Technical Architecture Made Simple

The Kafka integration for n8n operates through a straightforward connection model:

1. Connect: Authenticate to your Kafka cluster using supported methods
2. Configure: Specify topics, message keys, and payload formats
3. Process: Transform messages using n8n's powerful data mapping
4. Integrate: Route processed data to any of n8n's 280+ integrations

This allows for bidirectional communication—consuming messages from Kafka topics to trigger workflows, and producing messages back to Kafka from any point in your automation. The node supports features like batch processing, error handling, and custom headers, giving you enterprise-grade reliability with low-code simplicity.