Get started with the Apache Kafka integration
Apache Kafka is a distributed streaming platform that enables you to build real-time data pipelines and streaming applications. The Aspire Apache Kafka integration enables you to connect to existing Kafka instances or create new instances from Aspire with the confluentinc/confluent-local container image.
In this introduction, you'll see how to install and use the Aspire Apache Kafka integrations in a simple configuration. If you already have this knowledge, see Apache Kafka hosting integration for full reference details.
Note
To follow this guide, you must have created an Aspire solution to work with. To learn how to do that, see Build your first Aspire app.
Set up hosting integration
To begin, install the Aspire Kafka hosting integration in your Aspire AppHost project:
dotnet add package Aspire.Hosting.KafkaNext, in the AppHost project, create instances of Kafka resources and pass them to the consuming client projects:
var builder = DistributedApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
var kafka = builder.AddKafka("kafka");
builder.AddProject<Projects.ExampleProject>()
.WithReference(kafka);
builder.Build().Run();When Aspire adds a container image to the AppHost, it creates a new Kafka server instance on your local machine.
Tip
If you'd rather connect to an existing Kafka server, call AddConnectionString instead. For more information on how to use WithReference, see Resource dependencies and Configuration injection.
Set up client integration
To get started with the Aspire Apache Kafka client integration, install the package:
dotnet add package Aspire.Confluent.KafkaIn the Program.cs file of your client-consuming project, call the AddKafkaProducer extension method to register an IProducer<TKey, TValue> for use via the dependency injection container:
builder.AddKafkaProducer<string, string>("kafka");Tip
The connectionName parameter must match the name used when adding the Kafka resource in the AppHost project.
You can then retrieve the IProducer<TKey, TValue> instance using dependency injection:
internal sealed class Worker(IProducer<string, string> producer) : BackgroundService
{
// Use producer...
}