Installing Kafka

Download the Binary

wget https://downloads.apache.org/kafka/3.8.0/kafka_2.13-3.8.0.tgz
tar -xzf kafka_2.13-3.8.0.tgz
cd kafka_2.13-3.8.0

The archive includes the broker, CLI tools, and KRaft tooling.

Start in KRaft Mode (no ZooKeeper)

KAFKA_CLUSTER_ID="$(bin/kafka-storage.sh random-uuid)"
bin/kafka-storage.sh format -t $KAFKA_CLUSTER_ID -c config/kraft/server.properties
bin/kafka-server-start.sh config/kraft/server.properties

The storage format step initializes the log directories; the server then starts on the ports in server.properties (default 9092).

Install via Docker

docker run -d --network host --name kafka apache/kafka:3.8.0

Quick Health Check

The broker logs show "Kafka Server started" when ready. Offset CLI commands fail until it is fully up.

Key Points

• Kafka ships as a tarball with its own tooling.
• KRaft mode initializes storage before startup.
• Docker images start a broker in one line.
• Watch logs for the started message.