<!-- **IMPORTANT*** Only change areas of this topic relevant to your feature areas, and proceed with caution.
This is one of our most popular topics that has wide customer implications if incorrect. -->

<a id="interoperability-versions"></a>

# Supported Versions and Interoperability for Confluent Platform

Confluent Platform is a data-streaming platform that completes Apache Kafka® with advanced capabilities designed to support
enterprise application development and connectivity.

Each Confluent Platform release ships with a specific Kafka version. The following
compatibility matrix lists Confluent Platform, Kafka, components, clients, and
operating system support for Confluent Platform 8.3 and earlier releases within
active support windows.

To check a specific version, use the version picker.

<!-- WARNING: THIS IS A SHARED FILE AND THE SOURCE IS LOCATED IN DOCS-COMMON. DO NOT ADD TO ANY OTHER REPO. -->

<a id="cp-ak-compatibility"></a>

## Confluent Platform and Apache Kafka compatibility

<!-- SSEO has a dependency on this table structure. If this is changed, notify #sse-eng. -->

Each Confluent Platform release is compatible with one major Kafka version, as shown
in the table below.

#### IMPORTANT
**Change Notice:** Effective with Confluent Platform 8.0, [Confluent Platform, Community version](license.md#cp-community-license) transitioned
to follow the Kafka release cycle more closely.
The Kafka community provides about one year of patch support for a Kafka version, from the minor version release date, and Confluent Community software follows a similar support schedule.
Confluent customers using a Confluent Enterprise license continue to receive patch updates
for up to three years following minor version release.

| Confluent Platform   | Apache Kafka®   | Release Date      | Confluent Community Software End of Support   | Confluent Enterprise Standard End of Support   | Confluent Enterprise Platinum End of Support   |
|----------------------|-----------------|-------------------|-----------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
| 8.3.x                | 4.3.x           | June 17, 2026     | June 17, 2027                                 | June 17, 2028                                  | June 17, 2029                                  |
| 8.2.x                | 4.2.x           | March 04, 2026    | March 04, 2027                                | March 04, 2028                                 | March 04, 2029                                 |
| 8.1.x                | 4.1.x           | October 15, 2025  | October 15, 2026                              | October 15, 2027                               | October 15, 2028                               |
| 8.0.x                | 4.0.x           | June 11, 2025     | June 11, 2026                                 | June 11, 2027                                  | June 11, 2028                                  |
| 7.9.x                | 3.9.x           | February 19, 2025 | February 19, 2027                             | February 19, 2027                              | February 19, 2028                              |
| 7.8.x                | 3.8.x           | December 2, 2024  | December 2, 2026                              | December 2, 2026                               | December 2, 2027                               |
| 7.7.x                | 3.7.x           | July 26, 2024     | July 26, 2026                                 | July 26, 2026                                  | July 26, 2027                                  |
| 7.6.x                | 3.6.x           | February 9, 2024  | February 9, 2026                              | February 9, 2026                               | February 9, 2027                               |
| 7.5.x                | 3.5.x           | August 25, 2023   | August 25, 2025                               | August 25, 2025                                | August 25, 2026                                |

Note the following about Confluent Platform versions and support levels:

- Standard support means any support level below Platinum support.
  For example, if you have Gold support, you have Standard support.
  The two year support policy is standard for commercial components.
  End of support is extended one year for Platinum support agreements.
- The end of support date applies to minor versions and any maintenance versions that come after the minor version.
  This means that maintenance versions follow the same two year lifecycle of
  the minor version. For example, standard support for Confluent Platform 7.6.x ends on
  February 9, 2026.
- Platinum tier support is not offered for Confluent for Kubernetes (CFK).

  Starting with CFK 2.9, the standard support policy of CFK is for 2 years
  from the first patch release (`.0`) date.

  You can apply your Confluent Platform Platinum tier support contract to the Confluent Platform components
  deployed by CFK when both of the following conditions are true:
  - You are on a currently supported version of CFK.
  - The Confluent Platform version you want to use is compatible with a currently supported
    version of CFK.

  For the CFK-specific support policy and supportability between CFK and Confluent Platform
  versions, see [Supported versions of Confluent Platform and CFK](https://docs.confluent.io/operator/current/co-plan.html#cp).
- Each version of Confluent Platform includes several component services which are only
  compatible in that specific Confluent Platform version. Exceptions include
  clients and Confluent Control Center, which can be used across versions.
  All services included in [Confluent Platform](../get-started/platform.md#cp-platform) are supported by Confluent.

<a id="cp-preview-release"></a>

Preview releases
: Preview features are not “Supported Software” under Confluent’s support
  policies and features designated with “preview” status in this documentation are not intended
  for production use. Preview features should only be used for evaluation and non-production
  testing purposes or to provide feedback to Confluent.
  <br/>
  Confluent encourages customers to submit questions and suggestions about preview
  features using the [Confluent Support Portal](https://support.confluent.io/).
  <br/>
  Additionally, Confluent can make changes to preview user experience and APIs
  before they are released for production use.

### Software package and repository retention policy

To maintain security and performance, Confluent enforces a retention policy for unsupported package versions, including RPM, Debian, and ZIP and TAR archives.
Confluent removes packages and repository metadata for versions that reach end of life (EOL).

If your Confluent Ansible playbooks target an EOL version, deployments fail after Confluent removes the packages from the repositories.
Migrate to a supported release regularly to ensure continued access to installation files and security updates.

<a id="cp-latest-patch"></a>

## Confluent Platform patch versions

<!-- Update the patch versions based on the versions released in the changelogs.
For the latest patch information, see the changelog in the documentation under
Release notes > Changelogs. You can also see the wiki page - https://confluentinc.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/OAAC/pages/4565368847/2025+Q3+Patch+Release+Calendar+go+patchcalendar#2025-Q3-Patch-Release-Versioned-Branches -->

The following table lists the latest patch version for each release of Confluent Platform.

|   Confluent Platform version | Latest patch version   |
|------------------------------|------------------------|
|                          8.3 | 8.3.1                  |
|                          8.2 | 8.2.3                  |
|                          8.1 | 8.1.5                  |
|                          8   | 8.0.7                  |
|                          7.9 | 7.9.9                  |
|                          7.8 | 7.8.10                 |
|                          7.7 | 7.7.11                 |
|                          7.6 | 7.6.13                 |
|                          7.5 | 7.5.16                 |
|                          7.4 | 7.4.15                 |

<a id="operating-systems"></a>

## Operating systems

<!-- update every version: -->

Confluent Platform and [clients](#supported-clients) support these operating systems.

<!-- **IMPORTANT*** This file is shared into the CP Versions and Interoperability topic.
Modify with caution. -->

Confluent Platform is supported on several operating systems (OSs).
You should run Confluent Platform across uniform OS, Confluent Platform, and Java versions.

Confluent Platform supports X86, ARM64, and s390x hardware architectures. ARM64 is
supported in Confluent Platform 7.6.0 and later. s390x is supported in Confluent Platform 8.2.0
and later. For supported features on s390x, see [Linux on IBM Z (s390x) support](#s390x-support).
For more information on required hardware, see [Hardware](system-requirements.md#cp-hardware).

#### IMPORTANT
Do not use operating systems marked as *no* in the following table for production deployments.

| Operating System                           |   Linux Kernel | 8.3.x   | 8.2.x   | 8.1.x   | 8.0.x   | 7.9.x   | 7.8.x   | 7.7.x   | 7.6.x   | 7.5.x   |
|--------------------------------------------|----------------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|
| AlmaLinux 9                                |           5.14 | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | no      | no      | no      |
| AlmaLinux 8                                |           4.18 | no      | no      | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | no      | no      | no      |
| Amazon Linux 2023                          |           6.1  | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | no      | no      |
| Debian 12 (bookworm)                       |           6.1  | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | no      | no      |
| Debian 10 (buster)                         |           4.19 | no      | no      | no      | no      | no      | no      | yes     | yes     | yes     |
| RHEL 10.x                                  |           6.11 | yes     | yes     | no      | no      | no      | no      | no      | no      | no      |
| RHEL 9.x                                   |           5.14 | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     |
| RHEL/CentOS 8.x                            |           4.18 | no      | no      | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     |
| RHEL/CentOS 7.x [(1)](#os-note-1)          |           3.1  | no      | no      | no      | no      | no      | no      | no      | yes     | yes     |
| Rocky Linux 9                              |           5.14 | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | no      |
| Rocky Linux 8                              |           4.18 | no      | no      | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | no      |
| Oracle Linux 9                             |           5.14 | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | no      |
| Oracle Linux 8                             |           4.18 | no      | no      | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | no      |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (noble) [(2)](#os-note-2) |           6.8  | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | no      | no      | no      | no      |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (jammy) [(2)](#os-note-2) |           5.15 | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | no      | no      | no      |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (focal)                   |           5.4  | no      | no      | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     | yes     |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (bionic)                  |           4.15 | no      | no      | no      | no      | no      | no      | yes     | yes     | yes     |

### Footnotes

<a id="os-note-1"></a>
1. `librdkafka` is not supported on RHEL 7 or CentOS 7 because these operating systems have reached end of life.

<a id="os-note-2"></a>
1. Java 11, 17, 21, and 25 are supported. Java 8 is not supported on this operating system.

**Additional notes about OS support:**

SELinux
: Confluent Platform is supported on AlmaLinux, Amazon Linux, Debian, RHEL, CentOS, Debian, Rocky Linux, and
  Ubuntu Operating Systems.
  <br/>
  Confluent is not accountable for Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) policy
  development, support, or enforcement. If you experience issues running
  Confluent Platform with SELinux enabled on a supported Linux Operating System,
  contact your OS provider for assistance.

Windows
: Windows is not currently supported for Confluent Platform.
  Windows 8.1 and later and Windows 2016 and later are supported by the
  [C/C++](https://docs.confluent.io/kafka-clients/librdkafka/current/overview.html) and [.NET](https://docs.confluent.io/kafka-clients/dotnet/current/overview.html) clients.

macOS
: macOS 10.14 and later is supported for testing and development purposes only.

File descriptors
: For the file descriptor requirement for Kafka,
  see [File Descriptors and mmap](../kafka/deployment.md#cp-production-file-descriptors).

ulimit
: Control Center requires many open RocksDB files. Set the `ulimit` for the number
  of open files to a minimum value of 16384 using the `ulimit -n` command.
  For the other Confluent Platform components, specifically Schema Registry and Replicator, you can leave the
  `ulimit` as the OS default.

RHEL with TLS
: When you install Confluent Platform on RHEL8 with TLS encryption, you must add DH Key Size
  JVM Parameters for each component. For more information, see [Strong crypto
  defaults in RHEL 8 and deprecation of weak crypto algorithms](https://access.redhat.com/articles/3642912).
  <br/>
  Set the following component-level environment variables to the argument:
  <br/>
  * Schema Registry: `SCHEMA_REGISTRY_OPTS=-Djdk.tls.ephemeralDHKeySize=2048`
  * Kafka and Connect: `KAFKA_OPTS=-Djdk.tls.ephemeralDHKeySize=2048`
  * REST Proxy: `KAFKAREST_OPTS=-Djdk.tls.ephemeralDHKeySize=2048`
  * ksqlDB: `KSQL_OPTS=-Djdk.tls.ephemeralDHKeySize=2048`

atime
: The `atime` mount option impacts performance, because every read
  operation on a file system causes a write operation.
  <br/>
  Confluent recommends disabling the tracking of `atime` by setting the
  `noatime` option when you mount Kafka data disks.

<a id="s390x-support"></a>

### Linux on IBM Z (s390x) support

Starting with Confluent Platform 8.2.0, Confluent Platform is supported on Linux on IBM Z (s390x).
For a list of Linux distributions and kernel versions tested on the platform,
see IBM’s [Linux on IBM Z/IBM LinuxONE tested platforms](https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/linux-ibm-zibm-linuxone-tested-platforms).
For general product details, see [Linux on IBM Z](https://www.ibm.com/products/z/linux).

#### IMPORTANT
Running Confluent Platform on Linux on IBM Z requires the appropriate IBM Z
software entitlement, which you must purchase separately through
IBM sales channels. Contact your IBM sales representative for
entitlement details.

Confluent Platform 8.2.0 and later supports the following on s390x:

- Confluent Platform installation using RPM, Debian, and Tarball artifacts
- Confluent Platform Docker images
- Confluent for Kubernetes
- Confluent Platform for Apache Flink
- Confluent CLI
- Most connectors

The following are not yet supported on s390x:

- FIPS mode
- IPv6
- Unified Stream Manager Agent
- Connectors that rely on native OS libraries

Confluent updates these lists as more s390x capabilities become available.

Confluent Platform supports Linux on IBM Z only. z/OS is not supported. For
Kafka Connect to mainframe data sources running on z/OS,
see [Connect on z/OS for Confluent Platform](../connect/connect-zos.md#connect-on-zos).

<a id="java-sys-req"></a>

## Java

<!-- update every version: -->
<!-- Java requirements -->
<!-- **IMPORTANT*** Modify with caution, shared in the versions-interoperability.rst file. -->

Confluent Platform requires Java. Make sure you install the correct version of Java before
you start the Confluent Platform installation process.

The following table lists Java support in Confluent Platform by version. Note the following:

- Confluent Platform version 7.4.x deprecated Java 8 support, and Confluent Platform 8.0 removed it.
- Confluent Platform 8.0.x and later support Java 11 only for Kafka Streams and Kafka clients.
- Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04 operating systems support Java versions 25, 21, 17, and 11, but do not support Java 8 in Confluent Platform 7.8.x or later.
- Starting with Confluent Platform 8.3.x, the Docker images support Java 25. Confluent Platform 8.0.x
  through 8.2.x Docker images support Java 21. For more information, see
  [Docker](#docker-sys-req).
- Confluent Platform supports Eclipse Temurin, OpenJDK, Zulu OpenJDK, and Oracle. Eclipse
  Temurin was formerly AdoptOpenJDK.
- You should use the full JDK to help Confluent Support with troubleshooting
  and to provide better support if you experience issues with Confluent Platform.

| Confluent Platform   |   Recommended | Supported   |
|----------------------|---------------|-------------|
| 8.3.x                |            21 | 25, 21, 17  |
| 8.2.x                |            21 | 21, 17      |
| 8.1.x                |            21 | 21, 17      |
| 8.0.x                |            21 | 21, 17      |
| 7.9.x                |            17 | 17, 11, 8   |
| 7.8.x                |            17 | 17, 11, 8   |
| 7.7.x                |            17 | 17, 11, 8   |
| 7.6.x                |            17 | 17, 11, 8   |
| 7.5.x                |            17 | 17, 11, 8   |

From a security perspective, you should always use the latest released patch
version because older versions might have security vulnerabilities.

Confluent Platform supports only long-term support versions of Java. For more information
about Java versions, see [Java Version History](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_version_history).

<!-- +--------------------+--------------------+
| |cp|               | Java Version       |
+====================+====================+
| 6.2.x              | 1.8.0_202, 11.0_4  |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 6.1.x              | 1.8.0_202, 11.0_4  |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 6.0.x              | 1.8.0_202, 11.0_4  |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 5.5.x              | 1.8.0_202, 11.0_4  |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 5.4.x              | 1.8.0_202, 11.0_4  |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 5.3.x              | 1.8.0_60, 11.0_2   |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 5.2.x              | 1.8.0_60, 11.0_2   |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 5.1.x              | 1.8.0_60           |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 5.0.x              | 1.8.0_60           |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 4.1.x              | 1.7.0_60, 1.8.0_60 |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 4.0.x              | 1.7.0_60, 1.8.0_60 |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 3.3.x              | 1.7.0_60, 1.8.0_60 |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 3.2.x              | 1.7.0_60, 1.8.0_60 |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 3.1.x              | 1.7.0_60, 1.8.0_60 |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 3.0.x              | 1.7.0_60, 1.8.0_60 |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 2.0.x              | 1.7.0_60, 1.8.0_60 |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| 1.0.0              | 1.7.0_60, 1.8.0_60 |
+--------------------+--------------------+ -->

<a id="jdk-25-deprecation-warnings"></a>

### Deprecation warnings with JDK 25

When you run Confluent Platform 8.3.x with JDK 25, you might see benign JVM startup
warnings in container logs at `stderr`, like the following:

```text
WARNING: A terminally deprecated method in sun.misc.Unsafe has been called
WARNING: sun.misc.Unsafe::arrayBaseOffset has been called by com.google.protobuf.UnsafeUtil (...)
WARNING: Please consider reporting this to the maintainers of class com.google.protobuf.UnsafeUtil
WARNING: sun.misc.Unsafe::arrayBaseOffset will be removed in a future release
```

These warnings originate from upstream third-party libraries bundled with
Confluent Platform, such as `protobuf-java`, `caffeine`, `classgraph`,
`netty-common`, and `conscrypt-openjdk-uber`. These libraries still
call `sun.misc.Unsafe` methods that are terminally deprecated in JDK 25.

The affected APIs continue to work in JDK 25, so this is a warning-only behavior
change and not a runtime failure. Confluent Platform components start and operate normally.
These warnings no longer appear after the upstream libraries
migrate to replacement APIs in a future release.

<!-- Java temporary directory configuration -->

### Configure the Java temporary directory

Many Confluent Platform components and their dependencies, such as compression libraries, require write access to a
temporary directory to extract native libraries or store intermediate files.

To adhere to security best practices and prevent failures during compression algorithm changes,
configure a dedicated Java temporary directory instead of using the default system `/tmp`.
This prevents issues in production environments where `/tmp` is mounted with the `noexec` flag or has
restricted permissions.

Allocate 2–10 GB for the temporary directory. This provides sufficient space for temporary files created
during installation, upgrades, or component restarts. If the temporary directory fills up, components may
fail to start or operate correctly. Monitor free space to prevent failures.

Set the `java.io.tmpdir` property in the environment variable corresponding to your component.
Ensure the directory has write permissions and is not mounted with the `noexec` flag.

```bash
# For Kafka brokers and clients
export KAFKA_OPTS="-Djava.io.tmpdir=/path/to/custom/tmp"

# For Control Center
export CONTROL_CENTER_OPTS="-Djava.io.tmpdir=/path/to/custom/tmp"

# For ksqlDB
export KSQL_OPTS="-Djava.io.tmpdir=/path/to/custom/tmp"

# For Schema Registry
export SCHEMA_REGISTRY_OPTS="-Djava.io.tmpdir=/path/to/custom/tmp"

# For Kafka REST Proxy
export KAFKAREST_OPTS="-Djava.io.tmpdir=/path/to/custom/tmp"

# For Connect workers
export KAFKA_OPTS="-Djava.io.tmpdir=/path/to/custom/tmp"

# For Confluent Rebalancer
export REBALANCER_OPTS="-Djava.io.tmpdir=/path/to/custom/tmp"
```

<!-- See https://github.com/apache/kafka/blob/trunk/gradle/dependencies.gradle -->

## Scala

The following table lists the Scala versions used for Confluent Platform packages,
Docker images, and Maven JARs.

| Confluent Platform   |   Scala for<br/>Packages<br/>and Docker | Scala for<br/>Maven JARs   |
|----------------------|-----------------------------------------|----------------------------|
| 8.3.x                |                                    2.13 | 2.13                       |
| 8.2.x                |                                    2.13 | 2.13                       |
| 8.1.x                |                                    2.13 | 2.13                       |
| 8.0.x                |                                    2.13 | 2.13                       |
| 7.9.x                |                                    2.13 | 2.12, 2.13                 |
| 7.8.x                |                                    2.13 | 2.12, 2.13                 |
| 7.7.x                |                                    2.13 | 2.12, 2.13                 |
| 7.6.x                |                                    2.13 | 2.12, 2.13                 |
| 7.5.x                |                                    2.13 | 2.12, 2.13                 |

## Customer-Managed Confluent Platform for Confluent Cloud compatibility

The Customer-Managed Confluent Platform for Confluent Cloud license key enables you to use self-managed Confluent Platform components exclusively
with Confluent Cloud services.

Prerequisites for installing the Customer-Managed Confluent Platform for Confluent Cloud license:

1. Ensure all your self-managed Confluent Platform components are connected with Confluent Cloud and used for Confluent Cloud
   broker-related use cases. Confluent does not provide support for any self-managed
   Confluent Platform components that are used exclusively for Confluent Platform broker use cases under the Customer-Managed Confluent Platform for Confluent Cloud subscription.
2. You must upgrade Confluent Platform to the recommended minimum patch version, or later, for each version of Confluent Platform,
   as shown in the following table.

You must upgrade Confluent Platform components or Control Center before you apply a new Confluent Enterprise
license key, otherwise the license key update may fail.
The failure is recorded as an error in the component logs, and it is shown in Control Center if the license key was
applied using Control Center.

<!-- This file contains just the table for easy inclusion in other documents -->

| Confluent Platform version   | Minimum patch version   |
|------------------------------|-------------------------|
| 8.2.x                        | 8.2.0                   |
| 8.1.x                        | 8.1.0                   |
| 8.0.x                        | 8.0.2                   |
| 7.9.x                        | 7.9.4                   |
| 7.8.x                        | 7.8.5                   |
| 7.7.x                        | 7.7.6                   |
| 7.6.x                        | 7.6.8                   |
| 7.5.x                        | 7.5.11                  |
| 7.4.x                        | 7.4.12                  |
<!-- Lets comment this out as 8.1.x hasn't shipped -->
<!-- All |cp| versions from 8.1.x support the Enterprise license key for |cmcpcc| subscription. -->

The license key must be configured for each self-managed Confluent Platform component:

- If you are using Control Center, you should apply the license key in Control Center. For more information, see
  [Manage Licenses using Control Center](/control-center/current/installation/license.html).
- Alternatively, configure the license key for each Confluent Platform component.
  For more information, see [Configure component licenses](license.md#cp-configure-license).

#### NOTE
If you are an existing customer, your current license key will continue to function until its expiration date.

<a id="cp-af-compat"></a>

## Confluent Platform for Apache Flink

Confluent Platform for Apache Flink® provides components for managing Flink jobs, including
Confluent Manager for Apache Flink (CMF), a management component that enables users to securely manage a fleet of Flink jobs
across multiple environments.

The following tables show Confluent Platform for Apache Flink component compatibility, requirements, and support dates.

### Calculate your end-of-support date

The tables in the following sections show the support and requirements
for CMF and Flink.

To determine your effective support date, use the earliest of the two
support dates:

1. Find your CMF version’s End of Support in the compatibility table below.
2. Find your Flink version’s End of Support in the Apache Flink support and requirements table.
3. Your support ends on whichever date is earlier.

For example, if your CMF version’s End of Support is on April 10, 2028, and
your Flink version’s End of Support is on May 25, 2026, your effective
support date is May 25, 2026.

### CMF support and requirements

| Confluent Manager for Apache Flink   | Release Date   | Standard End of Support   | Platinum End of Support                  | Confluent Platform   | Apache Flink    | Confluent Platform for Apache Flink Kubernetes Operator   | Confluent Platform Flink SQL minimum SQL image version   | Control Center version   |
|--------------------------------------|----------------|---------------------------|------------------------------------------|----------------------|-----------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------|
| 2.4.x                                | Jul 15, 2026   | Jul 15, 2028              | Jul 15, 2029                             | 7.7.x - 8.3.x        | 1.18.x - 2.2.x  | 1.15.x                                                    | 1.19-cp7                                                 | 2.5.0 (deprecated)       |
| 2.3.x                                | Apr 10, 2026   | Apr 10, 2028              | Apr 10, 2029                             | 8.2.x                | 1.18.x - 2.1.x  | 1.14.x                                                    | 1.19-cp7                                                 | 2.5.0                    |
| 2.2.x                                | Dec 18, 2025   | Dec 18, 2027              | Dec 18, 2028                             | 8.1.x                | 1.18.x - 2.1.x  | 1.13.x                                                    | 1.19-cp5                                                 | 2.4.0                    |
| 2.1.x                                | Oct 29, 2025   | Oct 29, 2027              | Oct 29, 2028                             | 8.1.x                | 1.18.x - 2.1.x  | 1.13.x                                                    | 1.19-cp3                                                 | 2.2.0                    |
| 2.0.x                                | June 24, 2025  | June 24, 2027             | June 24, 2028                            | 8.0.x                | 1.18.x - 1.20.x | 1.12.x                                                    | N/A                                                      | N/A                      |
| 1.1.x (deprecated)                   | Feb 19, 2025   | May 25, 2026              | May 25, 2026                             | 7.9.x                | 1.18.x - 1.20.x | 1.10.x (deprecated)                                       | N/A                                                      | N/A                      |
| 1.0.x (deprecated)                   | Dec 2, 2024    | May 25, 2026              | May 25, 2026                             | 7.8.x                | 1.18.x - 1.20.x | 1.10.x (deprecated)                                       | N/A                                                      | N/A                      |
| N/A                                  | July 26, 2024  | N/A                       | May 25, 2026 (for select customers only) | 7.7.x                | 1.18.x - 1.19.x | 1.8.x (deprecated)                                        | N/A                                                      | N/A                      |

Review these support and version requirements:

- CMF versions 1.0.x and 1.1.x and Flink Kubernetes Operator versions 1.8 and 1.10 are now deprecated and patching and bug fixes for these versions end on May 25, 2026.
  If you currently use one of these versions, you should upgrade to CMF version 2.3.x, which is backwards compatible.
- **RBAC in CMF 2.4 and later**. CMF can run an embedded Metadata Service (MDS) inside its own process.
  The embedded MDS provides authentication and role-based access control (RBAC) for CMF resources without
  requiring an external Kafka cluster solely for security. This means you can use different Confluent Platform versions with
  Confluent Platform for Apache Flink 2.4 and later for RBAC and authentication integration. For more information, see
  [Configure Embedded MDS for Confluent Manager for Apache Flink](/cp-flink/current/installation/embedded-mds.html#configure-embedded-mds-for-cmf-long).
- **RBAC in CMF 2.3 and earlier**. The Confluent Platform column provides the minimum required Confluent Platform version for CMF’s
  RBAC integration to be aware of all the CMF RBAC resources. Confluent Platform for Apache Flink can talk to Kafka clusters in
  older Confluent Platform versions, but you can encounter issues if the Confluent Platform version is too old.
- For every CMF version, you must use the respective Confluent Platform for Apache Flink Kubernetes Operator version.
- The **Control Center** column provides the minimum Confluent Control Center version that supports the latest features of that CMF version.
  Older Control Center versions work with maintenance versions of CMF that correspond to the same major CMF version.
  Starting with CMF 2.4.x, managing Flink in Confluent Control Center is deprecated. Existing capability continues to work but does not receive new features.
  Use the built-in CMF web UI instead.
- Standard support means any support level below Platinum support. For example, if you have Gold support, you have Standard support.
- The end-of-support date applies to minor versions and any maintenance versions that come after the minor version.
  This means that maintenance versions follow the same lifecycle of the minor version.
- All Confluent Platform for Apache Flink components are provided for Linux AMD64, Linux ARM64, and Linux s390x architectures. Linux s390x
  is supported starting in December 2025. Linux s390x is the CPU architecture for IBM Mainframes and LinuxONE servers.
  Confluent provides Docker images for Linux s390x, however Confluent does not provide
  support for any issues specific to this architecture.
  If the same issue occurs with a supported architecture (Linux AMD64 or Linux ARM64) in addition to the unsupported Linux s390x,
  Confluent provides support.

  Contact your Confluent representative to discuss support options for Linux s390x.

### Apache Flink support and requirements

When used with CMF, Apache Flink has the following support windows and operational requirements:

|   Apache Flink® version | Flink Release Date                                                                                                                                    | Standard End of Support   | Platinum End of Support   | Java versions   | Python versions   | Kubernetes version   | OpenShift version   |
|-------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|-----------------|-------------------|----------------------|---------------------|
|                    2.2  | [Dec 4, 2025](https://flink.apache.org/2025/12/04/apache-flink-2.2.0-advancing-real-time-data--ai-and-empowering-stream-processing-for-the-ai-era/)   | Dec 4, 2027               | Dec 4, 2028               | 11, 17, 21      | 3.9 - 3.12        | 1.25 - 1.36          | 4.12 - 4.22         |
|                    2.1  | [Jul 31, 2025](https://flink.apache.org/2025/07/31/apache-flink-2.1.0-ushers-in-a-new-era-of-unified-real-time-data--ai-with-comprehensive-upgrades/) | Jul 31, 2027              | Jul 31, 2028              | 11, 17, 21      | 3.9 - 3.12        | 1.25 - 1.36          | 4.12 - 4.20         |
|                    2    | [Mar 24, 2025](https://flink.apache.org/2025/03/24/apache-flink-2.0.0-a-new-era-of-real-time-data-processing/)                                        | Mar 24, 2027              | Mar 24, 2028              | 11, 17, 21      | 3.9 - 3.11        | 1.25 - 1.36          | 4.12 - 4.19         |
|                    1.2  | [Aug 2, 2024](https://flink.apache.org/2024/08/02/announcing-the-release-of-apache-flink-1.20/)                                                       | Aug 2, 2026               | Aug 2, 2027               | 11, 17          | —                 | 1.25 - 1.36          | 4.12 - 4.19         |
|                    1.19 | [Mar 18, 2024](https://flink.apache.org/2024/03/18/announcing-the-release-of-apache-flink-1.19/)                                                      | Mar 18, 2026              | Mar 18, 2027              | 11, 17          | —                 | 1.25 - 1.36          | 4.12 - 4.19         |
|                    1.18 | [Oct 24, 2023](https://flink.apache.org/2023/10/24/announcing-the-release-of-apache-flink-1.18/)                                                      | Oct 24, 2025              | Oct 24, 2026              | 11, 17          | —                 | 1.25 - 1.36          | 4.12 - 4.19         |

For feature and support information, see:

- [Confluent Platform for Apache Flink Features and Support](/cp-flink/current/jobs/applications/supported-features.html)
- [Flink SQL Statements Features and Support](/cp-flink/current/jobs/sql-statements/features-support.html)

<a id="usm-compatibility"></a>

## Unified Stream Manager Agent

The following table lists the version compatibility between the
USM Agent and Confluent Platform.

| USM Agent   | Confluent Platform          | Release Date     | Standard End of Life   | Standard End of Support   |
|-------------|-----------------------------|------------------|------------------------|---------------------------|
| 1.2.0       | 7.9.6+, 8.1.x, 8.2.x, 8.3.x | June 19, 2026    | December 19, 2026      | June 19, 2028             |
| 1.1.0       | 7.9.6+, 8.1.x, 8.2.x        | March 26, 2026   | September 26, 2026     | March 26, 2028            |
| 1.0.0       | 7.9.6+, 8.1.x               | October 15, 2025 | April 15, 2026         | October 15, 2027          |

Review the following considerations for the USM Agent support policy:

* Starting with USM Agent 1.0.0, the standard support policy extends
  for two years from the initial (`.0`) release date.
* Platinum tier support is unavailable for the USM Agent.
* If you have a Confluent Enterprise license, each USM Agent version receives up
  to two quarterly patch updates during the first six months, depending on
  the initial release date.
  * The USM Agent 1.0.0 version receives up to two quarterly
    patches, 1.0.1 and 1.0.2, within six months based on the initial
    release.
  * Patches do not extend beyond these two updates, such as a 1.0.3 patch.
  * To get newer fixes or features after the six-month window, upgrade
    to the next minor or major USM Agent version.

<a id="usm-os-compatibility"></a>

### Supported operating systems

The following table shows the supported operating systems for the USM Agent when deployed
on virtual machines or bare-metal servers using Ansible Playbooks for Confluent Platform. The USM Agent supports Java 17
and Java 21. For containerized deployments using Confluent for Kubernetes, any Linux OS that supports Kubernetes
is compatible.

| Operating System                  | Supported                 |
|-----------------------------------|---------------------------|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9 | Yes                       |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8 | Yes [(1)](#usm-os-note-1) |
| Ubuntu 22.04                      | Yes                       |
| Ubuntu 24.04                      | Yes                       |
| Debian 12                         | Yes                       |
| Amazon Linux 2023                 | Yes                       |

### Footnotes

<a id="usm-os-note-1"></a>
1. Native installation requires USM Agent 1.2.0 or later. USM Agent
   1.0.x and 1.1.x are not compatible with RHEL 8. On those earlier versions,
   deploy the USM Agent as a container using Podman instead.

<a id="c3-cp-compatibility"></a>

## Confluent Control Center

You can use Confluent Control Center with compatible Confluent Platform versions.

The following sections show the compatibility between the new and legacy versions of Control Center and Confluent Platform.

The version of Control Center included with Confluent Platform version 7.9 and earlier is now considered legacy, but is
supported for the versions listed.
Starting with Confluent Platform version 8.0, Control Center (Legacy)
has been discontinued and an improved [Control Center](/control-center/current/overview.html) is available. This new and
improved Control Center is available as a separate download and is the recommended alternative to Control Center (Legacy).

### Control Center

To install Control Center, see [Confluent Control Center Installation](/control-center/current/installation/overview.html).

| Confluent Control Center   | Confluent Platform Compatibility                                          | Release Date     | Standard End of Life   | Standard End of Support   |
|----------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------|------------------------|---------------------------|
| Control Center 2.6.x       | Confluent Platform 7.5.15 and above through 8.3.x                         | July 14, 2026    | January 14, 2027       | July 14, 2028             |
| Control Center 2.5.x       | Confluent Platform 7.5.11 and above, 7.6.8 and above, through 8.2.x       | April 2, 2026    | October 2, 2026        | April 2, 2028             |
| Control Center 2.4.x       | Confluent Platform 7.5.11 and above, 7.6.8 and above, through 8.1.x       | January 23, 2026 | July 23, 2026          | January 23, 2028          |
| Control Center 2.3.x       | Confluent Platform 7.5.11 and above, 7.6.8 and above, 7.7.x through 8.1.x | October 22, 2025 | April 22, 2026         | October 22, 2027          |
| Control Center 2.2.x       | Confluent Platform 7.5.11, 7.6.8 through 8.0.x <sub>\*</sub>              | June 11, 2025    | December 11, 2025      | June 11, 2027             |
| Control Center 2.1.0       | Confluent Platform 7.5.11, 7.6.8 through 7.9.x <sub>\*</sub>              | May 23, 2025     | November 23, 2025      | May 23, 2027              |
| Control Center 2.0.0       | Confluent Platform 7.5.11, 7.6.8 through 7.9.x <sub>\*</sub>              | May 15, 2025     | November 15, 2025      | May 15, 2027              |

Footnotes:
: - <sub>\*</sub> For Confluent Platform 7.5, Control Center only supports patch version: 7.5.11
  - <sub>\*</sub> For Confluent Platform 7.6, Control Center only supports patch version: 7.6.8

For more information on the support policy for Control Center and version compatibility,
see  [Control Center Support Policy](/control-center/current/installation/support-policy.html).

### Control Center (Legacy)

Control Center (Legacy) is the version of Control Center that is included with Confluent Platform 7.9 and earlier.

| Control Center (Legacy)   | Confluent Platform   | Release Date      | Standard End of<br/>Support   | Platinum End of<br/>Support   |
|---------------------------|----------------------|-------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
| Not supported             | 8.0.x and later      | June 11, 2025     | Not supported                 | Not supported                 |
| 7.9.x                     | 7.1.x through 7.9.x  | February 19, 2025 | February 19, 2027             | February 19, 2028             |
| 7.8.x                     | 7.1.x through 7.8.x  | December 2, 2024  | December 2, 2026              | December 2, 2027              |
| 7.7.x                     | 7.1.x through 7.7.x  | July 26, 2024     | July 26, 2026                 | July 26, 2027                 |
| 7.6.x                     | 7.1.x through 7.6.x  | February 9, 2024  | February 9, 2026              | February 9, 2027              |
| 7.5.x                     | 7.1.x through 7.5.x  | August 25, 2023   | August 25, 2025               | August 25, 2026               |

<a id="supported-browsers"></a>

### Web browsers

The following web browsers are supported by Confluent Control Center.

| Browser                                                       | Supported Version   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
| [Apple Safari](https://www.apple.com/safari/)                 | Latest Stable       |
| [Google Chrome](https://www.google.com/chrome/)               | Latest Stable       |
| [Mozilla Firefox](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/) | Latest Stable       |

## Orchestration tools

Orchestration tools such as Ansible, Docker and Kubernetes are used to deploy and manage Confluent Platform at scale.
The following sections describe the supported orchestration tools and their compatibility with Confluent Platform.

<a id="operator-cp-compatibility"></a>

### Confluent for Kubernetes

Confluent for Kubernetes deploys and manages Confluent Platform on Kubernetes. The following table
lists the Confluent Platform 8.3 features available with Confluent for Kubernetes.

For supported Kubernetes environments, see [Confluent for Kubernetes
Supported Environments](https://docs.confluent.io/operator/current/co-plan.html#supported-environments-and-prerequisites).

| Confluent Platform 8.3 Feature        | Availability in CFK 3.00\*           |
|---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| Kafka Broker                          | Available, only via Confluent Server |
| Schema Registry                       | Available                            |
| REST Proxy                            | Available                            |
| ksqlDB                                | Available                            |
| Connect                               | Available                            |
| Control Center                        | Available                            |
| Replicator                            | Available                            |
| Security: Role-based Access Control   | Available <sub>[2]</sub>             |
| Security: Authentication              | Available <sub>[3]</sub>             |
| Security: Network Encryption          | Available                            |
| Structured Audit Logs                 | Available <sub>[4]</sub>             |
| MDS-based Access Control Lists (ACLs) | Available                            |
| Secrets Protection                    | Available <sub>[5]</sub>             |
| Schema Validation                     | Available                            |
| FIPS                                  | Available                            |
| Multi-region Clusters                 | Available                            |
| Tiered Storage                        | Available                            |
| Self-Balancing Clusters               | Available                            |
| Auto Data Balancer                    | Use Self-Balancing Clusters          |
| Confluent REST API                    | Available                            |
| Cluster Registry                      | Not Available                        |
| Cluster Linking                       | Available                            |
| Health+                               | Available                            |
- <sub>[1]</sub> Confluent Control Center is a separate download. See [Installation](/control-center/current/installation/overview.html).
- <sub>[2]</sub> Available for new installations. For CFK-managed Confluent Platform clusters, you can also enable RBAC on a running cluster.
  For more information, see [Enable RBAC in running Confluent Platform cluster](https://docs.confluent.io/operator/current/co-rbac.html#enable-rbac-in-running-cp-cluster).
- <sub>[3]</sub> Supports SASL/Plain and mTLS for Kafka authentication. Does not
  support Kerberos or SASL/Scram.
- <sub>[4]</sub> Supported through
  [Kafka configuration overrides](https://docs.confluent.io/operator/current/co-configure.html).
  See [Use Properties Files to Configure Audit Logs in Confluent Platform](../security/compliance/audit-logs/audit-logs-properties-config.md#audit-logs-properties-config) for the properties you need to set in
  config overrides.
  Does not support centrally managed Audit Logs.
- <sub>[5]</sub> Kubernetes Secrets are integrated. CFK does not enable you to use
  Confluent Secret Protection.

<a id="ansible-cp-compatibility"></a>

### Ansible Playbooks for Confluent Platform

Ansible Playbooks for Confluent Platform (Confluent Ansible) provides you a simple way to configure and deploy
Confluent Platform on a traditional VM or bare metal infrastructure. For more information, see
[Ansible documentation](https://docs.confluent.io/ansible/current/overview.html) .

For version compatibility among Confluent Ansible, Confluent Platform, Ansible, and Python, see
[Ansible Requirements](https://docs.confluent.io/ansible/current/ansible-requirements.html).

The following table summarizes the Confluent Platform features supported with Ansible Playbooks for Confluent Platform.

| Confluent Platform 8.3 Feature             | Availability in Ansible Playbooks for Confluent Platform 8.3   |
|--------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Kafka Broker                               | Available                                                      |
| Schema Registry                            | Available                                                      |
| REST Proxy                                 | Available                                                      |
| ksqlDB                                     | Available                                                      |
| Connect                                    | Available                                                      |
| Control Center                             | Available <sub>[1]</sub>                                       |
| Replicator                                 | Available <sub>[2]</sub>                                       |
| Security: Authentication                   | Available                                                      |
| Security: Role-based Access Control (RBAC) | Available                                                      |
| Security: Network Encryption               | Available                                                      |
| Structured Audit Logs                      | Available                                                      |
| MDS-based Access Control Lists (ACLs)      | Available <sub>[3]</sub>                                       |
| Secrets Protection                         | Available                                                      |
| Schema Validation                          | Available                                                      |
| FIPS                                       | Available                                                      |
| Multi-region Clusters                      | Available                                                      |
| Tiered Storage                             | Available                                                      |
| Self-Balancing Clusters                    | Available                                                      |
| Auto Data Balancer                         | Not available                                                  |
| Confluent REST API                         | Available                                                      |
| Health+                                    | Available                                                      |
| Cluster Registry                           | Available                                                      |
| Cluster Linking                            | Available                                                      |
- <sub>[1]</sub> Confluent Control Center requires a separate installation. See [Installation](/control-center/current/installation/overview.html).
- <sub>[2]</sub> Cannot have RBAC enabled on the source or target cluster.
- <sub>[3]</sub> Only available for new installations.
  Does not support centrally managing ACLs across multiple Kafka clusters.

You can manually configure the features marked as *Not available* outside of the
scope of Ansible Playbooks for Confluent Platform. If you take the hybrid installation approach, see the
appropriate installation document in [Confluent documentation](index.md#installation-overview) to ensure your
install path of mixing Ansible installation and manual installation is
supported.

<a id="docker-sys-req"></a>

### Docker

<!-- check https://github.com/confluentinc/common-docker/blob/7.6.x/pom.xml#L51 changing 7.6.x to the version tag you need. -->

If you are not using a higher-level container orchestration system like
[Kubernetes](https://docs.confluent.io/operator/current/overview.html),
Confluent Platform [Docker images](docker/image-reference.md#image-reference) are available for use
directly with Docker. Docker version 1.11 or later running on a [supported
operating system](#operating-systems) is required to use the Docker images.

| Release   | Docker Image Reference                                                                                          | Operating System   | JDK Version          | Python Version   |   Scala Version |
|-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------|----------------------|------------------|-----------------|
| 8.3.x     | [Docker Image Reference (8.3)](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/8.3/installation/docker/image-reference.html) | RHEL UBI 9         | Temurin 25.0.3       | 3.14.6           |            2.13 |
| 8.2.x     | [Docker Image Reference (8.2)](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/8.2/installation/docker/image-reference.html) | RHEL UBI 9         | Temurin 21.0.10      | 3.9.25           |            2.13 |
| 8.1.x     | [Docker Image Reference (8.1)](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/8.1/installation/docker/image-reference.html) | RHEL UBI 9         | Temurin 21.0.8       | 3.9.21           |            2.13 |
| 8.0.x     | [Docker Image Reference (8.0)](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/8.0/installation/docker/image-reference.html) | RHEL UBI 9         | Temurin 21.0.7       | 3.9.21           |            2.13 |
| 7.9.x     | [Docker Image Reference (7.9)](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/7.9/installation/docker/image-reference.html) | RHEL UBI 8         | Temurin 17.0.13      | 3.9.20           |            2.13 |
| 7.8.x     | [Docker Image Reference (7.8)](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/7.8/installation/docker/image-reference.html) | RHEL UBI 8         | Temurin 17.0.12      | 3.9.20           |            2.13 |
| 7.7.x     | [Docker Image Reference (7.7)](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/7.7/installation/docker/image-reference.html) | RHEL UBI 8         | Zulu OpenJDK 17.0.11 | 3.9.19           |            2.13 |
| 7.6.x     | [Docker Image Reference (7.6)](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/7.6/installation/docker/image-reference.html) | RHEL UBI 8         | Zulu OpenJDK 11.0.21 | 3.9.18           |            2.13 |
| 7.5.x     | [Docker Image Reference (7.5)](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/7.5/installation/docker/image-reference.html) | RHEL UBI 8         | Zulu OpenJDK 11.0.20 | 3.9.13           |            2.13 |

### Docker image retention policy

To ensure the security and performance of the Confluent registry, Confluent removes Docker images for
end-of-life (EOL) versions from public access.

Confluent recommends upgrading regularly to newer versions of supported images for improved performance,
security, and user experience. If you use legacy versions, migrate to a supported release to avoid
disruptions.

<a id="confluent-cli-cp-compatibility"></a>

## Confluent CLI

<!-- view the latest packaging-run-config.yml file in confluentinc/packaging repo. For example:https://github.com/confluentinc/packaging/blob/8.0.0/cp_packaging/resources/packaging-run-config.yml -->

You can use the [Confluent CLI](https://docs.confluent.io/confluent-cli/current/index.html) with compatible Confluent Platform versions.

| Confluent Platform   | Confluent CLI                          |
|----------------------|----------------------------------------|
| 8.3.x                | 4.61.0 through most recent 4.x version |
| 8.2.x                | 4.50.0 through most recent 4.x version |
| 8.1.x                | 4.37.0 through most recent 4.x version |
| 8.0.x                | 4.26.0 through most recent 4.x version |
| 7.9.x                | 4.7.0 through most recent 4.x version  |
| 7.8.x                | 4.7.0 through most recent 4.x version  |
| 7.7.x                | 3.64.3 through most recent 3.x version |
| 7.6.x                | 3.48.0 through most recent 3.x version |
| 7.5.x                | 3.2.1 through most recent 3.x version  |

To install and use a later version of the CLI than the version
that shipped with Confluent Platform, you must download and install the later
version using [these instructions](https://docs.confluent.io/confluent-cli/current/install.html#install-alternative-version-in-cp-package).

<a id="supported-clients"></a>

## Kafka Clients

The Kafka client library provides functions, classes, and utilities that you can use to create Kafka producer clients and consumer clients using your choice of programming languages.
This section describes the supported versions of the Kafka client libraries and their system requirements.
To learn more about features and details of supported clients, see [Build Streaming Applications on Confluent Platform](../clients/overview.md#kafka-clients).

| Client     | System Requirements                                                                                                                       |
|------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| .NET       | * .NET and .NET Framework - any LTS version.<br/>* Not supported on Mono.                                                                 |
| C/C++      | * Build toolchain must support C99 and C++98 or later.                                                                                    |
| Golang     | * Golang - any supported version.<br/>* Build toolchain must support CGo and C99 or later.<br/>* Not supported on Windows.                |
| Python     | * Python - any supported version.<br/>* Windows is supported.                                                                             |
| Java       | * See [Client versions and support](../clients/overview.md#client-support-matrix).                                                        |
| JavaScript | * Node.js - any supported version.<br/>* Linux (X64 and ARM64) - both glibc and musl/Alpine.<br/>* macOS - ARM64/M1.<br/>* Windows - X64. |

<a id="interoperability-versions-connectors"></a>

## Connectors

A support lifecycle policy applies to Confluent Platform connectors and connector versions. For more information, see [Support policy for self-managed connectors](../connect/supported.md#support-lifecycle-policy-sm-connectors).

#### NOTE
Enterprise support is not provided for the Confluent Community licensed distributions of Kafka Connect workers
(CCS or `cp-kafka-connect`). Confluent recommends using the Confluent Enterprise distribution
of Kafka Connect workers (CE or `cp-server-connect`). Note that Confluent Enterprise distribution of
Kafka Connect workers fails without a valid enterprise license key.

<a id="confluent-ksqldb-cp-compatibility"></a>

## ksqlDB

When you install Confluent Platform, you get a specific version of ksqlDB.
The following table shows which version of ksqlDB ships with
each version of Confluent Platform.

| Confluent Platform   | ksqlDB    | Kafka Streams version   |
|----------------------|-----------|-------------------------|
| 8.3.x                | 8.3.0     | 4.3.0                   |
| 8.2.x                | 8.2.0     | 4.2.0                   |
| 8.1.x                | 8.1.0     | 4.1.0                   |
| 8.0.x                | 8.0.0     | 4.0.0                   |
| 7.9.x                | 7.9.0     | 3.9.0                   |
| 7.8.x                | 7.8.0     | 3.8.0                   |
| 7.7.x                | 7.7.0     | 3.7.0                   |
| 7.6.x                | 7.6.0-137 | 3.6.0                   |
| 7.5.x                | 0.29.0    | 3.5.0                   |

#### NOTE
Enterprise support is not provided unless the `confluent-security` package is installed on all nodes and a valid Enterprise license key is configured.

<a id="mmaker-supported-versions"></a>

## MirrorMaker

MirrorMaker 2 is supported as a stand-alone executable, but is not supported as a connector. MirrorMaker 2 is not supported with Confluent Cloud.

The following Confluent products provide more complete solutions that handle data replication, topic configuration, and schemas to improve availability, scalability, and ease of use.

- [Confluent Replicator](../multi-dc-deployments/replicator/index.md#replicator-detail)
- [Cluster Linking](../multi-dc-deployments/cluster-linking/index.md#cluster-linking)
- [Schema Linking](../schema-registry/schema-linking-cp.md#schema-linking-cp-overview)

## ZooKeeper

#### IMPORTANT
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](migrate-zk-kraft.md#migrate-zk-kraft).
For links to ZooKeeper topics in older versions of the documentation, see [ZooKeeper Topic Guide](../kafka-metadata/zk-production.md#zk-prod-deployment).

| Confluent Platform   | Apache ZooKeeper™                       |
|----------------------|-----------------------------------------|
| 8.0.x and later      | Not supported                           |
| 7.9.x                | 3.8.6                                   |
| 7.8.x                | 3.8.6                                   |
| 7.7.x                | 3.5.6 through 3.8.6 (3.8.6 recommended) |
| 7.6.x                | 3.5.6 through 3.8.6 (3.8.6 recommended) |
| 7.5.x                | 3.5.6 through 3.8.6 (3.8.6 recommended) |

<a id="kraft-server-compatibility"></a>

## KRaft server compatibility

Starting with Confluent Platform 7.9 (based on Kafka 3.9), KRaft supports dynamic controllers
as described in [KIP-853](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/KAFKA/KIP-853%3A+KRaft+Controller+Membership+Changes).
This allows you to add or remove controllers from a running cluster.

The following table shows compatibility between KRaft cluster metadata versions and
Confluent Platform server support for static and dynamic controller configurations:

| KRaft cluster version                | Confluent Platform Dynamic controllers   | Confluent Platform Static controllers   |
|--------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|
| Confluent Platform 7.2.x and earlier | Not compatible                           | Not compatible                          |
| Confluent Platform 7.3.x - 7.8.x     | Not compatible                           | Compatible                              |
| Confluent Platform 7.9.x and later   | Compatible                               | Compatible                              |

**Important considerations**

- Dynamic controllers are only supported starting with Confluent Platform 7.9.x, but only if the cluster was
  bootstrapped to use dynamic controllers. To upgrade an existing cluster from static controllers
  to dynamic controllers, you must upgrade to Confluent Platform 8.0 or later, which includes support for
  upgrading the `kraft.version` to version 1 using the `kafka-features` tool.
- If your cluster was originally bootstrapped with static controllers using `controller.quorum.voters`,
  you can enable dynamic controller capabilities by upgrading to Confluent Platform 8.0 or later and then upgrading
  the `kraft.version` to version 1 using the `kafka-features` tool. After the upgrade, you can
  dynamically add or remove controllers while the cluster is running.

