# Install kafkactl with Homebrew, Nix, winget CLI for managing Apache Kafka. Version 5.20.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-30. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#kafkactl. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:kafkactl ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install kafkactl ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#kafkactl ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ka/kafkactl/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Windows - winget (92%): ```sh winget install --id deviceinsight.kafkactl -e ``` Evidence: Windows Package Manager source index: deviceinsight.kafkactl from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:kafkactl - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 5.20.0 - **Source summary:** CLI for managing Apache Kafka - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** Apache-2.0 - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-30T12:36:30Z - **Generated:** 2026-08-04T22:13:35+00:00 ## Executables - kafkactl (cli) - kafkactl (alias) ## Build dependencies - go ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-04 - Package-manager version: 5.20.0 - Package-manager updated: 2026-07-30 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/deviceinsight/kafkactl - Upstream latest detected: v5.20.0 (current) ## Project history and usage kafkactl is a Go command-line interface for operating Apache Kafka clusters, with commands for topics, consumer groups, brokers, ACLs, schemas, producing, and consuming messages. ### Project history Device Insight opened the public GitHub repository in December 2018 and published release 0.0.1 on 2018-12-12, followed by 1.0.0 on 2019-01-23. The project grew around the common need for a kubectl-style Kafka administration tool with shell completion, contexts, schema-registry support, Kubernetes-assisted access, and plugin-based token providers. ### Adoption history The upstream README documents Homebrew, Winget, deb/rpm, AUR, manual binaries, Docker, and Kubernetes use. That packaging spread made kafkactl a practical day-to-day tool for developers and platform engineers who need Kafka administration without running heavier web consoles. ### How it is used Users configure named Kafka contexts in config.yml, then use kafkactl to list and manage topics, inspect consumer groups, produce and consume records, and work with Avro, JSON Schema, and Protobuf payloads. Credentials may live in the config file, OS keyring, or Kubernetes secrets depending on the deployment model. ### Why package nerds care For package-manager users, kafkactl is notable because it is a single static-feeling CLI that wraps several Kafka workflows that otherwise require a mix of Kafka distribution scripts, schema-registry clients, kubectl port access, and ad hoc shell helpers. ### Timeline - 2018-12-10: Public GitHub repository created. - 2018-12-12: Release 0.0.1 published. - 2019-01-23: Release 1.0.0 published. - 2026-05-13: Release v5.19.0 published. ### Related projects - Related tools and services include Apache Kafka, IBM Sarama, Confluent Schema Registry-compatible APIs, kubectl, and the kafkactl plugin repositories for token-provider integrations. ### Sources - - - - ## Security Notes No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for kafkactl. Package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL. ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Unix: ~/.config/kafkactl/config.yml, ~/.kafkactl/config.yml, /etc/kafkactl/config.yml - Windows: %APPDATA%\kafkactl\config.yml ## Credential files - Unix: ~/.config/kafkactl/config.yml, ~/.kafkactl/config.yml, /etc/kafkactl/config.yml - Windows: %APPDATA%\kafkactl\config.yml ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** kafkactl - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - kafkactl: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ka/kafkactl/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - winget - deviceinsight.kafkactl: normalized package name match | Windows Package Manager source index: deviceinsight.kafkactl from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://pkg.so/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Terminal utility packages](https://pkg.so/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://pkg.so/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Developer build packages](https://pkg.so/developer-build-tools/) - Matched build, compiler, generator, or developer workflow metadata. - [go](https://pkg.so/brew/go/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [kafkactl-aws-plugin](https://pkg.so/brew/kafkactl-aws-plugin/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [kafkactl-azure-plugin](https://pkg.so/brew/kafkactl-azure-plugin/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [khaos](https://pkg.so/brew/khaos/) - Shares pkgdb curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, kafka. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/kafkactl.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/kafkactl.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - package version freshness - pkgdb category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph