<a id="cc-neo4j-sink"></a>

# Neo4j Sink Connector for Confluent Cloud

The fully managed Neo4j Sink connector moves data from Apache Kafka® to Neo4j and
Aura databases. The connector uses multiple write strategies, such as Cypher,
Change Data Capture (CDC), Pattern, and Create-Update-Delete (CUD).

#### NOTE
If you require private networking for fully managed connectors, make sure to set up the proper
networking beforehand. For more information, see [Manage Networking for Confluent Cloud Connectors](../networking/internet-resource.md#clusters-connect-cloud).

## Features

The Neo4j Sink connector supports the following features:

* **Real-time data delivery**: Delivers records from Kafka topics to Neo4j
  in near real time, enabling continuous data synchronization.
* **Flexible data mapping**: Maps Kafka record values (including Avro and JSON)
  to nodes and relationships in Neo4j using **Cypher** or **Pattern** strategy defined in the configuration.
* **Schema handling**: Supports both schema-less records such as JSON and records with
  schemas such as Avro, allowing the connector to adapt to various data structures.
* **Error handling**: Provides robust resilience and error handling, including support
  for a Dead Letter Queue (DLQ) to store records that fail processing.
* **Data type conversion**: Supports conversion between built-in Kafka Connect types and Neo4j data types.
* **Secure authentication**: Supports secure authentication for connecting to your Neo4j database
  using NONE, BASIC, KERBEROS, BEARER, and CUSTOM authentication types.

For more information and examples to use with the Confluent Cloud API for Connect,
see the [Confluent Cloud API for Connect Usage Examples](../connect-api-section.md#ccloud-connect-api) section.

## Limitations

Be sure to review the following information.

* For connector limitations, see [Neo4j Sink Connector](../limits.md#neo4j-sink-limits).
* If you plan to use one or more Single Message Transformations (SMTs), see [SMT Limitations](../single-message-transforms.md#cc-single-message-transforms-limitations).

## Quick Start

Use this quick start to get up and running with the Confluent Cloud Neo4j Sink
connector. The quick start provides the basics of selecting the connector and
configuring it to stream Kafka events to a Neo4j database.

<a id="cc-neo4j-sink-prereqs"></a>

Prerequisites
: - Authorized access to a [Confluent Cloud](https://www.confluent.io/confluent-cloud/) cluster
    on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure (Azure), or Google Cloud.
  - The Confluent CLI installed and configured for the cluster. For more information,
    see [Install the Confluent CLI](https://docs.confluent.io/confluent-cli/current/install.html).
  - [Schema Registry](../../get-started/schema-registry.md#cloud-sr-config) must be enabled to use a Schema Registry-based format
    such as AVRO, JSON_SR (JSON Schema), or PROTOBUF.
  - Access to a Neo4j or Neo4j Aura database.
  - For networking considerations, see [Networking and DNS](../overview.md#connect-internet-access-resources). To use a set of public egress IP
    addresses, see [Public Egress IP Addresses for Confluent Cloud Connectors](../static-egress-ip.md#cc-static-egress-ips).

### Using the Confluent Cloud Console

#### Step 1: Launch your Confluent Cloud cluster

To create and launch a Kafka cluster in Confluent Cloud, see [Create a kafka cluster in Confluent Cloud](../../get-started/index.md#cloud-create-kafka-cluster).

#### Step 2: Add a connector

In the left navigation menu, click **Connectors**. If you already have connectors in your cluster, click **+ Add
connector**.

#### Step 3: Select your connector

Click the **Neo4j Sink** connector card.

![Neo4j Sink Connector Card](images/ccloud-neo4j-sink-icon.png)

<a id="cc-neo4j-setup-connection"></a>

#### Step 4: Enter the connector details

#### NOTE
* Ensure you have all your [prerequisites](#cc-neo4j-sink-prereqs) completed.
* An asterisk ( \* ) designates a required entry.

At the **Add Neo4j Sink Connector** screen, complete the following:

### Topic selection

If you’ve already populated your Kafka topics, select the topics you want
to connect from the **Topics** list.

To create a new topic, click **+Add new topic**.

### Kafka access

1. Select the way you want to provide **Kafka Cluster credentials**. You can
   choose one of the following options:
   - **My account**: This setting allows your connector to globally access everything
     that you have access to. With a user account, the connector uses an API key and
     secret to access the Kafka cluster. This option is not recommended for production.
   - **Service account**: This setting limits the access for your connector by using a
     [service account](../service-account.md#s3-cloud-service-account). This option is recommended for
     production.
   - **Use an existing API key**: This setting allows you to specify an API key and a
     secret pair. You can use an existing pair or create a new one. This method is not
     recommended for production environments.

   #### NOTE
   Freight clusters support only service accounts for Kafka authentication.
2. Click **Continue**.

### Authentication

1. Configure the authentication properties:

   **Connection**
   - **Neo4j URI**: The Neo4j endpoint URL. For example,
     `neo4j+s://xxxx.databases.neo4j.io`. You can specify multiple URIs separated by a comma (,).
   - **Database Name**: The name of your Neo4j database.
   - **Authentication Type**: Under **Authentication Type**, select how you want to authenticate with the database:

     If you select **BASIC**, enter the following details:
     * **Username**: The name of the Neo4j database user connecting to the Neo4j database.
     * **Password**: The password for the Neo4j database user connecting to the Neo4j database.
     * **Authentication Realm**: The authentication realm to authenticate with. Leave this
       field empty to use the default realm.

     If you select **BEARER**, enter the **BEARER Token**.

     If you select **CUSTOM**, enter the following details:
     * **Custom Authentication Scheme**: The custom authentication scheme used to establish the connection.
     * **Custom Principal**: The custom principal used to establish the connection.
     * **Custom Credentials**: The custom credential used to establish the connection.
     * **Custom Authentication Realm**: The custom authentication realm to authenticate with.
       Set this as required by your custom authentication provider.

     If you select **KERBEROS**, enter the **Kerberos Ticket**.

     If you select **NONE**, enter the **Encrypted Connection** details as described below.
   - **Username**: The name of the Neo4j database user connecting to the Neo4j database. Required when `neo4j.authentication.type` is set to `BASIC`.
   - **Password**: The password for the Neo4j database user connecting to the Neo4j database. Required when `neo4j.authentication.type` is set to `BASIC`.
   - **Authentication Realm**: The authentication realm to authenticate with. Leave this field empty to use the default realm.
   - **Kerberos Ticket**: Kerberos ticket to establish connection with. Required when `neo4j.authentication.type` is set to `KERBEROS`.
   - **Bearer Token**: Bearer token to establish connection with. Required when `neo4j.authentication.type` is set to `BEARER`.
   - **Custom Authentication Scheme**: Custom authentication scheme to establish connection with. Required when `neo4j.authentication.type` is set to `CUSTOM`.
   - **Custom Principal**: Custom principal to establish connection with. Required when `neo4j.authentication.type` is set to `CUSTOM`.
   - **Custom Credentials**: Custom credential to establish connection with. Required when `neo4j.authentication.type` is set to `CUSTOM`.
   - **Custom Authentication Realm**: Custom authentication realm to authenticate with. Set this as required by your custom authentication provider.
   - **Encrypted Connection**: Defaults to `false`. When set to `true`, enter the following details.
     * **Trust Strategy**: Select the trust strategy to use for TLS connections. Valid options are
       Valid options are `TRUST_ALL_CERTIFICATES`, `TRUST_CUSTOM_CA_SIGNED_CERTIFICATES`, `TRUST_SYSTEM_CA_SIGNED_CERTIFICATES`.
       Upload the certificate file if you select TRUST_CUSTOM_CA_SIGNED_CERTIFICATES.
   - **Trust Strategy**: Trust strategy to use for TLS connections. Valid options are `TRUST_ALL_CERTIFICATES`, `TRUST_CUSTOM_CA_SIGNED_CERTIFICATES`, or `TRUST_SYSTEM_CA_SIGNED_CERTIFICATES`. Required when `neo4j.security.encrypted` is set to `TRUE`.
   - **Certificate Files**: Upload the certificate files that contain X509 certificates of CAs to trust. Required when `neo4j.security.trust-strategy` is set to `TRUST_CUSTOM_CA_SIGNED_CERTIFICATES`.
   - **Hostname Verification Enabled**: Specify whether hostname verification is enabled during the TLS handshake.
2. Click **Continue**.

### Configuration

#### NOTE
The connector requires that you assign exactly one strategy per topic.
This strategy must be one of the following: Cypher, Pattern, CDC, or CUD.

- **Input Kafka record value format**: Select the input Kafka record value format
  (data coming from the Kafka topic). A valid schema must be available in
  [Schema Registry](../../get-started/schema-registry.md#cloud-sr-config) to use a schema-based message format
  (for example, AVRO, JSON_SR (JSON Schema), or PROTOBUF). Defaults to AVRO.

**Common Sink Settings**

- **Batch Size**: The maximum number of messages the connector processes per transaction per topic.
  Defaults to `1000`.
- **Batch Timeout**: The maximum amount of time the connector allows a batch to be processed.
  Valid units are `ms`, `s`, `m`, `h`, and `d`. Defaults to `s`.

**Cypher Strategy**

- **Cypher Statement for Topic**: The Cypher statement the connector runs for the specified topic.
  For example:
  ```none
  {
    "my-topic1": "MERGE (n:Person {name: __value.name})",
    "my-topic2": "MATCH (n:Person {name: __value.name}) SET n.age = __value.age"
  }
  ```
- **Bind Timestamp As**: Specifies the name under which the message timestamp is bound in Cypher
  statements. Set this to an empty string to disable binding.
- **Bind Header As**: Specifies the name under which the message header is bound in Cypher
  statements (bound as a map of header names to values). Set to an empty string to disable binding.
- **Bind Key As**: The name under which the message key is bound in Cypher statements.
  Set to an empty string to disable binding.
- **Bind Value As**: The name under which the message value is bound in Cypher statements.
  Set to an empty string to disable binding.
- **Bind Value As Event**: Specify whether the message value will be bound as *event* in Cypher statements for backward compatibility.

**Pattern Strategy**

- **Node/Relationship Pattern for Topic**: The node or relationship pattern the connector applies
  to messages received from the specified topic. For example, `{"user1": "(:User{!userId})", "user2": "(:User{!userId})-[:KNOWS]→(:User{!otherUserId})"}`.
- **Merge Node Properties**: Specifies whether to merge incoming properties with existing node properties.
- **Merge Relationship Properties**: Specifies whether to merge incoming properties with existing
  relationship properties.
- **Pattern Bind Timestamp As**: The name under which the message timestamp is bound in patterns.
  Set to an empty string to disable binding.
- **Pattern Bind Header As**: The name under which the message header is bound in patterns
  (bound as a map of header names to values). Set to an empty string to disable binding.
- **Pattern Bind Key As**: The name under which the message key is bound in patterns. Set to
  an empty string to disable binding.
- **Pattern Bind Value As**: The name under which the message value is bound in patterns.
  Set to an empty string to disable binding.

**CDC Strategy**

- **CDC Event Topics**: The topic(s) that contain CDC events generated by a Source instance using
  the CDC source strategy.
- **CDC Source ID Topics**: The topic(s) that contain CDC events generated by a Source instance
  using the CDC source strategy.
- **CDC Source ID Label Name**: The label name attached to the nodes managed by
  the `CDC Source Id` strategy.
- **CDC Source ID Property Name**: The ID property name attached to the nodes managed by
  the `CDC Source Id` strategy.

**CUD Strategy**

- **CUD Event Topics**: The topic(s) that contain CUD (Create, Update, Delete) events.

### **Show advanced configurations**

- **Schema context**: Select a schema context to use for this connector, if using
  a schema-based data format. This property defaults to the **Default** context,
  which configures the connector to use the default schema set up for Schema Registry in your
  Confluent Cloud environment. A schema context allows you to use separate schemas (like
  schema sub-registries) tied to topics in different Kafka clusters that share the
  same Schema Registry environment. For example, if you select a non-default context, a
  **Source** connector uses only that schema context to register a schema and a
  **Sink** connector uses only that schema context to read from. For more
  information about setting up a schema context, see [What are schema contexts and when should you use them?](../../sr/faqs-cc.md#faq-schema-contexts).
- **Input Kafka record key format**: Select the input Kafka record key format. Options are AVRO, BYTES, JSON,
  JSON_SR (JSON Schema), PROTOBUF, or STRING.
  A valid schema must be available in [Schema Registry](../../get-started/schema-registry.md#cloud-sr-config)
  to use a schema-based message format (for example, AVRO, JSON_SR, or PROTOBUF).

**Additional Configs**

- **Value Converter Replace Null With Default**: Specifies whether to replace fields that have a default value and that are null to the default value. When set to `true`, the connector uses the default value; otherwise, it uses `null`. Applies to the `JSON` converter.
- **Value Converter Schema ID Deserializer**: Sets the class name of the schema ID deserializer for values. The deserializer reads schema IDs from message headers.
- **Value Converter Reference Subject Name Strategy**: Sets the subject reference name strategy for values. Valid entries are `DefaultReferenceSubjectNameStrategy` or `QualifiedReferenceSubjectNameStrategy`. You can use this strategy only with `PROTOBUF` format; the default strategy is `DefaultReferenceSubjectNameStrategy`.
- **Schema ID For Value Converter**: Sets the schema ID to use for deserialization when using `ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer`. This lets you specify a fixed schema ID for deserializing message values. This property is applicable only when `value.converter.value.schema.id.deserializer` is set to `ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer`.
- **Value Converter Schemas Enable**: Includes schema within each of the serialized values. Input messages must contain `schema` and `payload` fields and must not contain additional fields. For plain `JSON` data, set this to `false`. Applies to the `JSON` converter.
- **Errors Tolerance**: Use this property to configure the connector’s error handling behavior.

  #### WARNING
  Use this property with caution for sink connectors, as it can lead to data loss. If you set this property to `all`, the connector does not fail on errant records, but logs them (and sends to DLQ for sink connectors) and continues processing. If you set this property to `none`, the connector task fails on errant records.
- **Value Converter Ignore Default For Nullables**: When set to `true`, this property ensures that the corresponding record in Kafka is `null`, instead of showing the default column value. Applies to the `AVRO`, `PROTOBUF`, and `JSON_SR` converters.
- **Key Converter Schema ID Deserializer**: Sets the class name of the schema ID deserializer for keys. The deserializer reads schema IDs from message headers.
- **Value Converter Decimal Format**: Specifies the `JSON` or `JSON_SR` serialization format for Connect `DECIMAL` logical type values with two allowed literals:
  `BASE64` to serialize `DECIMAL` logical types as base64 encoded binary data, and
  `NUMERIC` to serialize `DECIMAL` logical type values in `JSON` or `JSON_SR` as a number representing the decimal value.
- **Schema GUID For Key Converter**: Sets the schema GUID to use for deserialization when using `ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer`. This lets you specify a fixed schema GUID for deserializing message keys. This property is applicable only when `key.converter.key.schema.id.deserializer` is set to `ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer`.
- **Schema GUID For Value Converter**: Sets the schema GUID to use for deserialization when using `ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer`. This lets you specify a fixed schema GUID for deserializing message values. This property is applicable only when `value.converter.value.schema.id.deserializer` is set to `ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer`.
- **Value Converter Connect Meta Data**: Enables the Connect converter to add its metadata to the output schema. Applies to Avro converters.
- **Value Converter Value Subject Name Strategy**: Determines how to construct the subject name under which the value schema is registered with Schema Registry.
- **Key Converter Key Subject Name Strategy**: Determines how to construct the subject name for key schema registration.
- **Schema ID For Key Converter**: Sets the schema ID to use for deserialization when using `ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer`. This lets you specify a fixed schema ID for deserializing message keys. This property is applicable only when `key.converter.key.schema.id.deserializer` is set to `ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer`.

**Auto-restart policy**

- **Enable Connector Auto-restart**: Enables the auto-restart behavior of the connector and its
  task in the event of user-actionable errors. Defaults to `true`, enabling the connector to
  automatically restart in case of user-actionable errors. Set this property to `false` to
  disable auto-restart for failed connectors. If disabled, you must manually restart the connector.

**Consumer configuration**

- **Max poll interval(ms)**: Sets the maximum delay between subsequent consume requests to Kafka. Use this property to
  improve connector performance in cases when the connector cannot send records to the sink system.
  The default is 300,000 milliseconds (5 minutes).
- **Max poll records**: Sets the maximum number of records to consume from Kafka in a single request. Use this property to
  improve connector performance in cases when the connector cannot send records to the sink system.
  The default is 500 records.

**Transforms**

- **Single Message Transformations**: To add a new SMT, see [Add transforms](../single-message-transforms.md#cc-single-message-transforms-ui).
  For more information about unsupported SMTs, see
  [Unsupported transformations](../single-message-transforms.md#cc-single-message-transforms-unsupported-transforms).

**Processing position**

- **Set offsets**: Click **Set offsets** to define a specific offset for
  this connector to begin procession data from. For more information
  on managing offsets, see [Manage offsets](../offsets.md#connect-custom-offsets).

For all property values and definitions, see [Configuration Properties](#cc-neo4j-sink-config-properties).

- Click **Continue**.

### Sizing

Based on the number of topic partitions you select, you will be provided
with a recommended number of tasks.

1. To change the number of recommended tasks, enter the number of
   [tasks](/platform/current/connect/concepts.html#tasks) for the connector to use
   in the **Tasks** field. More tasks may improve performance.
2. Click **Continue**.

### Review and Launch

1. Verify the connection details.
2. Click **Launch**.

   The status for the connector should go from **Provisioning** to
   **Running**.

#### Step 5: Check for records

Verify that records are being produced in your Neo4j database.

For more information and examples to use with the Confluent Cloud API for Connect,
see the [Confluent Cloud API for Connect Usage Examples](../connect-api-section.md#ccloud-connect-api) section.

### Using the Confluent CLI

Complete the following steps to set up and run the connector using the Confluent CLI.

#### NOTE
Make sure you have all your [prerequisites](#cc-neo4j-sink-prereqs) completed.

#### Step 1: List the available connectors

Enter the following command to list available connectors:

```none
confluent connect plugin list
```

#### Step 2: List the connector configuration properties

Enter the following command to show the connector configuration properties:

```none
confluent connect plugin describe <connector-plugin-name>
```

The command output shows the required and optional configuration properties.

<a id="cc-neo4j-sink-cli-configuration-file"></a>

#### Step 3: Create the connector configuration file

Create a JSON file that contains the connector configuration properties.
The following example shows the required connector properties.

