Aiven launches Karapace for Apache Kafka^® schema and cluster management

We’re excited to announce the launch of Karapace, a replacement for Apache Kafka REST and the Schema Registry.

An open-source alternative to Schema Registry and Apache Kafka REST proxy

Karapace is a fully open source tool developed by Aiven. Karapace’s functionality aims to be 1:1 compatible with the existing Confluent Schema Registry and the Apache Kafka REST proxy, and it works on both client and server sides.

On the technical side, Karapace represents moderate memory consumption and is built with an asynchronous architecture. This makes Karapace a lightweight and stable tool, and working with Apache Kafka gets just a little easier.

As an open-source replacement for proprietary solutions, Karapace helps you to avoid vendor lock-in.

Karapace functionality

Karapace currently provides the following functionality:

• A central repository for storing schemas
• Serialization and deserialization of messages
• Version history of Kafka schemas
• A RESTful interface for your Kafka cluster

Karapace can also produce and consume messages and handle cluster administration tasks.

Getting started with Karapace

To enable Schema Registry or REST proxy for your Aiven for Kafka plans, go to the Overview page of your Aiven for Apache Kafka service, and enable the features.

Contribute to Karapace

Aiven welcomes contributions to the project! Go the the Karapace repo and have a look at the open issues to see if something catches your fancy.

Wrapping up

With Karapace, you have a few more options for managing Apache Kafka message schemas and administering your Apache Kafka clusters.

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