Kafka V4

Kafka 4.0 removes ZooKeeper, KRaft only.

Definition

Kafka 4.0 features: KRaft GA only (ZooKeeper removed), Kafka 4 Producer protocol, Streams 3.10 / 4.0, KIP-848 next gen consumer rebalance protocol GA, queue support (KIP-932), bootstrap controller. Migration from ZooKeeper clusters required before upgrade. Compatible with Kafka clients 0.11+.

Origin

Apache Software Foundation, Kafka 1.0 2017, 2.0 2018, 3.0 2021, 4.0 March 2025.

Usage

Distributed streaming standard. Managed cloud: Confluent Cloud, AWS MSK, Azure Event Hubs Kafka, Aiven Kafka.

Related terms

• Kafka — fiche socle.
• KRaft mode — metadata management.
• Confluent Cloud — SaaS commercial leader.