#### NOTE
The connector requires that you assign exactly one strategy per topic.
This strategy must be one of the following: Cypher, Pattern, CDC, or CUD.

```json
{
   "connector.class": "Neo4jSink",
   "name": "Neo4jSinkConnector_1",
   "schema.context.name": "default",
   "kafka.auth.mode": "SERVICE_ACCOUNT",
   "kafka.service.account.id": "sa-devczmg337z",
   "neo4j.uri": "neo4j+s://xxxx.databases.neo4j.io",
   "neo4j.authentication.type": "BASIC",
   "neo4j.authentication.basic.username": "neo4j",
   "neo4j.authentication.basic.password": "xxxxxxxxx",
   "neo4j.security.encrypted": "false",
   "neo4j.batch-size": "1000",
   "neo4j.batch-timeout": "0s",
   "neo4j.cypher.topic.map": "{\"neo4j-dummy-topic\": \"MERGE (n:Record {uuid: coalesce(event.f1, apoc.create.uuid())}) SET n += event\"}",
   "neo4j.cypher.bind-timestamp-as": "__timestamp",
   "neo4j.cypher.bind-header-as": "__header",
   "neo4j.cypher.bind-key-as": "__key",
   "neo4j.cypher.bind-value-as": "__value",
   "neo4j.cypher.bind-value-as-event": "true",
   "neo4j.pattern.topic.map": "{}",
   "neo4j.pattern.merge-node-properties": "false",
   "neo4j.pattern.merge-relationship-properties": "false",
   "neo4j.pattern.bind-timestamp-as": "__timestamp",
   "neo4j.pattern.bind-header-as": "__header",
   "neo4j.pattern.bind-key-as": "__key",
   "neo4j.pattern.bind-value-as": "__value",
   "neo4j.cdc.source-id.label-name": "SourceEvent",
   "neo4j.cdc.source-id.property-name": "sourceId",
   "value.converter.replace.null.with.default": "true",
   "value.converter.reference.subject.name.strategy": "DefaultReferenceSubjectNameStrategy",
   "value.converter.schemas.enable": "false",
   "errors.tolerance": "all",
   "value.converter.ignore.default.for.nullables": "false",
   "value.converter.decimal.format": "BASE64",
   "value.converter.value.subject.name.strategy": "TopicNameStrategy",
   "key.converter.key.subject.name.strategy": "TopicNameStrategy",
   "max.poll.interval.ms": "300000",
   "max.poll.records": "500",
   "input.data.format": "JSON",
   "input.key.format": "JSON",
   "tasks.max": "1",
   "topics": "neo4j-dummy-topic",
   "auto.restart.on.user.error": "true"
 }
```

Note the following property definitions:

* `"connector.class"`: Identifies the connector plugin name.
* `"input.data.format"`:  Sets the input Kafka record value format (data coming from the Kafka topic).
  Valid entries are `AVRO`, `JSON_SR`, `PROTOBUF`, or `JSON`. You must have Confluent Cloud Schema Registry
  configured if using a schema-based message format such as Avro, JSON_SR (JSON Schema), or Protobuf.
* `"name"`: Sets a name for your new connector.

* `"kafka.auth.mode"`: Identifies the connector authentication mode you want to use. There are two options: `SERVICE_ACCOUNT` or `KAFKA_API_KEY` (the default). To use an API key and secret, specify the configuration properties `kafka.api.key` and `kafka.api.secret`, as shown in the example configuration (above).  To use a [service account](../service-account.md#s3-cloud-service-account), specify the **Resource ID** in the property `kafka.service.account.id=<service-account-resource-ID>`. To list the available service account resource IDs, use the following command:
  ```bash
  confluent iam service-account list
  ```

  For example:
  ```bash
  confluent iam service-account list

     Id     | Resource ID |       Name        |    Description
  +---------+-------------+-------------------+-------------------
     123456 | sa-l1r23m   | sa-1              | Service account 1
     789101 | sa-l4d56p   | sa-2              | Service account 2
  ```

* `"neo4j.uri"`: A URI with the form `neo4j+s://c8560e2d.databases.neo4j.io`.
* `"neo4j.database"`: The name of your Neo4j database.
* `"neo4j.authentication.type"`: The Neo4j authentication type to authenticate with the database.
  Valid options are `NONE`, `BASIC`, `KERBEROS`, `BEARER`, and `CUSTOM`. Defaults to `BASIC`.
* `"neo4j.batch-size"`: The maximum number of messages the connector processes per transaction per topic.
  Defaults to `1000`.
* `"neo4j.batch-timeout"`: The maximum amount of time the connector allows a batch to be processed.
  Valid units are `ms`, `s`, `m`, `h`, and `d`. Defaults to `0s`.
* `"tasks.max"`: The number of [tasks](/platform/current/connect/concepts.html#tasks) to
  use with the connector. More tasks may improve performance.

**SMTs**: For details about adding SMTs using the Confluent CLI, see the [Single Message Transformations](../single-message-transforms.md#cc-single-message-transforms) documentation.

For all configuration property values and descriptions, see [Configuration Properties](#cc-neo4j-sink-config-properties).

#### Step 4: Load the properties file and create the connector

Enter the following command to load the configuration and start the connector:

```none
confluent connect cluster create --config-file <file-name>.json
```

For example:

```none
confluent connect cluster create --config-file Neo4j-sink-config.json
```

Example output:

```none
Created connector Neo4jSinkConnector_0 lcc-do6vzd
```

#### Step 4: Check the connector status.

Enter the following command to check the connector status:

```none
confluent connect cluster list
```

Example output:

```none
ID           |             Name              | Status  | Type | Trace
+------------+-------------------------------+---------+------+-------+
lcc-do6vzd   | Neo4jSinkConnector_0          | RUNNING | sink |       |
```

#### Step 5: Check for records

Verify that records are populating the endpoint.

For more information and examples to use with the Confluent Cloud API for Connect,
see the [Confluent Cloud API for Connect Usage Examples](../connect-api-section.md#ccloud-connect-api) section.

<a id="cc-neo4j-sink-config-properties"></a>

## Configuration Properties

Use the following configuration properties with the fully managed connector. For
self-managed connector property definitions and other details, see the connector
docs in [Self-managed connectors for Confluent Platform](/platform/current/connect/kafka_connectors.html).

### How should we connect to your data?

`name`
: Sets a name for your connector.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Valid Values: A string at most 64 characters long
  * Importance: high

### Schema Config

`schema.context.name`
: Add a schema context name. A schema context represents an independent scope in Schema Registry. It is a separate sub-schema tied to topics in different Kafka clusters that share the same Schema Registry instance. If not used, the connector uses the default schema configured for Schema Registry in your Confluent Cloud environment.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: default
  * Importance: medium

### Kafka Cluster credentials

`kafka.auth.mode`
: Kafka Authentication mode. It can be one of KAFKA_API_KEY or SERVICE_ACCOUNT. It defaults to KAFKA_API_KEY mode, whenever possible.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Valid Values: SERVICE_ACCOUNT, KAFKA_API_KEY
  * Importance: high

`kafka.api.key`
: Kafka API Key. Required when kafka.auth.mode==KAFKA_API_KEY.
  <br/>
  * Type: password
  * Importance: high

`kafka.service.account.id`
: The Service Account that will be used to generate the API keys to communicate with Kafka Cluster.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Importance: high

`kafka.api.secret`
: Secret associated with Kafka API key. Required when kafka.auth.mode==KAFKA_API_KEY.
  <br/>
  * Type: password
  * Importance: high

### Connection

`neo4j.uri`
: The Neo4j endpoint URL. For example, `neo4j+s://xxxx.databases.neo4j.io`. You can specify multiple URIs separated by a comma (,).
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: “”
  * Importance: high

`neo4j.database`
: The name of your Neo4j database.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: “”
  * Importance: high

`neo4j.authentication.type`
: Authentication type to use to authenticate with the database. Valid values are `NONE`, `BASIC`, `KERBEROS`, `BEARER`, `CUSTOM`.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: BASIC
  * Valid Values: BASIC, BEARER, CUSTOM, KERBEROS, NONE
  * Importance: high

`neo4j.authentication.basic.username`
: The name of the Neo4j database user connecting to the Neo4j database. Required when `neo4j.authentication.type` is set to `BASIC`.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: “”
  * Importance: high

`neo4j.authentication.basic.password`
: The password for the Neo4j database user connecting to the Neo4j database. Required when `neo4j.authentication.type` is set to `BASIC`.
  <br/>
  * Type: password
  * Default: [hidden]
  * Importance: high

`neo4j.authentication.basic.realm`
: The authentication realm to authenticate with. Leave this field empty to use the default realm.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: “”
  * Importance: low

`neo4j.authentication.kerberos.ticket`
: Kerberos ticket to establish connection with. Required when `neo4j.authentication.type` is set to `KERBEROS`.
  <br/>
  * Type: password
  * Default: [hidden]
  * Importance: high

`neo4j.authentication.bearer.token`
: Bearer token to establish connection with. Required when `neo4j.authentication.type` is set to `BEARER`.
  <br/>
  * Type: password
  * Default: [hidden]
  * Importance: high

`neo4j.authentication.custom.scheme`
: Custom authentication scheme to establish connection with. Required when `neo4j.authentication.type` is set to `CUSTOM`.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: “”
  * Importance: high

`neo4j.authentication.custom.principal`
: Custom principal to establish connection with. Required when `neo4j.authentication.type` is set to `CUSTOM`.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: “”
  * Importance: high

`neo4j.authentication.custom.credentials`
: Custom credential to establish connection with. Required when `neo4j.authentication.type` is set to `CUSTOM`.
  <br/>
  * Type: password
  * Default: [hidden]
  * Importance: high

`neo4j.authentication.custom.realm`
: Custom authentication realm to authenticate with. Set this as required by your custom authentication provider.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: “”
  * Importance: high

`neo4j.security.encrypted`
: Specify whether connection encryption is enabled. Only applicable when bolt or neo4j schemes are used inside the `neo4j.uri`.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Default: false
  * Importance: low

`neo4j.security.trust-strategy`
: Trust strategy to use for TLS connections. Valid options are `TRUST_ALL_CERTIFICATES`, `TRUST_CUSTOM_CA_SIGNED_CERTIFICATES`, `TRUST_SYSTEM_CA_SIGNED_CERTIFICATES`. Required when `neo4j.security.encrypted` is set to `true`.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: TRUST_SYSTEM_CA_SIGNED_CERTIFICATES
  * Valid Values: TRUST_ALL_CERTIFICATES, TRUST_CUSTOM_CA_SIGNED_CERTIFICATES, TRUST_SYSTEM_CA_SIGNED_CERTIFICATES
  * Importance: low

`neo4j.security.cert-files`
: Upload the certificate files that contain X509 certificates of CAs to trust. Required when `neo4j.security.trust-strategy` is set to `TRUST_CUSTOM_CA_SIGNED_CERTIFICATES`.
  <br/>
  * Type: password
  * Importance: low

`neo4j.security.hostname-verification-enabled`
: Specify whether hostname verification is enabled during the TLS handshake.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Default: true
  * Importance: low

### Common Sink Settings

`neo4j.batch-size`
: The maximum number of messages the connector processes per transaction per topic.
  <br/>
  * Type: int
  * Default: 1000
  * Valid Values: [1000,…,100000]
  * Importance: medium

`neo4j.batch-timeout`
: The maximum amount of time the connector allows a batch to be processed. Valid units are `ms`, `s`, `m`, `h`, and `d`. Defaults to `s`.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: 0s
  * Valid Values: Must match the regex `^[0-9]\d*(ms|s|m|h|d)$`
  * Importance: medium

### Cypher Strategy

`neo4j.cypher.topic.map`
: Cypher statement to run for the specified topic. For example, {“my-topic1”: “MERGE (n:Person {name: \_\_value.name})”, “my-topic2”: “MATCH (n:Person {name: \_\_value.name}) SET n.age = \_\_value.age”}
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: {}
  * Importance: medium

`neo4j.cypher.bind-timestamp-as`
: Specify the name under which the message timestamp will be bound in Cypher statements. Set this to an empty string to disable binding.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: \_\_timestamp
  * Importance: medium

`neo4j.cypher.bind-header-as`
: Specify the name under which the message header will be bound in Cypher statements (bound as a map of header names to values). Set to an empty string to disable binding.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: \_\_header
  * Importance: medium

`neo4j.cypher.bind-key-as`
: The name under which the message key will be bound in Cypher statements. Set to an empty string to disable binding.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: \_\_key
  * Importance: medium

`neo4j.cypher.bind-value-as`
: The name under which the message value will be bound in Cypher statements. Set to an empty string to disable binding.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: \_\_value
  * Importance: medium

`neo4j.cypher.bind-value-as-event`
: Specify whether the message value will be bound as *event* in Cypher statements for backward compatibility.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Default: true
  * Importance: medium

