Pros of CMAK

• More mature project with longer history and wider adoption
• Offers more advanced features for cluster management and monitoring
• Supports multiple Kafka clusters management from a single interface

Cons of CMAK

• Less intuitive user interface compared to kafka-ui
• Requires more setup and configuration
• Limited support for newer Kafka features and versions

Code Comparison

CMAK (Scala):

def getClusterList: Action[AnyContent] = Action.async { implicit request: RequestHeader =>
  kafkaManager.getClusterList.map { errorOrClusterList =>
    errorOrClusterList.fold(
      error => BadRequest(views.html.common.resultOfCommand(
        views.html.navigation.defaultMenu(),
        models.navigation.Menus.clusterListMenu,
        models.navigation.QuickRoutes.clusters,
        "Error",
        error.msg
      )),
      clusterList => Ok(views.html.cluster.clusterList(clusterList))
    )
  }
}

kafka-ui (Java):

@GetMapping
public Mono<ClusterDTO> getCluster(@PathVariable String clusterName) {
    return clusterService.getCluster(clusterName)
            .map(clusterMapper::toDto);
}

The code snippets show different approaches to handling cluster-related operations, with CMAK using Scala and kafka-ui using Java with Spring WebFlux.

Pros of Kafdrop

• Lightweight and simple to set up
• Supports viewing consumer group information
• Offers a clean, minimalist interface

Cons of Kafdrop

• Limited features compared to Kafka-UI
• Less active development and community support
• Lacks advanced management capabilities

Code Comparison

Kafdrop (Java):

@GetMapping("/topic/{name:.+}")
public String topicDetails(@PathVariable("name") String topicName,
                           @RequestParam(value = "view", required = false) String view,
                           Model model) {
    final var topic = kafkaMonitor.getTopic(topicName)
            .orElseThrow(() -> new TopicNotFoundException(topicName));
    model.addAttribute("topic", topic);
    model.addAttribute("consumers", kafkaMonitor.getConsumers(topic));
    return "topic-detail";
}

Kafka-UI (TypeScript):

export const fetchTopicDetails = createAsyncThunk(
  'topicDetails/fetchTopicDetails',
  async ({ clusterName, topicName }: FetchTopicDetailsParams) => {
    const response = await api.getTopicDetails({ clusterName, topicName });
    return response;
  }
);

Both repositories provide web-based UIs for Apache Kafka management, but Kafka-UI offers a more comprehensive feature set and active development. Kafdrop is simpler and may be suitable for basic monitoring needs, while Kafka-UI is better suited for advanced Kafka cluster management and monitoring.

Pros of AKHQ

• More extensive feature set, including advanced ACL management and KSQL integration
• Better support for multi-cluster environments
• More customizable UI with themes and localization options

Cons of AKHQ

• Steeper learning curve due to more complex interface
• Less frequent updates and potentially slower bug fixes
• Higher resource consumption, especially for large Kafka clusters

Code Comparison

AKHQ (Kotlin):

@GetMapping("/api/cluster/{clusterId}/topic")
fun listTopics(@PathVariable clusterId: String): List<TopicDTO> {
    return kafkaModule.getTopics(clusterId)
}

Kafka-UI (Java):

@GetMapping("/api/clusters/{clusterName}/topics")
public List<TopicDTO> getAllTopics(@PathVariable String clusterName) {
    return topicService.getAllTopics(clusterName);
}

Both projects use similar RESTful API structures for retrieving topics, with AKHQ using Kotlin and Kafka-UI using Java. The main differences lie in naming conventions and parameter handling, but the overall approach is comparable.

Pros of kcat

• Lightweight command-line tool for quick Kafka operations
• Versatile for both producing and consuming messages
• Supports various data formats and compression methods

Cons of kcat

• Limited graphical interface for visualizing Kafka data
• Lacks advanced cluster management features
• Steeper learning curve for non-technical users

Code Comparison

kcat (producing a message):

echo "Hello, Kafka" | kcat -b localhost:9092 -t my-topic

kafka-ui (viewing topics via API):

curl -X GET "http://localhost:8080/api/clusters/{clusterId}/topics" \
     -H "accept: application/json"

Key Differences

• kafka-ui provides a web-based GUI for Kafka management, while kcat is a command-line tool
• kafka-ui offers more comprehensive cluster management and monitoring features
• kcat excels in quick, scriptable Kafka operations, ideal for DevOps and automation tasks
• kafka-ui is better suited for team collaboration and visual data exploration
• kcat has a smaller footprint and is easier to integrate into existing workflows

Both tools serve different purposes in the Kafka ecosystem, with kcat focusing on simplicity and efficiency for command-line operations, and kafka-ui providing a more user-friendly, feature-rich interface for Kafka cluster management and monitoring.