Deprecations in Confluent Platform

Confluent Platform deprecated features, APIs, components, and connectors are listed on this page with their deprecation date, removal release, and migration path. This page is updated with each Confluent Platform release; for the latest information, also see the Release Notes for Confluent Platform 8.2.

Important

Deprecation policy — When a feature is deprecated in Confluent Platform:

• The feature will be removed in a future release.

• Confluent does not make new development or enhancements to the deprecated feature.

• Confluent may not provide security patches for deprecated features.

• You should plan to migrate to the recommended alternative before the removal date.

Deprecation timeline at a glance

Items are grouped by origin: Kafka (upstream open source) deprecations first, then Confluent component, product, and connector deprecations. For Confluent Cloud-only items, see the Confluent Cloud deprecations section below.

Component, API, or feature	Deprecated	Removed	Migration path
Apache Kafka deprecations
ZooKeeper	Confluent Platform 7.5	Confluent Platform 8.0	Migrate to KRaft mode (see Migrate from ZooKeeper to KRaft on Confluent Platform)
Client protocol API versions (pre-2.1.0)	Various	Confluent Platform 8.0	Upgrade clients to support protocol API 2.1.0 or later
Kafka Streams API deprecations (various releases)	Confluent Platform 8.0, 8.2	Varies by KIP	See Kafka Streams Upgrade Guide for Confluent Platform for the full list
PARTITIONER_ADPATIVE_PARTITIONING_ENABLE_CONFIG (Kafka producer configuration property)	Confluent Platform 8.2	Future release	Replaced by the same property with the typo fixed: PARTITIONER_ADAPTIVE_PARTITIONING_ENABLE_CONFIG
Consumer topic metrics (underscore form)	Confluent Platform 8.1	Future release	Update monitoring to the period-preserving metric names
Endpoint.listenerName() returning Optional<String>	Confluent Platform 8.1	Future release	Use the overload that returns String
Admin.listConsumerGroups()	Confluent Platform 8.1	Future release	Use Admin.listGroups()
MX4J support (mx4j.enable, mx4j.port)	Confluent Platform 8.2	Future release	Use standard JMX interfaces or built-in metrics reporters
remote.log.manager.thread.pool.size (tiered storage)	Confluent Platform 8.2	Future release	Use remote.log.manager.follower.thread.pool.size
Confluent deprecations
MQTT Proxy	Confluent Platform 7.9	Future release	Use the MQTT Source and Sink connectors
Deprecated connectors (various cohorts)	Confluent Platform 7.9, 8.2	Varies by cohort	See Deprecated connectors for the full list
Confluent Health+	Confluent Platform 8.1 (new deployments)	Sunset in 2026	Migrate to Unified Stream Manager (USM)
Confluent Manager for Apache Flink (CMF) version 1.x	Confluent Platform 8.2	2026-09	Migrate to CMF version 2.2 or later

Kafka deprecations

Deprecations of Kafka components, APIs, and configurations that ship with Confluent Platform. These items originate in upstream Apache Kafka® KIPs.

ZooKeeper

Deprecated: Confluent Platform 7.5

Removed: Confluent Platform 8.0

As of Confluent Platform 8.0, ZooKeeper has been removed. You must use KRaft mode for metadata management. For steps to migrate from ZooKeeper to KRaft, see Migrate from ZooKeeper to KRaft on Confluent Platform. For links to ZooKeeper topics in older versions of the documentation, see ZooKeeper Topic Guide.

You cannot upgrade to Confluent Platform 8.0 if you are still using ZooKeeper. Complete the migration to KRaft before upgrading.

KIP-896: Client protocol API removal in Confluent Platform 8.0

Removed: Confluent Platform 8.0

KIP: KIP-896

Confluent Platform 8.0 removes compatibility for deprecated client protocol API versions (pre-2.1.0). This affects all Kafka clients, including producers, consumers, and admin clients.

Impact

• Old protocol API versions (pre-2.1.0) are no longer supported.

