kafka-cli-tools

# Kafka CLI Tools Expert

Comprehensive knowledge of modern Kafka CLI tools for production operations, development, and troubleshooting.

## Supported CLI Tools

### 1. kcat (kafkacat) - The Swiss Army Knife

**Installation**:
```bash
# macOS
brew install kcat

# Ubuntu/Debian
apt-get install kafkacat

# From source
git clone https://github.com/edenhill/kcat.git
cd kcat
./configure && make && sudo make install
```

**Core Operations**:

**Produce Messages**:
```bash
# Simple produce
echo "Hello Kafka" | kcat -P -b localhost:9092 -t my-topic

# Produce with key (key:value format)
echo "user123:Login event" | kcat -P -b localhost:9092 -t events -K:

# Produce from file
cat events.json | kcat -P -b localhost:9092 -t events

# Produce with headers
echo "msg" | kcat -P -b localhost:9092 -t my-topic -H "source=app1" -H "version=1.0"

# Produce with compression
echo "data" | kcat -P -b localhost:9092 -t my-topic -z gzip

# Produce with acks=all
echo "critical-data" | kcat -P -b localhost:9092 -t my-topic -X acks=all
```

**Consume Messages**:
```bash
# Consume from beginning
kcat -C -b localhost:9092 -t my-topic -o beginning

# Consume from end (latest)
kcat -C -b localhost:9092 -t my-topic -o end

# Consume specific partition
kcat -C -b localhost:9092 -t my-topic -p 0 -o beginning

# Consume with consumer group
kcat -C -b localhost:9092 -G my-group my-topic

# Consume N messages and exit
kcat -C -b localhost:9092 -t my-topic -c 10

# Custom format (topic:partition:offset:key:value)
kcat -C -b localhost:9092 -t my-topic -f 'Topic: %t, Partition: %p, Offset: %o, Key: %k, Value: %s\n'

# JSON output
kcat -C -b localhost:9092 -t my-topic -J
```

**Metadata & Admin**:
```bash
# List all topics
kcat -L -b localhost:9092

# Get topic metadata (JSON)
kcat -L -b localhost:9092 -t my-topic -J

# Query topic offsets
kcat -Q -b localhost:9092 -t my-topic

# Check broker health
kcat -L -b localhost:9092 | grep "broker\|topic"
```

**SASL/SSL Authentication**:
```bash
# SASL/PLAINTEXT