  For detailed step-by-step instructions on upgrading from static controllers to dynamic controllers, see
  [Upgrade from static controllers to dynamic controllers](../kafka-metadata/config-kraft.md#upgrade-static-to-dynamic-controllers).
- For details about configuring KRaft controllers, see [KRaft Configuration for Confluent Platform](../kafka-metadata/config-kraft.md#configure-kraft).

## Component security

### Kafka

| Security Feature                                 | Confluent Platform                  |
|--------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| Audit log                                        | Supported                           |
| Authentication with SASL/PLAIN                   | Supported                           |
| Authentication with SASL/Kerberos and SASL/PLAIN | Supported                           |
| Authentication with SASL/SCRAM                   | Supported                           |
| Authentication with OAuth 2.0                    | Supported, versions 7.7.x and later |
| Authorization (Access control lists)             | Supported                           |
| TLS/SSL Wire Encryption                          | Supported                           |

### Kafka Connect clients

| Security Feature                                         | Confluent Platform   |
|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------|
| Authentication and Encryption with secured Kafka brokers | Supported            |

<a id="interoperability-versions-kafka-streams-clients"></a>

### Apache Kafka Streams clients

| Security Feature                                         | Confluent Platform   |
|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------|
| Authentication and Encryption with secured Kafka brokers | Supported            |

### Confluent Control Center

| Security Feature                                                                                               | Confluent Platform        |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|
| HTTPS                                                                                                          | Supported                 |
| Authentication and Encryption with secured Kafka brokers:<br/><br/>* User login with HTTP Basic authentication | Supported                 |
| Single Sign-On (SSO)                                                                                           | Supported 7.5.x and later |

### REST Proxy

| Security Feature                                         | Confluent Platform   |
|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------|
| Authentication and Encryption with secured Kafka brokers | Supported            |
| HTTPS (SSL) for REST clients                             | Supported            |

#### NOTE
Enterprise support is not provided unless the `confluent-security` package is installed on all nodes and a valid Enterprise license key is configured.

### Schema Registry

| Security Feature                                                                                                     | Confluent Platform          |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------|
| [Access Control (RBAC) for Schema Linking Exporters](../schema-registry/schema-linking-cp.md#cp-schema-linking-rbac) | Supported 7.4.0, and later. |
| Authentication and Encryption with secured Kafka brokers                                                             | Supported                   |
| HTTPS (SSL) for REST clients                                                                                         | Supported                   |

#### NOTE
Enterprise support is not provided unless the `confluent-security` package is installed on all nodes and a valid Enterprise license key is configured.

<a id="cross-component-compatibility"></a>

## Cross-component compatibility

The following sections describe version compatibility between Kafka brokers and individual components.

### Kafka Connect workers

Kafka Connect workers that are included in supported versions of Confluent Platform are compatible with any Kafka broker.

<a id="cross-component-java-clients"></a>

### Kafka Java clients

Kafka Java Clients that are included in any supported version of  Confluent Platform are compatible with
any Kafka broker that is included in any supported version of Confluent Platform.

#### IMPORTANT
Starting with Confluent Platform 8.0 (based on Kafka 4.0), support for older client protocols
has been removed per [KIP-896](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/KAFKA/KIP-896%3A+Remove+old+client+protocol+API+versions+in+Kafka+4.0).
Clients using Kafka versions prior to 2.1 (Confluent Platform 5.5.x and earlier) are not compatible with Confluent Platform 8.x brokers.
Before upgrading to Confluent Platform 8.x, you must identify and upgrade all clients using deprecated protocols.
For instructions, see [How to identify deprecated client requests](../clients/deprecate-how-to.md#cp-identify-deprecated-clients).

The `--zookeeper` option in admin commands is removed in Confluent Platform 8.0. Use
`--bootstrap-server` to interact with the cluster.

Versions can be compatible, but support is offered for a specific time window for each version.
For a table of release and end of support dates for Java clients by version number, see [Java client support](../clients/overview.md#java-client-support).

<a id="cross-component-apache-kafka-streams-clients"></a>

### Kafka Streams clients

See the [Kafka Streams Compatibility Matrix](../streams/upgrade-guide.md#streams-upgrade-guide-compatibility) for the version compatibility between Kafka Streams clients and Kafka brokers.

### Auto data balancing

Compatible with Kafka brokers included in any supported version of Confluent Platform.

### Confluent C, C++, Python, Go and .NET

All versions of Confluent’s non-Java clients are compatible with all versions of Confluent Platform.
Although all versions are compatible, support is provided for a specific time window by version.
For a table of release and end of support dates for librdkafka and derived clients by version number,
see [librdkafka and derived client support](/platform/current/clients/index.html#librdkafka-and-derived-clients).

<a id="cross-component-schema-registry"></a>

### Schema Registry

Schema Registry that is included in supported versions of Confluent Platform is compatible with any Kafka broker that is included in supported Confluent Platform versions.

Schema Registry 8.x adds fields to its JSON responses (such as `guid`, `subject`,
`ts`, and `deleted`) that `kafka-schema-registry-client` libraries
older than 6.2 do not recognize, causing
`com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.exc.UnrecognizedPropertyException` on calls
to endpoints such as `GET /schemas/ids/{id}`. Upgrade
`kafka-schema-registry-client` to 6.2 or later in all producer and consumer
applications before upgrading Schema Registry to 8.x. For more information, see
[Upgrade Schema Registry](upgrade.md#upgrade-sr).

### Replicator

<!-- used in installation/version-interoperability.rst and multi-dc-deployments/replicator/index.rst -->

For data transfer Replicator maintains the same compatibility matrix as Java clients, detailed in [Kafka Java clients](#cross-component-java-clients). However some Replicator features have different compatibility requirements:

* Schema Translation requires that both source and destination clusters are running Confluent 5.2.0 or later.
* Offset Translation requires that both source and destination clusters are running Confluent 5.1.0 or later.
* Automatic topic creation and config sync requires that the destination cluster is at a later version than the source cluster.
* The `timestamp-interceptor` for consumers supports only Java clients, as described in [Configuring the consumer for failover (timestamp preservation)](../multi-dc-deployments/replicator/replicator-failover.md#configuring-the-consumer-for-failover).

<a id="cross-component-rest-proxy"></a>

### REST Proxy

REST Proxy included in supported versions of Confluent Platform is compatible with any Kafka broker that is included in supported Confluent Platform versions.

## VMWare

When you run Confluent Platform on VMWare, note the following:

- You should enable [compression](/kafka/design/efficient-design.html#end-to-end-batch-compression)
  to help mitigate the performance impacts while maintaining business continuity.
- You should disable vMotion and disk snapshotting for Confluent Platform as the features could cause a
  full cluster outage when used with Kafka.

Confluent supports customers who choose to run Confluent Platform on VMWare VMotion.
However, the scope of support is limited to questions and fixes which are related to Confluent Platform
itself and not troubleshooting or
debugging VMotion, which is outside the scope of Confluent Support. For more information, see
[VMware optimization](../kafka/deployment.md#vmware-opt).