### Pattern Strategy

`neo4j.pattern.topic.map`
: The node or relationship pattern the connector applies to messages received from the specified topic. For example, {“user1”: “(:User{!userId})”, “user2”: “(:User{!userId})-[:KNOWS]→(:User{!otherUserId})”}
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: {}
  * Importance: medium

`neo4j.pattern.merge-node-properties`
: Specify whether to merge incoming properties with existing properties of nodes.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Default: false
  * Importance: medium

`neo4j.pattern.merge-relationship-properties`
: Specify whether to merge incoming properties with existing properties of relationships.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Default: false
  * Importance: medium

`neo4j.pattern.bind-timestamp-as`
: The name under which the message timestamp will be bound in patterns. Set to an empty string to disable binding.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: \_\_timestamp
  * Importance: medium

`neo4j.pattern.bind-header-as`
: The name under which the message header will be bound in patterns (bound as a map of header names to values). Set to an empty string to disable binding.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: \_\_header
  * Importance: medium

`neo4j.pattern.bind-key-as`
: The name under which the message key will be bound in patterns. Set to an empty string to disable binding.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: \_\_key
  * Importance: medium

`neo4j.pattern.bind-value-as`
: The name under which the message value will be bound in patterns. Set to an empty string to disable binding.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: \_\_value
  * Importance: medium

### CDC Strategy

`neo4j.cdc.schema.topics`
: The topic(s) that contain CDC events generated by a Source instance of this connector using CDC source strategy.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: “”
  * Importance: medium

`neo4j.cdc.source-id.topics`
: The topic(s) that contain CDC events generated by a Source instance of this connector using CDC source strategy.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: “”
  * Importance: medium

`neo4j.cdc.source-id.label-name`
: The label name attached to the nodes managed by the `CDC Source Id` strategy.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: SourceEvent
  * Importance: medium

`neo4j.cdc.source-id.property-name`
: The ID property name attached to the nodes managed by the `CDC Source Id` strategy.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: sourceId
  * Importance: medium

### CUD Strategy

`neo4j.cud.topics`
: The topic(s) that contain CUD (Create, Update, Delete) events.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: “”
  * Importance: medium

### Additional Configs

`consumer.override.auto.offset.reset`
: Defines the behavior of the consumer when there is no committed position (which occurs when the group is first initialized) or when an offset is out of range. You can choose either to reset the position to the “earliest” offset (the default) or the “latest” offset. You can also select “none” if you would rather set the initial offset yourself and you are willing to handle out of range errors manually. More details: [https://docs.confluent.io/platform/current/installation/configuration/consumer-configs.html#auto-offset-reset](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/current/installation/configuration/consumer-configs.html#auto-offset-reset)
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Importance: low

`consumer.override.isolation.level`
: Controls how to read messages written transactionally. If set to read_committed, consumer.poll() will only return transactional messages which have been committed. If set to read_uncommitted (the default), consumer.poll() will return all messages, even transactional messages which have been aborted. Non-transactional messages will be returned unconditionally in either mode.  More details: [https://docs.confluent.io/platform/current/installation/configuration/consumer-configs.html#isolation-level](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/current/installation/configuration/consumer-configs.html#isolation-level)
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Importance: low

`header.converter`
: The converter class for the headers. This is used to serialize and deserialize the headers of the messages.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Importance: low

`key.converter.use.schema.guid`
: The schema GUID to use for deserialization when using ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer. This allows you to specify a fixed schema GUID to be used for deserializing message keys. Only applicable when key.converter.key.schema.id.deserializer is set to ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Importance: low

`key.converter.use.schema.id`
: The schema ID to use for deserialization when using ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer. This allows you to specify a fixed schema ID to be used for deserializing message keys. Only applicable when key.converter.key.schema.id.deserializer is set to ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer.
  <br/>
  * Type: int
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.allow.optional.map.keys`
: Allow optional string map key when converting from Connect Schema to Avro Schema. Applicable for Avro Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.auto.register.schemas`
: Specify if the Serializer should attempt to register the Schema.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.connect.meta.data`
: Allow the Connect converter to add its metadata to the output schema. Applicable for Avro Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.enhanced.avro.schema.support`
: Enable enhanced schema support to preserve package information and Enums. Applicable for Avro Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.enhanced.protobuf.schema.support`
: Enable enhanced schema support to preserve package information. Applicable for Protobuf Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.flatten.unions`
: Whether to flatten unions (oneofs). Applicable for Protobuf Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.generate.index.for.unions`
: Whether to generate an index suffix for unions. Applicable for Protobuf Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.generate.struct.for.nulls`
: Whether to generate a struct variable for null values. Applicable for Protobuf Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.int.for.enums`
: Whether to represent enums as integers. Applicable for Protobuf Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.latest.compatibility.strict`
: Verify latest subject version is backward compatible when use.latest.version is true.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.object.additional.properties`
: Whether to allow additional properties for object schemas. Applicable for JSON_SR Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.optional.for.nullables`
: Whether nullable fields should be specified with an optional label. Applicable for Protobuf Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.optional.for.proto2`
: Whether proto2 optionals are supported. Applicable for Protobuf Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.scrub.invalid.names`
: Whether to scrub invalid names by replacing invalid characters with valid characters. Applicable for Avro and Protobuf Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.use.latest.version`
: Use latest version of schema in subject for serialization when auto.register.schemas is false.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.use.optional.for.nonrequired`
: Whether to set non-required properties to be optional. Applicable for JSON_SR Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.use.schema.guid`
: The schema GUID to use for deserialization when using ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer. This allows you to specify a fixed schema GUID to be used for deserializing message values. Only applicable when value.converter.value.schema.id.deserializer is set to ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.use.schema.id`
: The schema ID to use for deserialization when using ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer. This allows you to specify a fixed schema ID to be used for deserializing message values. Only applicable when value.converter.value.schema.id.deserializer is set to ConfigSchemaIdDeserializer.
  <br/>
  * Type: int
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.wrapper.for.nullables`
: Whether nullable fields should use primitive wrapper messages. Applicable for Protobuf Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.wrapper.for.raw.primitives`
: Whether a wrapper message should be interpreted as a raw primitive at root level. Applicable for Protobuf Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Importance: low

`errors.tolerance`
: Use this property if you would like to configure the connector’s error handling behavior. WARNING: This property should be used with CAUTION for SOURCE CONNECTORS as it may lead to dataloss. If you set this property to ‘all’, the connector will not fail on errant records, but will instead log them (and send to DLQ for Sink Connectors) and continue processing. If you set this property to ‘none’, the connector task will fail on errant records.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: all
  * Importance: low