• Clients using deprecated API versions receive UNSUPPORTED_VERSION errors.

• Java clients throw UnsupportedVersionException when interacting with Confluent Platform 8.0+ brokers.

Minimum requirements

• Client protocol API version: 2.1.0 or later.

• Inter-broker protocol version: 2.1.0 or later (for dual-use APIs such as Fetch and ListOffsets).

Migration

• Upgrade all Kafka clients to versions that support protocol API 2.1.0 or later.

• Ensure brokers support Kafka protocol API 2.1.0 or later (Confluent Platform 5.1.x or later) before upgrading clients to Confluent Platform 8.0.

• Ensure clients support Kafka protocol API 2.1.0 or later (Confluent Platform 5.1.x or later) before upgrading brokers to Confluent Platform 8.0.

For detailed steps on identifying and migrating deprecated clients, see Client Deprecation in Confluent Platform.

KIP-1175: Producer configuration property typo correction

Deprecated: Confluent Platform 8.2

Removed: Future release

KIP: KIP-1175

The misspelled Kafka producer configuration property PARTITIONER_ADPATIVE_PARTITIONING_ENABLE_CONFIG (string value partitioner.adpative.partitioning.enable) in ProducerConfig is deprecated. The same property is replaced with the correctly spelled constant PARTITIONER_ADAPTIVE_PARTITIONING_ENABLE_CONFIG and property name partitioner.adaptive.partitioning.enable. Both spellings remain supported for backward compatibility.

Migration

• Update producer configuration code to use PARTITIONER_ADAPTIVE_PARTITIONING_ENABLE_CONFIG and the correctly spelled property name partitioner.adaptive.partitioning.enable.

Kafka Streams API deprecations

Coverage: Multiple Kafka Streams KIPs across Confluent Platform 8.0 and 8.2

Kafka Streams 4.0 (shipped with Confluent Platform 8.0) removed all APIs deprecated through Kafka Streams 3.6.x — see KAFKA-12822 for the full list. Confluent Platform 8.2 introduces additional Kafka Streams deprecations, including KIP-1153 (KafkaStreams$CloseOptions inner class replaced by the top-level org.apache.kafka.streams.CloseOptions class) and KIP-1195 (BrokerNotFoundException, unused since Kafka Streams 2.8, deprecated for removal in the next major release).

For the complete, per-KIP list of Kafka Streams deprecations and removals across Confluent Platform versions, see Kafka Streams Upgrade Guide for Confluent Platform.

KIP-1109: Consumer topic metrics renamed in Confluent Platform 8.1

Deprecated: Confluent Platform 8.1

Removed: Future release

KIP: KIP-1109

Kafka consumer metrics now preserve periods (.) in topic names instead of replacing them with underscores (_). This change aligns consumer metrics behavior with producer metrics.

Impact

• Metrics that use underscores in topic names are deprecated.

• The underscore-based metrics are scheduled for removal in a future release.

• Update your monitoring dashboards to use the new metric names.

Migration

• Update monitoring systems to use the new metric format with periods preserved.

• The underscore-based metrics continue to work until they are removed in a future release.

KIP-1143: Endpoint.listenerName() Optional<String> deprecation

Deprecated: Confluent Platform 8.1

Removed: Future release

KIP: KIP-1143

The Endpoint.listenerName() method that returns Optional<String> is deprecated. A new overload with the same name returns String directly.

Migration

• Update code that uses Endpoint.listenerName() returning Optional<String> to use the overload that returns String.

• The deprecated overload will be removed in a future release.

KIP-1043: Admin.listConsumerGroups() deprecation

Deprecated: Confluent Platform 8.1

Removed: Future release

KIP: KIP-1043

Tracking: KAFKA-17897

Admin.listConsumerGroups() and its variants are deprecated. KIP-1043 consolidates listing under Admin.listGroups(), which returns all group types (consumer, share, streams, and classic).

