Kafka MCP Server Integration

Expert knowledge for integrating SpecWeave with Kafka MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers. Supports 4 MCP server implementations with auto-detection and configuration guidance.

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Code-First Recommendation: For most Kafka automation tasks, writing code is better than MCP (98% token reduction). Use kafkajs or kafka-node directly:

import { Kafka } from 'kafkajs';
const kafka = new Kafka({ brokers: ['localhost:9092'] });
const producer = kafka.producer();
await producer.send({ topic: 'events', messages: [{ value: 'Hello' }] });

When MCP IS useful: Quick interactive debugging, topic exploration, Claude Desktop integration.

When to use code instead: CI/CD pipelines, test automation, production scripts, anything that should be committed and reusable.

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Supported MCP Servers

1. kanapuli/mcp-kafka (Node.js)

Installation:

npm install -g mcp-kafka

Capabilities:

• Authentication: SASL_PLAINTEXT, PLAINTEXT
• Operations: produce, consume, list-topics, describe-topic, get-offsets
• Best for: Basic Kafka operations, quick prototyping

Configuration Example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kafka": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-kafka"],
      "env": {
        "KAFKA_BROKERS": "localhost:9092",
        "KAFKA_SASL_MECHANISM": "plain",
        "KAFKA_SASL_USERNAME": "user",
        "KAFKA_SASL_PASSWORD": "password"
      }
    }
  }
}

2. tuannvm/kafka-mcp-server (Go)

Installation:

go install github.com/tuannvm/kafka-mcp-server@latest

Capabilities:

• Authentication: SASL_SCRAM_SHA_256, SASL_SCRAM_SHA_512, SASL_SSL, PLAINTEXT
• Operations: All CRUD operations, consumer group management, offset management
• Best for: Production use, advanced SASL authentication

Configuration Example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kafka": {
      "command": "kafka-mcp-server",
      "args": [
        "--brokers", "localhost:9092",
        "--sasl-mechanism", "SCRAM-SHA-256",
        "--sasl-username", "admin",
        "--sasl-password", "admin-secret"
      ]
    }
  }
}

3. Joel-hanson/kafka-mcp-server (Python)

Installation:

pip install kafka-mcp-server

Capabilities:

• Authentication: SASL_PLAINTEXT, PLAINTEXT, SSL
• Operations: produce, consume, list-topics, describe-topic
• Best for: Claude Desktop integration, Python ecosystem

Configuration Example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kafka": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "kafka_mcp_server"],
      "env": {
        "KAFKA_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS": "localhost:9092"
      }
    }
  }
}

4. Confluent Official MCP (Enterprise)

Installation:

confluent plugin install mcp-server

Capabilities:

• Authentication: OAuth, SASL_SCRAM, API Keys
• Operations: All Kafka operations, Schema Registry, ksqlDB, Flink SQL
• Advanced: Natural language interface, AI-powered query generation
• Best for: Confluent Cloud, enterprise deployments

Configuration Example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kafka": {
      "command": "confluent",
      "args": ["mcp", "start"],
      "env": {
        "CONFLUENT_CLOUD_API_KEY": "your-api-key",
        "CONFLUENT_CLOUD_API_SECRET": "your-api-secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

Auto-Detection

SpecWeave can auto-detect installed MCP servers:

/sw-kafka:mcp-configure

This command:

1. Scans for installed MCP servers (npm, go, pip, confluent CLI)
2. Checks which servers are currently running
3. Ranks servers by capabilities (Confluent > tuannvm > kanapuli > Joel-hanson)
4. Generates recommended configuration
5. Tests connection

Quick Start

Option 1: Auto-Configure (Recommended)

/sw-kafka:mcp-configure

Interactive wizard guides you through:

• MCP server selection (or auto-detect)
• Broker URL configuration
• Authentication setup
• Connection testing

Option 2: Manual Configuration

1. Install preferred MCP server (see installation commands above)

2. Create .mcp.json configuration:

{
  "serverType": "tuannvm",
  "brokerUrls": ["localhost:9092"],
  "authentication": {
    "mechanism": "SASL/SCRAM-SHA-256",
    "username": "admin",
    "password": "admin-secret"
  }
}

3. Test connection:

# Via MCP server CLI
kafka-mcp-server test-connection

# Or via SpecWeave
node -e "import('./dist/lib/mcp/detector.js').then(async ({ MCPServerDetector }) => {
  const detector = new MCPServerDetector();
  const result = await detector.detectAll();
  console.log(JSON.stringify(result, null, 2));
});"

MCP Server Comparison

Feature	kanapuli	tuannvm	Joel-hanson	Confluent
Language	Node.js	Go	Python	Official CLI
SASL_PLAINTEXT	✅	✅	✅	✅
SCRAM-SHA-256	❌	✅	❌	✅
SCRAM-SHA-512	❌	✅	❌	✅
mTLS/SSL	❌	✅	✅	✅
OAuth	❌	❌	❌	✅
Consumer Groups	❌	✅	❌	✅
Offset Mgmt	❌	✅	❌	✅
Schema Registry	❌	❌	❌	✅
ksqlDB	❌	❌	❌	✅
Flink SQL	❌	❌	❌	✅
AI/NL Interface	❌	❌	❌	✅
Best For	Prototyping	Production	Desktop	Enterprise

Troubleshooting

MCP Server Not Detected

# Check if MCP server installed
npm list -g mcp-kafka         # kanapuli
which kafka-mcp-server        # tuannvm
pip show kafka-mcp-server     # Joel-hanson
confluent version             # Confluent

Connection Refused

• Verify Kafka broker is running: kcat -L -b localhost:9092
• Check firewall rules
• Validate broker URL (correct host:port)

Authentication Failed

• Double-check credentials (username, password, API keys)
• Verify SASL mechanism matches broker configuration
• Check broker logs for authentication errors

Operations Not Working

• Ensure MCP server supports the operation (see comparison table)
• Check broker ACLs (permissions for the authenticated user)
• Verify topic exists: /sw-kafka:mcp-configure list-topics

Operations via MCP

Once configured, you can perform Kafka operations via MCP:

import { MCPServerDetector } from './lib/mcp/detector';

const detector = new MCPServerDetector();
const result = await detector.detectAll();

// Use recommended server
if (result.recommended) {
  console.log(`Using ${result.recommended} MCP server`);
  console.log(`Reason: ${result.rankingReason}`);
}

Security Best Practices

1. Never commit credentials - Use environment variables or secrets manager
2. Use strongest auth - Prefer SCRAM-SHA-512 > SCRAM-SHA-256 > PLAINTEXT
3. Enable TLS/SSL - Encrypt communication with broker
4. Rotate credentials - Regularly update passwords and API keys
5. Least privilege - Grant only necessary ACLs to MCP server user

Related Commands

• /sw-kafka:mcp-configure - Interactive MCP server setup
• /sw-kafka:dev-env start - Start local Kafka for testing
• /sw-kafka:deploy - Deploy production Kafka cluster

External Links

• kanapuli/mcp-kafka
• tuannvm/kafka-mcp-server
• Joel-hanson/kafka-mcp-server
• Confluent MCP Documentation
• MCP Protocol Specification