catbee/kafka repository overview

⁠Kafka 4.3.1 Docker Image

A lightweight Apache Kafka 4.3.1 Docker image running in KRaft mode with Java 21, persistent storage, configurable topics, health checks, and JMX monitoring.

⁠Features

• Apache Kafka 4.3.1
• Java 21
• KRaft mode — no ZooKeeper required
• Runs as a non-root kafka user
• Persistent Kafka data volume
• Configurable listeners and advertised listeners
• Optional topic creation on startup
• Custom Kafka configuration through KAFKA_EXTRA_CONFIG
• JMX enabled on port 9999
• Docker health check
• Graceful shutdown handling

⁠Quick Start

docker run -d \
  --name kafka \
  -p 9092:9092 \
  -p 9093:9093 \
  -p 9999:9999 \
  -e KAFKA_CFG_PROCESS_ROLES=broker,controller \
  -e KAFKA_CFG_NODE_ID=1 \
  -e KAFKA_CFG_CONTROLLER_QUORUM_VOTERS=1@localhost:9093 \
  -e KAFKA_CFG_LISTENERS=PLAINTEXT://:9092,CONTROLLER://:9093 \
  -e KAFKA_CFG_ADVERTISED_LISTENERS=PLAINTEXT://localhost:9092 \
  -e KAFKA_CREATE_TOPICS=events,orders,users \
  -v kafka-data:/var/lib/kafka/data \
  catbee/kafka:4.3.1

⁠Configuration

⁠Required Environment Variables

⁠Optional Environment Variables

⁠Creating Topics

Topics can be created automatically when the container starts:

docker run -d \
  --name kafka \
  -p 9092:9092 \
  -p 9093:9093 \
  -e KAFKA_CFG_PROCESS_ROLES=broker,controller \
  -e KAFKA_CFG_NODE_ID=1 \
  -e KAFKA_CFG_CONTROLLER_QUORUM_VOTERS=1@localhost:9093 \
  -e KAFKA_CFG_LISTENERS=PLAINTEXT://:9092,CONTROLLER://:9093 \
  -e KAFKA_CFG_ADVERTISED_LISTENERS=PLAINTEXT://localhost:9092 \
  -e KAFKA_CREATE_TOPICS=events,orders,users \
  -v kafka-data:/var/lib/kafka/data \
  catbee/kafka:4.3.1

⁠Configure Partitions and Replication

-e KAFKA_CREATE_TOPICS=events,orders \
-e KAFKA_CREATE_TOPIC_PARTITIONS=5 \
-e KAFKA_CREATE_TOPIC_REPLICATION_FACTOR=1

⁠Custom Kafka Configuration

Additional Kafka properties can be supplied through KAFKA_EXTRA_CONFIG.

For example, to disable automatic topic creation:

-e KAFKA_EXTRA_CONFIG="auto.create.topics.enable=false
num.partitions=3"

These properties are appended to the generated Kafka configuration.

⁠Persistent Storage

Kafka data is stored in:

/var/lib/kafka/data

Use a Docker volume to persist Kafka data across container restarts:

-v kafka-data:/var/lib/kafka/data

Example:

docker run -d \
  --name kafka \
  -p 9092:9092 \
  -p 9093:9093 \
  -v kafka-data:/var/lib/kafka/data \
  ...
  catbee/kafka:4.3.1

⁠Ports

⁠Health Check

The image includes a Docker health check that verifies Kafka can accept metadata requests through the configured bootstrap server.

Check the container health with:

docker ps

Or:

docker inspect kafka \
  --format='{{.State.Health.Status}}'

A healthy container reports:

healthy

⁠JMX Monitoring

JMX is enabled on port 9999 for monitoring and observability.

The JMX endpoint is configured without authentication or SSL.

⁠Persistence and Restart

Kafka data is persisted in the configured Docker volume, allowing topics and messages to survive container restarts.

Restart the container:

docker restart kafka

The Kafka data remains available after the restart as long as the same Docker volume is used.

⁠Running Kafka CLI Commands

You can execute Kafka CLI commands inside the container.

⁠List Topics

docker exec kafka \
  bin/kafka-topics.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --list

⁠Describe a Topic

docker exec kafka \
  bin/kafka-topics.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --describe \
  --topic events

⁠Produce Messages

docker exec -it kafka \
  bin/kafka-console-producer.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --topic events

⁠Consume Messages

docker exec -it kafka \
  bin/kafka-console-consumer.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --topic events \
  --from-beginning

⁠Image

Pull the image from Docker Hub:

docker pull catbee/kafka:4.3.1

Run the image:

docker run catbee/kafka:4.3.1

⁠Image Details

⁠License

Kafka is distributed under the Apache License 2.0.

For Kafka licensing information, see the Apache Kafka project documentation.