Migration

• Replace calls to Admin.listConsumerGroups() with Admin.listGroups(ListGroupsOptions.forConsumerGroups()) to list only consumer groups, or Admin.listGroups() to list all group types.

• Update result handling to use GroupListing instead of ConsumerGroupListing.

KIP-1193: MX4J support deprecation

Deprecated: Confluent Platform 8.2

Removed: Future release

KIP: KIP-1193

Support for MX4J and its associated broker configurations (mx4j.enable and mx4j.port) is deprecated.

Migration

• Switch from MX4J to standard JMX interfaces or to the built-in Kafka metrics reporters.

• Remove mx4j.enable and mx4j.port from your broker configuration.

KIP-1179: remote.log.manager.thread.pool.size deprecation

Deprecated: Confluent Platform 8.2

Removed: Future release

KIP: KIP-1179

The static remote.log.manager.thread.pool.size broker configuration for tiered storage is deprecated. A new dynamic configuration, remote.log.manager.follower.thread.pool.size, replaces it and can be updated at runtime without a broker restart.

Migration

• Replace remote.log.manager.thread.pool.size with remote.log.manager.follower.thread.pool.size in your tiered storage broker configuration.

Confluent deprecations

Deprecations of Confluent-built components, connectors, and products. These items are not part of upstream Apache Kafka.

MQTT Proxy

Deprecated: Confluent Platform 7.9

Removed: Future release

Important

The MQTT Proxy is deprecated in Confluent Platform version 7.9 and will be removed in a future version. As an alternative, use the MQTT Source and MQTT Sink connectors along with your MQTT broker.

Connector deprecations

Connectors in Confluent Platform follow a three-phase lifecycle: General Availability, Deprecated, and End of Life (EOL). Connectors are deprecated on the day of a Confluent Platform major or minor release; standard support continues for two years from the deprecation date and platinum support for three years.

The most recent cohort of deprecated connectors was announced with Confluent Platform 8.2 on March 4, 2026. For the complete list of deprecated connectors (across all cohorts) and their migration paths, see Deprecated connectors. For the full connector lifecycle policy, see Supported Self-Managed Connectors for Confluent Platform.

Confluent Health+

Deprecated: Confluent Platform 8.1 (new deployments discontinued)

Removed: Sunset planned for 2026

Confluent Health+ is entering its end-of-life (EOL) process. Health+ remains operational for existing users, but new deployments have been discontinued since Confluent Platform 8.1, and the service is scheduled to sunset in 2026. Unified Stream Manager (USM) is the recommended alternative for all users.

Migration

• Plan migration to USM.

• For migration planning details, see Unified Stream Manager in Confluent Platform.

Confluent Manager for Apache Flink version 1.x

Deprecated: Confluent Platform 8.2

Patching ended: 2025-05-25

Removed: September 2026 (version 1.1 fully deprecated)

Confluent Manager for Apache Flink (CMF) version 1.x is deprecated. Patching and bug fixes ended on May 25, 2025, and CMF version 1.1 will be fully deprecated in September 2026. CMF version 2.2 and later are backward compatible with version 1.x.

Migration

• Upgrade to CMF version 2.2 or later.

Confluent Cloud deprecations

This page covers Confluent Platform deprecations. For Confluent Cloud-only deprecations (for example, the Schema Registry Cluster Management (SRCM) v2 API removal, Stream Designer, and Confluent CLI v3 / Terraform Provider v1), see the Confluent Cloud release notes and the Confluent Cloud upgrade policy.

Additional resources

• Client Deprecation in Confluent Platform — How to identify deprecated Kafka client requests in your environment.

• Migrate from ZooKeeper to KRaft on Confluent Platform — ZooKeeper to KRaft migration guide.

• Deprecated connectors — Complete list of deprecated connectors.

• Kafka Streams Upgrade Guide for Confluent Platform — Kafka Streams upgrade guide.

• Upgrade Confluent Platform — General Confluent Platform upgrade guide.

• Release Notes for Confluent Platform 8.2 — Latest release notes, including deprecation announcements.