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Connect to Aiven for Apache Kafka® with C++

Use Quick connect to set up a C++ client for Aiven for Apache Kafka®. The guided flow helps you choose or create a topic, choose an authentication method, grant permissions, and copy generated producer and consumer code.

Prerequisites​

Open Quick connect​

  1. In the Aiven Console, open your Aiven for Apache Kafka service.
  2. On the service Overview page, in the Set up your stream section, click Quick connect.
  3. At the top of the page, click C++ in the language selector.

Step 1: Set up a topic​

Topics organize and store the events that you stream to Apache Kafka.

  1. In Topic name, do one of the following:

    • Choose an existing topic.
    • Click Create new topic, enter a name, and create the topic. The new topic is selected automatically for the next steps.
    note

    If your service has Diskless topics enabled, you can create a Classic or Diskless topic, or choose an existing topic of either type. You can't change the topic type after creation. For more information, see Create Apache Kafka® topics.

Step 2: Set up an authentication method​

  1. Choose an authentication method:

    • SASL: Recommended. Use SASL/SCRAM-SHA-256 for simple username and password authentication.

      If SASL is not enabled on your service, an option to enable SASL appears under the SASL authentication method. Click Enable SASL, then continue.

    • Client certificate: Use certificate-based authentication with mTLS instead of a password.

  2. Choose a service user:

    • Choose an existing service user from the list.
    • To create one, click Create new service user, enter a username, and click Add service user.

  3. Check the permission status shown for the selected user:

    • If the user has all the required permissions, the granted permissions are shown (for example, read, write). To change them, click Manage access in ACLs.
    • If the user has some or no permissions, click Grant permissions. Choose Produce, Consume, or both, and click Save.
    note

    The avnadmin user has permissions by default.

    For other service users, you can add permissions from Quick connect. To change or remove permissions, click Manage access in ACLs. For more information, see Manage Apache Kafka® ACLs.

Step 3: Copy the code snippets​

tip

Download template is an optional shortcut for testing the connection without a local C++ project. The ZIP file includes ready-to-run producer and consumer code, certificates, and dependencies. To run it, follow the included README.md. If you already have a C++ project, copy the snippet from the Producer or Consumer tab.

  1. Under Prerequisites, install librdkafka and librdkafka-devel.

    For installation instructions, open librdkafka on GitHub.

  2. Under Downloads, download the certificate files for your authentication method:

    • For SASL, click Download CA certificate (ca.pem).
    • For Client certificate, download CA certificate (ca.pem), service certificate (service.cert), and service key (service.key).

    The generated snippet loads the certificates directly, so you don't need to create a truststore.

  3. Click the Producer or Consumer tab to view the generated producer or consumer code.

  4. Copy the generated code into producer.cpp or consumer.cpp.

  5. Compile and run the producer or consumer using the generated command:

    gcc -o producer.o -Wall -lrdkafka producer.cpp && ./producer.o
    gcc -o consumer.o -Wall -lrdkafka consumer.cpp && ./consumer.o
    warning

    For SASL, copied snippets include the service user password in plaintext. Store the code securely, and do not commit it to source control.

After you add the code to your project, update the certificate file paths to match where you saved the files, then run your producer or consumer to start streaming events.