Hi! The docker quickstart command is failing for me:
podman run -p 9092:9092 apache/kafka:4.2.0-rc1 ===> User uid=1000(appuser) gid=1000(appuser) groups=1000(appuser) ===> Setting default values of environment variables if not already set. CLUSTER_ID not set. Setting it to default value: "5L6g3nShT-eMCtK--X86sw" ===> Configuring ... ===> Launching ... ===> Using provided cluster id 5L6g3nShT-eMCtK--X86sw ... Exception in thread "main" org.apache.kafka.common.config.ConfigException: Missing required configuration "process.roles" which has no default value. at org.apache.kafka.common.config.ConfigDef.parseValue(ConfigDef.java:537) at org.apache.kafka.common.config.ConfigDef.parse(ConfigDef.java:527) at org.apache.kafka.common.config.AbstractConfig.<init>(AbstractConfig.java:118) at org.apache.kafka.server.config.AbstractKafkaConfig.<init>(AbstractKafkaConfig.java:78) at kafka.server.KafkaConfig.<init>(KafkaConfig.scala:155) at kafka.server.KafkaConfig.<init>(KafkaConfig.scala:157) at kafka.tools.StorageTool$.$anonfun$execute$1(StorageTool.scala:79) at scala.Option.flatMap(Option.scala:283) at kafka.tools.StorageTool$.execute(StorageTool.scala:79) at kafka.tools.StorageTool$.main(StorageTool.scala:46) at kafka.docker.KafkaDockerWrapper$.main(KafkaDockerWrapper.scala:57) at kafka.docker.KafkaDockerWrapper.main(KafkaDockerWrapper.scala) I think the difference is there is a KAFKA_ environment variable set in the image podman run --rm -it --entrypoint env apache/kafka:4.2.0-rc1 | grep KAFKA KAFKA_URL= https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/kafka/4.2.0-rc1/kafka_2.13-4.2.0.tgz which isn't present in 4.1.1. Leading to /opt/kafka/config/server.properties being generated containing: $ container=$(podman run --detach -p 9092:9092 apache/kafka:4.2.0-rc1) $ podman cp ${container}:/opt/kafka/config/server.properties . $ cat server.properties url= https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/kafka/4.2.0-rc1/kafka_2.13-4.2.0.tgz Thanks Rob On Tue, Jan 20, 2026 at 5:36 AM Christo Lolov <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello Kafka users, developers and client-developers, > > This is the RC1 candidate for release of Apache Kafka 4.2.0. > > This release has many exciting changes: > * Kafka Queues (Share Groups) is now production-ready with new > features like the RENEW acknowledgement type for extended processing > times, adaptive batching for coordinators, and comprehensive lag > metrics. > * Kafka Streams brings the server-side rebalance protocol to GA with a > limited feature set, adds dead letter queue support in exception > handlers, introduces anchored wall-clock punctuation for deterministic > scheduling, and gives users full control over whether to send a leave > group request on closing. > * This release also delivers significant improvements to consistency > and observability: CLI tools now feature standardized arguments like > --bootstrap-server across all tools, metric naming has been corrected > to follow the kafka.COMPONENT convention, and new idle ratio metrics > provide better visibility into controller and MetadataLoader > performance. > * Security is enhanced with a new allowlist connector client > configuration override policy, while thread-safety improvements to > RecordHeader eliminate concurrency risks. > * Additional highlights include external schema support in > JsonConverter for reduced message sizes, dynamic configuration for > remote log manager thread pools, and rack ID exposure in the Admin API > for consumer and share group members. > > Release notes for the 4.2.0 release: > https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/kafka/4.2.0-rc1/RELEASE_NOTES.html > > *** Please download, test and vote by Monday, January 26, 10am UTC > > Kafka's KEYS file containing PGP keys we use to sign the release: > https://kafka.apache.org/KEYS > > * Release artifacts to be voted upon (source and binary): > https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/kafka/4.2.0-rc1/ > > * Docker release artifacts to be voted upon: > apache/kafka:4.2.0-rc1 > apache/kafka-native:4.2.0-rc1 > > * Maven artifacts to be voted upon: > https://repository.apache.org/content/groups/staging/org/apache/kafka/ > > * Javadoc: > https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/kafka/4.2.0-rc1/javadoc/index.html > > * Tag to be voted upon (off 4.2 branch) is the 4.2.0 tag: > https://github.com/apache/kafka/releases/tag/4.2.0-rc1 > > * Documentation: > https://kafka.apache.org/42/documentation.html > > * Protocol: > https://kafka.apache.org/42/protocol.html > > * Successful CI builds for the 4.2 branch: > Unit/integration tests: The build for the 4.2.0-rc1 tag can be found > at > https://github.com/apache/kafka/actions/runs/21135565337/job/60779418474 > There is a single failing test which I have since retried. > > System tests: I have setup my E2E environment and will share test > results in the next ~24 hours. > Chia-Ping has been very generous and helpful and is also running a > parallel environment at > https://jenkins.opensource4you.tw/job/kafka-e2e/636/ > > * Successful Docker Image Github Actions Pipeline for 4.2 branch: > Docker Build Test Pipeline (JVM): > https://github.com/apache/kafka/actions/runs/21135593072 > Docker Build Test Pipeline (Native): > https://github.com/apache/kafka/actions/runs/21136272782 > > Thanks, > Christo > >
