Note
Karafka-Rdkafka is a fork of the rdkafka-ruby gem, specifically maintained for the Karafka ecosystem. This fork exists to provide Karafka-specific patches and optimizations that are not generic enough for inclusion in the upstream rdkafka-ruby library.
While rdkafka-ruby serves as an excellent general-purpose Kafka client for Ruby, Karafka requires specific optimizations and patches that are:
- Karafka-specific: Tailored for Karafka's unique processing patterns and requirements
- Performance-oriented: Focused on high-throughput, low-latency scenarios that Karafka specializes in
- Framework-integrated: Designed to work seamlessly with Karafka's architecture and features
These modifications are not suitable for the upstream rdkafka-ruby library because they are either too specific to Karafka's use cases or might introduce breaking changes for other users of rdkafka-ruby.
This fork is actively maintained and kept in sync with the upstream rdkafka-ruby repository as much as possible. We:
- Regularly merge upstream changes from rdkafka-ruby
- Maintain compatibility with the rdkafka-ruby API wherever possible
- Apply minimal patches to avoid diverging significantly from upstream
- Merge back generic improvements from karafka-rdkafka to rdkafka-ruby when they benefit the broader community
- Test thoroughly to ensure stability within the Karafka ecosystem
Our long-term goal is to work with the rdkafka-ruby maintainers to eventually merge the beneficial changes back upstream. This would allow us to:
- Reduce maintenance overhead
- Benefit the broader Ruby Kafka community
- Simplify the Karafka ecosystem dependencies
However, until such integration is possible, this fork ensures that Karafka users get the best possible performance and reliability.
You should use the original rdkafka-ruby gem for general Kafka client needs. This fork is specifically designed for Karafka and may not be suitable for other use cases.
For issues related to this fork, please report them in the rdkafka-ruby repository rather than here. This helps us:
- Maintain a single place for issue tracking
- Ensure upstream compatibility
- Provide better support for all users
Contributions should generally be made to the upstream rdkafka-ruby repository. Changes to this fork are only made when:
- They are specific to Karafka's requirements
- They cannot be generalized for upstream inclusion
- They are temporary while working on upstream integration
| rdkafka-ruby | librdkafka | patches |
|---|---|---|
| 0.21.x (2025-08-18) | 2.11.0 (2025-07-03) | yes |
| 0.20.x (2025-07-17) | 2.8.0 (2025-01-07) | yes |
| 0.19.x (2025-01-20) | 2.8.0 (2025-01-07) | yes |
| 0.18.0 (2024-11-26) | 2.6.1 (2024-11-18) | yes |
| 0.17.4 (2024-09-02) | 2.5.3 (2024-09-02) | yes |
| 0.17.0 (2024-08-01) | 2.5.0 (2024-07-10) | yes |
| 0.16.0 (2024-06-13) | 2.4.0 (2024-05-07) | no |
| 0.15.0 (2023-12-03) | 2.3.0 (2023-10-25) | no |
| 0.14.0 (2023-11-21) | 2.2.0 (2023-07-12) | no |
| 0.13.0 (2023-07-24) | 2.0.2 (2023-01-20) | no |
| 0.12.0 (2022-06-17) | 1.9.0 (2022-06-16) | no |
| 0.11.0 (2021-11-17) | 1.8.2 (2021-10-18) | no |
| 0.10.0 (2021-09-07) | 1.5.0 (2020-07-20) | no |