`key.converter.key.schema.id.deserializer`
: The class name of the schema ID deserializer for keys. This is used to deserialize schema IDs from the message headers.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: io.confluent.kafka.serializers.schema.id.DualSchemaIdDeserializer
  * Importance: low

`key.converter.key.subject.name.strategy`
: How to construct the subject name for key schema registration.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: TopicNameStrategy
  * Importance: low

`key.converter.replace.null.with.default`
: Whether to replace fields that have a default value and that are null to the default value. When set to true, the default value is used, otherwise null is used. Applicable for JSON Key Converter.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Default: true
  * Importance: low

`key.converter.schemas.enable`
: Include schemas within each of the serialized keys. Input message keys must contain schema and payload fields and may not contain additional fields. For plain JSON data, set this to false. Applicable for JSON Key Converter.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Default: false
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.decimal.format`
: Specify the JSON/JSON_SR serialization format for Connect DECIMAL logical type values with two allowed literals:
  <br/>
  BASE64 to serialize DECIMAL logical types as base64 encoded binary data and
  <br/>
  NUMERIC to serialize Connect DECIMAL logical type values in JSON/JSON_SR as a number representing the decimal value.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: BASE64
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.flatten.singleton.unions`
: Whether to flatten singleton unions. Applicable for Avro and JSON_SR Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Default: false
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.ignore.default.for.nullables`
: When set to true, this property ensures that the corresponding record in Kafka is NULL, instead of showing the default column value. Applicable for AVRO,PROTOBUF and JSON_SR Converters.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Default: false
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.reference.subject.name.strategy`
: Set the subject reference name strategy for value. Valid entries are DefaultReferenceSubjectNameStrategy or QualifiedReferenceSubjectNameStrategy. Note that the subject reference name strategy can be selected only for PROTOBUF format with the default strategy being DefaultReferenceSubjectNameStrategy.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: DefaultReferenceSubjectNameStrategy
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.replace.null.with.default`
: Whether to replace fields that have a default value and that are null to the default value. When set to true, the default value is used, otherwise null is used. Applicable for JSON Converter.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Default: true
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.schemas.enable`
: Include schemas within each of the serialized values. Input messages must contain schema and payload fields and may not contain additional fields. For plain JSON data, set this to false. Applicable for JSON Converter.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Default: false
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.value.schema.id.deserializer`
: The class name of the schema ID deserializer for values. This is used to deserialize schema IDs from the message headers.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: io.confluent.kafka.serializers.schema.id.DualSchemaIdDeserializer
  * Importance: low

`value.converter.value.subject.name.strategy`
: Determines how to construct the subject name under which the value schema is registered with Schema Registry.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: TopicNameStrategy
  * Importance: low

### Consumer configuration

`max.poll.interval.ms`
: The maximum delay between subsequent consume requests to Kafka. This configuration property may be used to improve the performance of the connector, if the connector cannot send records to the sink system. Defaults to 300000 milliseconds (5 minutes).
  <br/>
  * Type: long
  * Default: 300000 (5 minutes)
  * Valid Values: [60000,…,1800000] for non-dedicated clusters and [60000,…] for dedicated clusters
  * Importance: low

`max.poll.records`
: The maximum number of records to consume from Kafka in a single request. This configuration property may be used to improve the performance of the connector, if the connector cannot send records to the sink system. Defaults to 500 records.
  <br/>
  * Type: long
  * Default: 500
  * Valid Values: [1,…,500] for non-dedicated clusters and [1,…] for dedicated clusters
  * Importance: low

### Input messages

`input.data.format`
: Sets the input Kafka record value format. Valid entries are AVRO, JSON_SR, PROTOBUF, JSON or BYTES. Note that you need to have Confluent Cloud Schema Registry configured if using a schema-based message format like AVRO, JSON_SR, and PROTOBUF.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: JSON
  * Importance: high

`input.key.format`
: Sets the input Kafka record key format. Valid entries are AVRO, BYTES, JSON, JSON_SR, PROTOBUF, or STRING. Note that you need to have Confluent Cloud Schema Registry configured if using a schema-based message format like AVRO, JSON_SR, and PROTOBUF
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: JSON
  * Valid Values: AVRO, BYTES, JSON, JSON_SR, PROTOBUF, STRING
  * Importance: high

### Number of tasks for this connector

`tasks.max`
: Maximum number of tasks for the connector.
  <br/>
  * Type: int
  * Valid Values: [1,…]
  * Importance: high

### Which topics do you want to get data from?

`topics.regex`
: A regular expression that matches the names of the topics to consume from. This is useful when you want to consume from multiple topics that match a certain pattern without having to list them all individually.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Importance: low

`topics`
: Identifies the topic name or a comma-separated list of topic names.
  <br/>
  * Type: list
  * Importance: high

`errors.deadletterqueue.topic.name`
: The name of the topic to be used as the dead letter queue (DLQ) for messages that result in an error when processed by this sink connector, or its transformations or converters. Defaults to ‘dlq-${connector}’ if not set. The DLQ topic will be created automatically if it does not exist. You can provide `${connector}` in the value to use it as a placeholder for the logical cluster ID.
  <br/>
  * Type: string
  * Default: dlq-${connector}
  * Importance: low

### Auto-restart policy

`auto.restart.on.user.error`
: Enable connector to automatically restart on user-actionable errors.
  <br/>
  * Type: boolean
  * Default: true
  * Importance: medium

## FAQs

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the Neo4j Sink connector for Confluent Cloud.

### What is the correct format for the Neo4j URI?

The connector supports the following URI schemes:

* `neo4j://` — Unencrypted connection.
* `neo4j+s://` — Encrypted connection using a CA-signed certificate.
* `neo4j+ssc://` — Encrypted connection using a self-signed certificate.
* `bolt://` — Unencrypted connection using the Bolt protocol directly.
* `bolt+s://` — Encrypted Bolt connection using a CA-signed certificate.
* `bolt+ssc://` — Encrypted Bolt connection using a self-signed certificate.

For `neo4j+s://`, `neo4j+ssc://`, `bolt+s://`, and `bolt+ssc://` schemes, the driver handles encryption natively.

The port number is optional and defaults to `7687`. Do not include `https://` in the URI.

