One of the first definitions I was told by committers when I joined the project was that public API is anything that has a JavaDoc published.
I do agree however, that we could do a better job at marking public APIs or marking non-public ones (whatever is easier). Best, On Wed, Dec 17, 2025 at 10:07 AM Ashwin via dev <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello Team, > > While reviewing discussions regarding public APIs in Kafka, I noticed that > we lack a concrete, centralized definition of what constitutes a public > API. The most relevant information currently available is found here: > > https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=50859233#KafkaImprovementProposals-Whatisconsidereda%22majorchange%22thatneedsaKIP > ( > > https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=50859233#KafkaImprovementProposals-Whatisconsidereda%22majorchange%22thatneedsaKIP > )? > > Without formal definition or guardrails, there is a risk that builders may > inadvertently import internal classes leading to possible build breakages > when they compile against a newer Kafka version. I believe we should > address this to ensure better consistency and prevent such occurrences. > > Please let me know if you feel this is something that can benefit the > community, I can present the possible approaches through a KIP. > > > Cheers, > Ashwin > -- [image: Aiven] <https://www.aiven.io> *Josep Prat* Sr. Engineering Director, Streaming Services, *Aiven* [email protected] | +491715557497 aiven.io <https://www.aiven.io> | <https://www.facebook.com/aivencloud> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/aiven/> <https://twitter.com/aiven_io> *Aiven Deutschland GmbH* Alexanderufer 3-7, 10117 Berlin Geschäftsführer: Oskari Saarenmaa, Hannu Valtonen, Kenneth Chen Amtsgericht Charlottenburg, HRB 209739 B
