Bee Queue alongside Bull, you know every queue name, and an Express mount is enough.
Choose Durabull for BullMQ fleets you do not want to enumerate by hand, for staging/production in one org, and for agent access through MCP. Durabull does not manage Bee Queue.
Capabilities
The details that change the decision
| Feature | Durabull | Arena |
|---|---|---|
| Queues supported | BullMQ | Bee, Bull, BullMQ (BullMQ still labeled preliminary) |
| See queues | Redis SCAN for <prefix>:*:meta. No app SDK for inspection. | Name each queue in config |
| Environments | Many Redis connections per org, grouped by environment | Manual host list, no org model |
| Alerts | Email, signed webhooks, Linear | Not documented |
| MCP | Hosted MCP with OAuth, 30 tools, redaction, opt-in writes | Not documented |
| Price | Hosted app is free to start. Self-host under Apache-2.0. | Free (MIT) |
Setup
How Arena connects
You construct Arena({ BullMQ: Queue, queues: [{ type: "bullmq", name, hostId, redis }] }). The name must match the BullMQ queue exactly. Standalone and Docker still use that config. Fetching names from AWS yourself is custom code, not built-in discovery.
Application changes. Queue configuration is required: each entry specifies its name and hostId. A standalone Arena service can hold this configuration without modifying worker code.
- Queue discovery
- None.
hostIdonly groups hosts in the UI. - Environments
- You can point queue objects at different Redis hosts. You still enumerate every queue. There is no organization or environment product.
- Alerts
- Not in the documented feature list (health glance, pagination, retry).
- AI & MCP
- Not documented.
Economics
Understand what you are paying for
- Arena pricing
- MIT, free.
- Arena license
- MIT.
- Durabull
- Hosted dashboard is free to start. Redis, worker compute, and infrastructure operations remain your costs. Check the pricing page for current terms. Apache License 2.0 (OSI-approved open source). Self-host on your own infrastructure.
Questions about Arena and Durabull
Does Arena auto-discover BullMQ queues?
No. The README requires name and hostId on every queue object. The name must match the BullMQ queue exactly.
Is Arena still maintained for BullMQ?
The README describes BullMQ support as preliminary. That wording alone does not establish maintenance status or compatibility with your version; review releases and test the queue operations you need.
Evidence
Sources & methodology
Durabull details: product documentation, pricing, and MCP reference. Found a change? Send a correction.
Continue your research
- Durabull vsBull BoardMIT dashboard with embedded adapters and a standalone Redis-discovery CLI.
- Durabull vsWorkbenchMIT BullMQ dashboard with Redis discovery, alerts, a desktop app, and local MCP. Discovery limits are configurable.
- Durabull vsTaskforce.shHosted dashboard by the BullMQ authors. Auto-discovers queues. Priced per Redis connection. Includes MCP.
Practical guides
Connect Redis. Queues appear.
Inspect your Redis-backed BullMQ queues in one place. Hosted Durabull is free to start.