For Neo4j Aura, use `neo4j+s://<instance-id>.databases.neo4j.io`.

For private networking, use the VPC endpoint DNS name provided by Confluent Cloud as the hostname.

### How do I configure SSL/TLS with custom CA certificates?

The URI scheme and the manual security properties are mutually exclusive. Use one of the following approaches:

* **URI scheme encryption (recommended)**: Use `neo4j+s://` or `bolt+s://` for CA-signed certificates, or `neo4j+ssc://` or `bolt+ssc://` for self-signed certificates. The driver handles encryption natively and ignores the `neo4j.security.encrypted`, `neo4j.security.trust-strategy`, and `neo4j.security.cert-files` properties when using these schemes.
* **Manual encryption configuration**: Use `neo4j://` or `bolt://` and configure the following properties:
  * `neo4j.security.encrypted`: Set to `true`.
  * `neo4j.security.trust-strategy`: Set to `TRUST_CUSTOM_CA_SIGNED_CERTIFICATES` for custom CA certificates or `TRUST_SYSTEM_CA_SIGNED_CERTIFICATES` for system CAs.
  * `neo4j.security.cert-files`: Upload the `X509` certificate files in `PEM` format.

Common handshake failures include missing CA certificates, an incomplete certificate chain, hostname mismatch, or mixing URI scheme encryption with manual security properties.

### What should I do if I get `Invalid Neo4j credentials` errors?

If you receive invalid credentials errors after successfully establishing network connectivity:

1. Verify that the credentials work with your self-managed connector or Neo4j client tools to confirm they are correct.
2. Ensure the authentication type (`neo4j.authentication.type`) matches your Neo4j server configuration. Valid options are `NONE`, `BASIC`, `KERBEROS`, `BEARER`, and `CUSTOM`.
3. For `BASIC` authentication, double-check the `neo4j.authentication.basic.username` and `neo4j.authentication.basic.password` values.
4. Check that the Neo4j user has the necessary privileges to write to the target database.
5. If using SSL/TLS, ensure certificate configuration is correct - see the SSL/TLS configuration question above.

### What authentication methods are supported?

Configure authentication via `neo4j.authentication.type`:

* **BASIC** (default): Username and password. Configure `neo4j.authentication.basic.username` and `neo4j.authentication.basic.password`.
* **NONE**: No authentication (not recommended for production).
* **KERBEROS**: Enterprise authentication via `neo4j.authentication.kerberos.ticket`.
* **BEARER**: Token authentication via `neo4j.authentication.bearer.token`.
* **CUSTOM**: Custom scheme via `neo4j.authentication.custom.scheme`, `neo4j.authentication.custom.principal`, and `neo4j.authentication.custom.credentials`.

**BASIC** authentication is recommended for most use cases.

### How can I improve connector performance and throughput?

Optimize performance by adjusting:

* `neo4j.batch-size`: Increase from default `1000` for larger batches (reduces transactions but consumes more memory).
* `neo4j.batch-timeout`: Set to `1s` or `5s` to accumulate batches (default `0s` processes immediately).
* `tasks.max`: Increase tasks to process partitions in parallel.
* `max.poll.records`: Increase from default `500` to fetch more records per poll.
* `max.poll.interval.ms`: Adjust from default `300000` milliseconds.

Monitor Kafka Connect worker memory usage when increasing batch sizes and ensure your Neo4j database has sufficient resources.

### Why is my connector showing `Running` status but not processing records?

If the connector status is `RUNNING` but records are not being written to Neo4j:

1. **Check connector tasks**: Verify that all tasks are in the `RUNNING` state. A connector can show as `RUNNING` even if individual tasks have failed.
2. **Review error logs**: Check the connector logs in the Confluent Cloud console for error messages or warnings that indicate processing failures.
3. **Verify topic data**: Ensure your source Kafka topic contains records and the connector is consuming from the correct offset.
4. **Validate configuration**: Confirm that your strategy configuration for Cypher, Pattern, or CDC is syntactically correct and matches your data format.
5. **Test database connectivity**: Verify that the connector can reach your Neo4j database by checking for any network or authentication errors in the logs.
6. **Check Dead Letter Queue**: If you have configured a Dead Letter Queue (DLQ), check if failed records are being sent there, which indicates processing errors.

### How do I configure a Dead Letter Queue for failed records?

The DLQ topic is created automatically for sink connectors when you configure the following properties:

* `errors.tolerance`: Set to `all` to continue processing on errors.
* `errors.deadletterqueue.topic.name`: Specify your DLQ topic name.
* `errors.deadletterqueue.context.headers.enable`: Set to `true` for error context (recommended).
* `errors.log.enable` and `errors.log.include.messages`: Optionally log errors.

**Common reasons for DLQ records:** Malformed Cypher queries, data type mismatches, constraint violations, missing required fields, or serialization errors. Monitor your DLQ topic regularly.

### What should I do if connector validation fails during creation?

If the connector fails validation when you try to create or update it:

1. **Review the error message**: The validation error provides specific details about which configuration property is invalid.
2. **Common validation errors**:
   * **Invalid URI format**: Ensure the `neo4j.uri` follows the correct format. See the URI format question above.
   * **Missing required properties**: Check that all required authentication properties are provided including username and password.
   * **Strategy configuration syntax errors**: Verify that JSON in `neo4j.cypher.topic.map` or `neo4j.pattern.topic.map` is properly formatted and escaped.
   * **Invalid authentication type**: Ensure `neo4j.authentication.type` matches one of the supported values.
3. **Test connectivity separately**: Before configuring the connector, verify that you can connect to your Neo4j database from Confluent Cloud using the URI and credentials.
4. **Check for typos**: Configuration property names are case-sensitive. Common mistakes include:
   * `neo4j.uri` (correct) vs `neo4j.url` (incorrect)
   * `neo4j.batch-size` (correct) vs `neo4j.batchsize` (incorrect)
5. If validation continues to fail, use the Confluent Cloud CLI or API to retrieve detailed error messages that may not be visible in the console.

## Next Steps

For an example that shows fully managed Confluent Cloud connectors in action with
Confluent Cloud for Apache Flink, see the [Cloud ETL Demo](/platform/current/tutorials/examples/cloud-etl/docs/index.html).
This example also shows how to use Confluent CLI to manage your resources in
Confluent Cloud.

[![image](images/topology.png)](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/current/tutorials/examples/cloud-etl/docs/index.html)