Kerberos
Not just another Kafka UI
KafkaKombat is aimed at Kerberos-only environments where a Kafka UI must respect the real access model instead of bypassing it
Free current stable release · 1.3
Free Kafka UI and Kafka manager for Kerberos-based environments
KafkaKombat is a free Kerberos-first web UI for Apache Kafka. It is built for Kafka environments where SASL/GSSAPI, centralized roles, access zones, secure message browsing, and controlled administrative operations are part of the real production model rather than optional extras. A key difference of the product is that normal UI-driven Kafka requests are executed with the user’s own Kerberos ticket instead of a shared service identity
What this project is
Zones
Multi-cluster with zones and roles
One installation can work with multiple Kafka clusters grouped into access zones with Global Admin, Zone Admin, and application RBAC
2.2
Free now, Open Source after 2.2
The current line is already distributed free of charge as a Linux server distribution and as a Helm chart baseline for Kubernetes. The project is planned to move to Open Source starting with the 2.2 line
Why it fits real Kerberos-secured Kafka environments
SASL/GSSAPI
Kerberos is part of the runtime model
KafkaKombat is designed for Apache Kafka environments where Kerberos and SASL/GSSAPI are part of the normal client runtime, including krb5.conf, ticket cache handling, and production-grade Kafka authentication
User ticket
User-driven Kafka operations stay user-driven
Normal UI actions are executed with the Kerberos ticket of the logged-in user. Service principal and keytab are reserved for backend and background functions rather than replacing the user for everyday UI operations
Production
Used in development and production
The product is already used in development and production environments by multiple internal teams working with Kerberos-protected Apache Kafka clusters and a multi-cluster operational model
3.0 → 4.2
Broad Apache Kafka compatibility
KafkaKombat has been tested with Apache Kafka versions 3.0.0 through 4.2.0. If support for additional Kafka versions is required, feedback and issue reporting channels are available through the website and GitHub
Key capabilities
Clusters, brokers, topics, and consumer groups
- manage multiple Kafka clusters in one interface
- cluster dashboard and broker health visibility
- topics, partition layout, and consumer group browsing
- lag dashboard, top lagging groups, and problems view
Safe message browsing
- message browsing for operational workflows
- topic-level decode configuration
- protobuf-aware read path and structured decode
- topic-level masking policy and server-side masking
Controlled admin operations
- Global Admin and Zone Admin roles
- reset offsets as a controlled flow
- topic clone, recreate, and clear workflows
- light and dark interface themes
Installation options
The server distribution and Helm chart are both available free of charge today
The project can be deployed in two basic ways: as a Linux server distribution and as a Helm chart baseline for Kubernetes. The Helm chart is intentionally published as an environment-neutral baseline and is expected to be adapted to the target infrastructure
KafkaKombat - kafka manager UI
Cluster dashboard · light
Cluster dashboard · dark
Topics view
Problems view
Quick links
Get Started
Environment requirements, quick start, and installation options
Docs
Public-facing product and installation documentation for evaluation and rollout
Releases
Current stable release, published artifacts, checksums, and signature metadata
Project
GitHub, roadmap, private security contact, and project status