Getting Started
KfVisor is a native desktop application for Apache Kafka. It runs on your machine, connects directly to your clusters over the network, and provides a visual interface for topics, messages, consumer groups, brokers, Schema Registry, and Kafka Connect — without a web server, Docker setup, or browser.
Installation
Download the package for your platform from the Download page.
| Platform | Architecture | Package |
|---|---|---|
| macOS | Apple Silicon (arm64) | DMG |
| Linux | x86_64 | AppImage, DEB |
| Windows | x86_64 | MSI |
Open the downloaded file and follow the standard installation steps for your OS. KfVisor stores its data in the application data directory shown in Settings → About.
macOS — Gatekeeper notice: The current release is not notarized by Apple. After installing, macOS may block the app from opening. If KfVisor doesn’t launch, run the following command in Terminal to remove the quarantine attribute:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/kfvisor.appYou only need to run this once. The command does not change the application — it tells macOS that you intentionally chose to open it.
First run
When KfVisor opens for the first time, the cluster list on the left sidebar is empty. Click + Add to create your first cluster profile.
Adding a cluster
The cluster form has three tabs: Connection, Security, and Integrations.
Connection tab
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Label for this profile (e.g. prod, local) |
| Bootstrap Servers | One or more host:port addresses, comma-separated |
| SASL Mechanism | None, PLAIN, SCRAM-SHA-256, or SCRAM-SHA-512 |
When SASL is set to anything other than None, two additional fields appear: Username and Password. A Save password checkbox controls whether the password is stored locally.
localhost:9092
broker1.internal:9092,broker2.internal:9092Security tab
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| TLS/SSL | Enable to encrypt the connection |
| CA Certificate | Path to a PEM file for a self-signed or internal CA |
| Client Certificate | Path to a client certificate for mTLS |
| Client Key | Path to the matching private key for mTLS |
| Verify hostname | Toggle to disable SNI hostname verification |
CA certificate, client certificate, and client key fields are all optional. Paths reference files on your local filesystem — KfVisor reads them at connection time.
Integrations tab
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| JMX URL | Jolokia endpoint for server-side broker metrics (optional) |
| Kafka Connect URL | Base URL of the Connect REST API (optional) |
| Schema Registry URL | Base URL of the Schema Registry REST API (optional) |
Kafka Connect and Schema Registry each support independent Basic Auth credentials (username + password) and a custom CA certificate path.
Click Add & Connect to save the profile and connect immediately.
Switching between clusters
All saved profiles appear in the left sidebar. Click a cluster name to connect. You can keep multiple profiles for different environments — dev, staging, production — and switch between them without restarting the application.
Early Access
If an Early Access offer is currently active, you will find an activation button in Settings inside the application. Activation is handled inside the app — not through this website.