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Connect your Apache Kafka clusters to manage topics, consumer groups, and schemas through ShiftLabs.

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How to Add a Kafka Cluster

1

Open Integrations

Go to Settings → Integrations → Kafka tab.
2

Click Add Kafka Cluster

Click the Add Kafka Cluster button.
3

Enter Connection Details

  • Name (required): Display name for this cluster
  • Bootstrap Servers (required): Comma-separated list (e.g., kafka1:9092,kafka2:9092)
  • Authentication Type: NONE, SASL_PLAINTEXT, SASL_SSL, or SSL
  • Username/Password: Required for SASL authentication
  • Schema Registry URL (optional): For Avro schema management
  • Verify SSL: Enable to validate SSL certificates
  • Set as Default: Make this the default Kafka cluster
4

Save

Click Create. Use the health check to verify connectivity.

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How to Edit a Kafka Cluster

  1. Click the edit icon on the cluster row
  2. Modify the settings
  3. Click Save
Leave password fields empty when editing to keep existing credentials.

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How to Check Health

Click the Check button to verify connectivity. A successful check shows broker and topic counts.

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How to Delete a Kafka Cluster

  1. Click the delete icon on the cluster row
  2. Confirm the deletion
Deleting removes the connection only. Topics and data in Kafka are not affected.

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Authentication Types

TypeDescription
NONENo authentication (development only)
SASL_PLAINTEXTUsername/password over plaintext
SASL_SSLUsername/password over SSL
SSLCertificate-based authentication

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Troubleshooting

  1. Verify bootstrap servers are correct and reachable
  2. Check authentication credentials
  3. Ensure network connectivity to Kafka brokers
  4. For SSL, verify certificates or disable SSL verification
  1. Verify username and password are correct
  2. Check the SASL mechanism matches Kafka configuration
  3. Ensure the user has permissions in Kafka ACLs
  1. Verify the Schema Registry URL is correct
  2. Check if Schema Registry is running
  3. Ensure authentication (if required) is configured

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FAQ

Yes. Add clusters for different environments (dev, staging, production).
The user needs permissions to describe topics, consumer groups, and brokers. For management operations, write permissions are required.
No. Schema Registry URL is optional. It’s only needed if you use Avro schemas.