ShopLearnFluxgrid
Support
Lonely Binary
ESP32TinkerBlockProductsFundamentalsTools
AccountCart
MQTT
The post office3
01Why a post office02Topics03Subscribing
Sorting and keeping2
04Wildcards05Retained messages
Delivery2
06QoS 0 and 107QoS 2, and each hop
Staying connected3
08Keepalive09Last will10Postcards and strangers
All fundamentals →
Fundamentals/MQTT/Sorting and keeping
Chapter · MQTT

Sorting and keeping

A whole room or a whole house with one subscription, and the last letter kept for whoever connects late.

2 articlesabout 8 minutesNo board required
  1. 04Wildcards4 minA subscription can be a filter rather than one topic. Plus stands for exactly one level and hash for everything below, so a room or a whole house is one subscription — if the topics were named for it.
  2. 05Retained messages4 minA broker forgets a message once it has passed it on, so a phone that opens late shows a dash. Post with the retain flag and the broker keeps the last one for each topic, and hands it over the moment someone subscribes.

Start at 04 and read down — the order is the order things get easier in. Or take the one with your part in it; every article stands on its own, and links back to whatever it needs.

← Previous chapterThe post office3 articlesNext chapter →Delivery2 articles
Lonely Binary

From Zeros to Heroes, One Bit at a Time.

Sydney, Australia · office@lonelybinary.com

Shop
BoardsKitsSensors & InputDisplaysBest SellersWholesale
Learn
ESP32TinkerBlockProduct handbooksFundamentalsDownloadsProduct codes
Fluxgrid
Get startedCheat sheetDocsLibrary on GitHubPrivacy policy
Help
Contact usDeliveryReturnsWarranty
© 2026 Lonely BinaryTermsRefund policy