generated: '2026-06-20'
method: searched
source: https://kafka.apache.org/blog
scheme: semver
current: 4.3.1
docs: https://kafka.apache.org/downloads
notes: >-
  Apache Kafka publishes dated release announcements on its blog and full JIRA-backed
  release notes per version. Only the recent window is captured here; the live blog and
  downloads page are the source of truth.
entries:
  - version: 4.3.1
    date: '2026-06'
    type: patch
    breaking: false
    highlights:
      - Bug-fix release on the 4.3 line.
  - version: 4.3.0
    date: '2026-05-22'
    type: minor
    breaking: false
    url: https://kafka.apache.org/blog/2026/05/22/apache-kafka-4.3.0-release-announcement/
    highlights:
      - 25 KIPs and 600+ commits since 4.2.0.
      - KIP-1244 deprecates streams-scala (removal targeted for 5.0).
      - KIP-1237 deprecates the group.coordinator.rebalance.protocols broker config (removal targeted for 5.0).
  - version: 4.2.0
    date: null
    type: minor
    breaking: false
    highlights:
      - Prior minor release on the 4.x line.
  - version: 4.1.0
    date: null
    type: minor
    breaking: false
    highlights:
      - Prior minor release on the 4.x line.
  - version: 4.0.0
    date: null
    type: major
    breaking: true
    highlights:
      - First KRaft-only release; Apache ZooKeeper removed as a dependency.