Hi Csaba, Thanks for taking a look!
While Connectors will indeed appear in the flow definition (flow.json.gz), this should not have any backward compatibility impact for users who are not using this new concept. The only breaking changes we anticipate would be limited to the Connector API and its related constructs (such as the Connector-specific portions of the flow definition and manifest) until we gain enough confidence through concrete implementations to mark the API as stable. Existing flows, processors, controller services, and other components would remain unaffected. Regarding a NiFi 3.0 release, I do not anticipate that the addition of the Connectors concept alone would motivate a major version bump, as it should not introduce breaking changes to the existing framework or user experience. That said, there are other topics on the horizon, such as a comprehensive review of the NiFi authorization model, that would likely require a new major release. But this is still very early and I would not expect anything like that any time soon. In any case, based on how things went with NiFi 2, any major version change would be subject to an extensive community discussion, as we know that major version upgrades always require significant time and resources, and many users are still on NiFi 1.x. This is, obviously, just my perspective and others may have additional thoughts. Thanks, Pierre Le ven. 20 févr. 2026 à 00:29, Csaba Bejan <[email protected]> a écrit : > > Hi Pierre, > > Thanks for sharing all these details and thanks to all who worked on it. > This will be a great addition to the NiFi framework. > > I just did a quick scroll through and I saw you mentioned that the API is > experimental for now and can break going forward until it stabilizes. I saw > (and anticipate) Manifest and FlowDefinition changes, are you expecting > these to break as well in a non backward compatible manner? I didn't do a > proper review yet. I just saw that the connector related constructs were > introduced. > As this is a core nifi change would this mean a NiFi 3.0 major version bump > when it is complete or it is still too early for that discussion. > > Thanks, > Csaba > > On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 2:22 PM Pierre Villard <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > Hi everyone, > > > > I wanted to bring up a discussion around releasing the initial > > implementation of the Connectors feature that was introduced in NIP-11 > > [1]. The initial discussion happened on the mailing list back in > > August 2025 [2], followed by a vote in September 2025 to start the > > implementation work [3]. Since then, significant progress has been > > made over the past few months and we believe the feature is ready for > > an initial release. > > > > As a reminder, the Connector concept introduces a new extension point > > in Apache NiFi that encapsulates a complete NiFi dataflow behind a > > higher-level, guided configuration experience. Rather than exposing > > the full complexity of a flow to the user, a Connector presents a > > structured set of Configuration Steps and Property Groups (for > > example: "Source Configuration", "Destination Configuration", > > "Transformations") that allow a user to configure an end-to-end data > > pipeline without needing to understand or manipulate the underlying > > flow directly. Under the hood, the Connector is responsible for > > dynamically building and reconfiguring its encapsulated flow based on > > the user's configuration choices. This includes managing the lifecycle > > (starting/stopping) of all components within the flow. The goal is to > > significantly simplify the user experience for common data movement > > use cases, making NiFi more accessible to a broader audience while > > also streamlining operations for experienced practitioners. > > > > Given the scope of the feature, the API is marked as experimental and > > may change in a non-backward compatible manner between minor versions > > until the API has been more fully validated through developing > > concrete Connector implementations.All of the development work > > happened in a feature branch named NIFI-15258 in both the nifi-api [4] > > and nifi [5] repositories. Here is a high-level summary of what was > > implemented: > > > > 1. NiFi API - The Connector API has been introduced under > > org.apache.nifi.components.connector. This includes the core Connector > > interface and an AbstractConnector base class, the ConfigurationStep > > and ConnectorPropertyGroup abstractions for structuring configuration, > > ConnectorPropertyDescriptor for defining properties with dependencies > > and allowable values, a FlowContext abstraction that provides both an > > active flow and a working flow for configuration verification, > > component facades (ProcessorFacade, ControllerServiceFacade, > > ConnectionFacade, ProcessGroupFacade, ParameterContextFacade) for > > Connectors to interact with their encapsulated flow, Secret references > > for handling sensitive values, Asset support, ConnectorMethod for > > exposing custom web endpoints, documentation writers for > > auto-generating Connector documentation, and updates to the Versioned > > flow model to accommodate Connectors. Comprehensive unit tests have > > been added for the API. > > > > 2. NiFi Maven NAR Plugin - Support has been added for creating > > Connector extension manifests in NAR files, so that the NiFi runtime > > can discover and load Connector extensions. This change is already on > > the main branch. > > > > 3. NiFi (Framework, REST API, UI, Tests) - The bulk of the > > implementation resides here: > > - Framework core: ConnectorNode and lifecycle management, connector > > facades for standalone process groups, a connector configuration > > repository, flow synchronization support for connectors, parameter > > context and secrets management integration, and cluster replication > > support. > > - REST API: Full set of endpoints for connector CRUD operations, > > lifecycle management (start/stop), configuration step retrieval and > > updates, property group management, status reporting, data drainage, > > connector actions, secrets, state management, verification, and > > documentation. > > - Frontend UI: Connectors are integrated into the flow designer, the > > documentation browser, and access policies. > > - Mock framework: A connector mock server and test runner to support > > unit and integration testing of Connector implementations. > > - Example connector: A Kafka-to-S3 connector implementation that > > serves as a reference for building Connectors. > > - CLI Toolkit: A ConnectorClient has been added for command-line > > interaction with Connectors. > > - System tests: 11 system test classes covering standalone and > > clustered scenarios including CRUD, lifecycle, assets, data drainage, > > parameter contexts, version resolution, and method marshalling. > > > > Release plan: > > > > We would like to proceed iteratively with three releases: > > - NiFi Maven NAR Plugin - This has no dependency on the other > > projects. The Connector manifest support is already on main so we can > > get started with a release candidate right away. I volunteer to take > > care of the release duties. > > - NiFi API - A pull request [6] has been filed to merge the NIFI-15258 > > feature branch into main. Once merged, we will proceed with a release > > candidate. > > - NiFi - Once the NiFi API release is published, we will proceed with > > the proper PRs (bumping the API version dependency and merging the > > NIFI-15258 feature branch), and we will look at releasing a new > > version of NiFi. > > > > Please have a look at the feature branches and share your feedback. > > Any comments, questions, or concerns are welcome. > > > > Thanks, > > Pierre > > > > [1] https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/NIP-11 > > [2] https://lists.apache.org/thread/77c7o4yf8lt9owpjsjb8gl2slk3f7mcf > > [3] https://lists.apache.org/thread/skhn5kjkq6kfmrbqsshxs5348d968jvb > > [4] https://github.com/apache/nifi-api/tree/NIFI-15258 > > [5] https://github.com/apache/nifi/tree/NIFI-15258 > > [6] https://github.com/apache/nifi-api/pull/70 > >
