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Learn how to manage Kafka topics using the kafka-topics CLI in 10 minutes The kafka-topics CLI is your primary tool for creating, listing, describing, altering, and deleting Kafka topics. What you’ll learn:
  • How to create topics with specific partitions and replication factor
  • How to list and describe existing topics
  • How to alter topic partition count
  • How to delete topics
Platform extensionsUse CLI commands with appropriate extensions for your platform: .bat for Windows, .sh for Mac and Linux.

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How to create a Kafka topic?

To create a Kafka topic, you need to provide:
  • Kafka hostname and port (e.g., localhost:9092)
  • Topic name
  • Number of partitions
  • Replication factor

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Example

Creating a topic named first_topic with 3 partitions and replication factor of 1: For Kafka v2.2+: 
kafka-topics --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 --topic first_topic --create --partitions 3 --replication-factor 1

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Important gotchas

  • Cannot specify a replication factor greater than the number of brokers
  • No default values for partitions and replication factor
  • Topic name must contain only ASCII alphanumerics, ’.’, ’_’ and ’-‘

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How to list Kafka topics?

Use kafka-topics with the --list option.

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Example

For Kafka v2.2+: 
kafka-topics --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 --list

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How to describe a Kafka topic?

Use kafka-topics with the --describe option.

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Example

For Kafka v2.2+: 
kafka-topics --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 --describe --topic first_topic

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How to increase the number of partitions?

Use kafka-topics with the --alter option.
Caution: Increasing the number of partitions in a Kafka topic is a DANGEROUS OPERATION if your applications are relying on key-based ordering.

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Example

kafka-topics --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 --alter --topic first_topic --partitions 5

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How to delete a Kafka topic?

Use kafka-topics with the --delete option.

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Example

kafka-topics --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 --delete --topic first_topic
Ensure delete.topic.enable=true is set on brokers for deletion to work properly.

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Quick reference

OperationCommand
Create topickafka-topics --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 --create --topic NAME --partitions N --replication-factor R
List topicskafka-topics --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 --list
Describe topickafka-topics --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 --describe --topic NAME
Add partitionskafka-topics --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 --alter --topic NAME --partitions N
Delete topickafka-topics --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 --delete --topic NAME
See it in practice with ConduktorConduktor Console provides a visual interface for topic management. Create, configure, and monitor topics without memorizing CLI syntax.

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Next steps