Hi Chia, thanks for looking into this! chia_00: I think it would be great if we could get rid of the classic consumer code on the AK client 6.0, but agree that we would still need to verify the broker-side logic. Wonder if we could maybe aim for removing the client code, but keep test coverage for the classic protocol with: - system tests (i.e extending https://github.com/apache/kafka/blob/trunk/tests/kafkatest/tests/client/client_compatibility_produce_consume_test.py to add tests for produce/consume with client versions < 6.0 selecting the classic protocol) - request-level integration test (i.e the ones covering classic protocol requests like https://github.com/apache/kafka/blob/trunk/core/src/test/scala/unit/kafka/server/JoinGroupRequestTest.scala, https://github.com/apache/kafka/blob/trunk/core/src/test/scala/unit/kafka/server/SyncGroupRequestTest.scala, ...) - Connect tests (while Connect remains using the classic protocol, its tests would be added coverage) What do you think? Would that be enough to give us confidence that the broker support for classic remains stable, while allowing us to clean up and simplify KafkaConsumer 6.0+ clients?
chia_01: Yes, I think we need to continue fixing bugs on the classic protocol on the broker to support components like Connect and other client implementations. That being said, wonder if we should consider something like fixing only major bugs? (no minor fixes, no new features) I think it would be helpful to send a strong clear signal to other client implementations that is the next generation of the rebalance protocol to adopt on consumer applications (not just another alternative), so they move and upgrade following a path similar to the java-client. Thoughts? Thanks! Lianet On Thu, Jan 22, 2026 at 5:44 PM Chia-Ping Tsai <[email protected]> wrote: > hi Lianet > > chia_00: Should we keep the classic consumer code in kafka 6.0? I think > the answer is yes. We need it to verify the broker's support for classic > consumer > > chia_01: Should we keep fixing bugs in the classic logic for 6.0? > > Best, > Chia-Ping > > On 2026/01/22 22:04:53 Lianet Magrans wrote: > > Hello, > > > > I would like to start the discussion for KIP-1274. This KIP proposes a > > phased plan to drive a smooth evolution of Java client consumer > > applications towards the next generation of the rebalance protocol > > > > Here is the KIP: > > > https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/KAFKA/KIP-1274%3A+Deprecate+and+remove+support+for+Classic+rebalance+protocol+in+KafkaConsumer > > > > Looking forward to hearing from you, > > > > Thanks! > > Lianet > > >
