# Install kaf with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, scoop

Modern CLI for Apache Kafka. Version 0.2.14 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-27. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#kaf.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:kaf
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install kaf
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install kaf
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/kaf/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#kaf
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ka/kaf/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Windows

- Scoop (92%):

```sh
scoop install main/kaf
```

  Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/kaf.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:kaf
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.2.14
- **Source summary:** Modern CLI for Apache Kafka
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/birdayz/kaf>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/birdayz/kaf>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-27T21:58:35+02:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- kaf (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.2.14
## Project history and usage

Kaf is a Go-based command-line client for Apache Kafka. It gives Kafka users a compact native CLI alternative to the JVM-centered scripts that ship with Apache Kafka itself.

### Project history

The birdayz/kaf repository was created in September 2018, and the first GitHub release series began with v0.1.0 on September 30, 2018. The project describes itself as a modern CLI for Apache Kafka, written in Go.

Its design follows the pattern of a single-purpose operational CLI: configuration lives under the user's home directory, commands wrap common Kafka interactions, and the binary can be distributed through package managers without installing the full Kafka distribution.

### Adoption history

Kaf has a smaller footprint than Apache Kafka or K9s, but its package-manager presence in Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, and Scoop shows the value of a lightweight Kafka CLI for local workstations and scripts.

The repository metadata showed a multi-year maintenance history and a modest but real audience by July 2026, with thousands of GitHub stars rather than only incidental packaging.

### How it is used

Kaf is used for direct Kafka administration and inspection tasks such as working with topics, consumers, producers, and cluster metadata from a local shell.

Because Kafka credentials and cluster definitions can live in the Kaf configuration file, the package is part of the user's data-infrastructure access surface, not merely a display utility.

### Why package nerds care

Kaf matters to package collectors because it represents the ergonomic rewrite pattern: a large server project ships official scripts, and the ecosystem produces a smaller native CLI that is easier to install, tab-complete, and carry between machines.

Its Homebrew formula is also useful metadata: it distinguishes the Kafka client utility named kaf from Apache Kafka itself and from similarly named tools such as kafkactl.

### Timeline

- 2018-09: Public GitHub repository created.
- 2018-09-30: v0.1.0 release published.
- 2026-07-01: Repository metadata showed more than 2,400 stars.

### Related projects

- Kaf is related to Apache Kafka, Sarama-based Go Kafka tooling, kafkactl, kcat, and the Kafka command scripts included with the Apache distribution.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/birdayz/kaf>
- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/kaf>
- <https://github.com/birdayz/kaf>
- <https://github.com/birdayz/kaf/releases>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals


## 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: ~/.kaf/config

## Credential files

- Unix: ~/.kaf/config
## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - kaf: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ka/kaf/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- MacPorts - kaf: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/kaf/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Scoop - main/kaf: normalized package name match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/kaf.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/kaf.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/kaf.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph