kafka

Original：🇺🇸 English

Translated

Set up Kafka-based event-driven microservices with Platformatic Watt. Use when users ask about: - "kafka", "event-driven", "messaging" - "kafka hooks", "kafka webhooks" - "kafka producer", "kafka consumer" - "dead letter queue", "DLQ" - "request response pattern" with Kafka - "migrate from kafkajs", "kafkajs migration", "replace kafkajs" Covers @platformatic/kafka, @platformatic/kafka-hooks, consumer lag monitoring, and OpenTelemetry instrumentation.

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Sourceplatformatic/skills

Added on2026-02-25

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add platformatic/skills kafka

SKILL.md Content

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Kafka Integration Skill

You are an expert in integrating Apache Kafka with Platformatic Watt for event-driven microservices.

Prerequisites Check

Before any Kafka setup, verify:

Node.js Version: Watt requires Node.js v22.19.0+
bash
```
node --version
```
If below v22.19.0, inform user they must upgrade Node.js first.
Existing Watt Config: Check if
```
watt.json
```
already exists
bash
```
ls watt.json 2>/dev/null
```
If no
```
watt.json
```
, suggest running
```
/watt init
```
first to set up Watt.

Command Router

Based on user input ($ARGUMENTS), route to the appropriate workflow:

Input Pattern	Action
`hooks` , `webhooks` , (empty)	Run Kafka-Hooks Setup
`producer` , `consumer` , `client`	Run Kafka Client Setup
`monitoring` , `lag` , `health`	Run Consumer Lag Monitoring Setup
`tracing` , `opentelemetry` , `otel`	Run Kafka Tracing Setup
`migrate` , `kafkajs` , `migration`	Run KafkaJS Migration Workflow

Kafka-Hooks Setup

When user requests Kafka webhook/hook integration:

Read references/kafka.md
Choose integration approach:
- @platformatic/kafka-hooks: Kafka-to-HTTP webhooks (recommended for Watt)
- @platformatic/kafka: Direct producer/consumer in your services
Create kafka-hooks service with
```
npx wattpm@latest create
```
Configure topics, webhooks, and request/response patterns

Kafka-Hooks Patterns

Webhook: Kafka messages → HTTP endpoints (with DLQ)
Request/Response: HTTP → Kafka → HTTP (correlation IDs)
HTTP Publishing: POST to
```
/topics/{topicName}
```

Kafka Client Setup

When user requests direct Kafka producer/consumer integration:

Read references/kafka.md

Install

@platformatic/kafka

:

bash

npm install @platformatic/kafka

Set up producer and/or consumer in the target service
Configure serializers/deserializers based on message format

Consumer Lag Monitoring Setup

When user requests Kafka consumer lag monitoring:

Read references/kafka.md

Install

@platformatic/watt-plugin-kafka-health

:

bash

npm install @platformatic/watt-plugin-kafka-health

Add plugin to service
```
watt.json
```
Configure lag threshold and check interval

Kafka Tracing Setup

When user requests OpenTelemetry tracing for Kafka:

Read references/kafka.md

Install

@platformatic/kafka-opentelemetry

:

bash

npm install @platformatic/kafka-opentelemetry

Enable instrumentation in the service

KafkaJS Migration Workflow

When user wants to migrate from KafkaJS to @platformatic/kafka:

Read references/migration.md

Scan the project for KafkaJS usage patterns:

```
require('kafkajs')
```
or
```
from 'kafkajs'
```
imports
```
new Kafka({...})
```
factory instantiation
```
.producer()
```
,
```
.consumer()
```
,
```
.admin()
```
calls
```
connect()
```
/
```
disconnect()
```
lifecycle calls
```
subscribe()
```
+
```
run({ eachMessage })
```
consumer pattern
```
sendBatch()
```
calls
```
CompressionTypes
```
usage
```
transaction()
```
calls
Error handling with
```
KafkaJS*
```
error classes

Apply the migration checklist from the reference, transforming each pattern
Verify the migration covers all areas:
- Client creation (factory → direct instantiation)
- Connection lifecycle (
```
connect
```
  /
```
disconnect
```
  → lazy/
```
close
```
  )
- Producer API (topic per-send → topic per-message, serializers)
- Consumer API (callback → stream, offset modes)
- Admin API (new method signatures)
- Error handling (
```
retriable
```
  →
```
canRetry
```
  , new error classes)
- Events (custom events →
```
diagnostics_channel
```
  )

Important Notes

Internal service URLs:
```
http://{service-id}.plt.local
```
Environment variables in watt.json use
```
{VAR_NAME}
```
(curly braces, no dollar sign)
Kafka-hooks is the recommended approach for Watt multi-service architectures
Always configure Dead Letter Queues (DLQ) for production webhook topics

kafka

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Kafka Integration Skill

Prerequisites Check

Command Router

Kafka-Hooks Setup

Kafka-Hooks Patterns

Kafka Client Setup

Consumer Lag Monitoring Setup

Kafka Tracing Setup

KafkaJS Migration Workflow

Important Notes