Connect to Apache Kafka® with Franz

Franz is a desktop client for managing Apache Kafka® deployments. Learn how to connect to an Aiven for Apache Kafka® service using Franz

Subscribe to RSS

Franz is a native Mac and Windows desktop client for Apache Kafka.

Connect using client certificate authentication (CCA)

  1. Visit the Service Overview page for your Aiven for Apache Kafka® service.
  2. Download the Access Key, Access Certificate and CA Certificate.
  3. Rename the Access Key from service.key to service.key.pem:
mv service.key service.key.pem
  1. Combine the Acess Certificate and CA Certificate files into one:
cat service.cert ca.pem > combined.pem

  1. In Franz, choose New Connection... and

    • enter your cluster Host and Port under the Bootstrap
      Host       and Port fields,
    • tick the Enable SSL checkbox,
    • click the SSL Key... button and select the service.key.pem file,
    • click the SSL Cert... button and select the combined.pem file.

Screenshot of the Franz connection configuration window

  1. Finally, click Connect to connect to your cluster.

Once connected, you can read the Franz Manual to learn more about using this tool.