install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install kafkactl

provider-native install command

overview

Package summary

CLI for managing Apache Kafka

Project links

Commands and aliases

kafkactl

history

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 posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for kafkactl. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.

Install behavior

No Homebrew bottle metadata was recorded.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

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

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: ~/.config/kafkactl/config.yml~/.kafkactl/config.yml/etc/kafkactl/config.yml
Windows: %APPDATA%\kafkactl\config.yml

Credential files

Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.

Unix: ~/.config/kafkactl/config.yml~/.kafkactl/config.yml/etc/kafkactl/config.yml
Windows: %APPDATA%\kafkactl\config.yml

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`kafkactl`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-08-03

manager version5.20.0

manager updated2026-07-30

local dataunknown

upstreamnot available

latest detectednot detected

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:kafkactl
Version	5.20.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Homepage	https://deviceinsight.github.io/kafkactl/
Repository	https://github.com/deviceinsight/kafkactl
Last updated	2026-07-30T12:36:30Z
Pulse	updated
Bottle	not recorded
Service	none declared

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/kafkactl.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
pkgdb category and tag curation

Install kafkactl with Homebrew