generated: '2026-06-20'
method: searched
source: https://kafka.apache.org/downloads
versioning:
  scheme: semver
  current: 4.3.1
  format: MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH
  process: KIP (Kafka Improvement Proposal)
  process_url: https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/KAFKA/Kafka+Improvement+Proposals
  docs: https://kafka.apache.org/downloads
release_cadence:
  minor_every: ~4 months
  supported_minor_releases: 3
  notes: >-
    Apache Kafka ships a minor release roughly every four months and typically supports
    up to three minor releases at a time.
deprecation:
  policy: >-
    Features are deprecated via a KIP for at least one minor release before removal,
    with the target removal version named in the release notes (e.g. KIP-1244 deprecates
    streams-scala in 4.3 for removal in 5.0; KIP-1237 deprecates the
    group.coordinator.rebalance.protocols broker config for removal in 5.0).
  sunset_header: false
  compatibility: >-
    Kafka maintains bidirectional client/broker protocol compatibility; brokers and
    clients of different versions interoperate within the supported window.
sla:
  url: null
  note: Apache Kafka is open-source software with no vendor SLA; SLAs come from managed vendors (e.g. Confluent Cloud).
status_page:
  apache: null
  confluent_cloud: https://status.confluent.io/
milestones:
  - version: '4.0.0'
    highlight: First KRaft-only release; Apache ZooKeeper removed as a dependency.
  - version: '3.9.x'
    highlight: Final release line supporting ZooKeeper mode.
deprecated_operations: []