Comprehensive Guide to Kafka Core Commands (2026 Edition)

Kafka is a core component of large‑scale architectures. The following sections detail the most common Kafka command‑line operations.

1. View Kafka Version

kafka-topics.sh --version

Example output: 3.9.0.

2. Create a Topic

kafka-topics.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --create \
  --topic order \
  --partitions 3 \
  --replication-factor 2

Parameters: --bootstrap-server: address of the Kafka broker --topic: name of the new topic --partitions: number of partitions --replication-factor: number of replicas

3. List All Topics

kafka-topics.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --list

4. Describe a Topic

kafka-topics.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --describe \
  --topic order

Typical output includes Partition, Leader, ISR, Replicas, etc.

5. Increase Topic Partitions

kafka-topics.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --alter \
  --topic order \
  --partitions 6

Kafka can only increase partitions; it cannot decrease them.

6. Delete a Topic

kafka-topics.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --delete \
  --topic order

Broker configuration delete.topic.enable=true must be set.

7. Produce Messages (Console Producer)

kafka-console-producer.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --topic order

Type a message (e.g., hello) and press Enter to send it immediately.

8. Consume Messages (Console Consumer)

kafka-console-consumer.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --topic order

By default, only new messages are consumed. To read from the beginning, add --from-beginning.

9. List Consumer Groups

kafka-consumer-groups.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --list

10. Describe a Consumer Group

kafka-consumer-groups.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --describe \
  --group order

Key fields: CURRENT‑OFFSET, LOG‑END‑OFFSET, LAG. A larger LAG indicates slower consumption.

11. Reset Consumer Offsets

kafka-consumer-groups.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --group order \
  --reset-offsets \
  --to-earliest \
  --execute \
  --topic order

Commonly used for data replay or testing.

12. View Broker Information

kafka-broker-api-versions.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092

Shows broker IDs, API versions, and supported capabilities.

13. View Log Directories

kafka-log-dirs.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --describe

Outputs disk usage, topic storage locations, and partition sizes.

14. Producer Performance Test

kafka-producer-perf-test.sh \
  --topic test \
  --num-records 1000000 \
  --record-size 1024 \
  --throughput 1 \
  --producer-props bootstrap.servers=localhost:9092

Result fields: Records/sec, MB/sec, Latency.

15. Consumer Performance Test

kafka-consumer-perf-test.sh \
  --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 \
  --topic test \
  --messages 100000

Result fields: MB/sec, Messages/sec.

These commands provide a complete toolbox for operating, troubleshooting, and benchmarking a Kafka cluster.