MySQL to Kafka
real-time replication
TwinCommit replicates MySQL to Apache Kafka in real time by reading the MySQL transaction log and applying every committed change exactly once and in commit order. Use it to publish every committed MySQL change as an event stream, with no triggers or capture tables on the source.
MySQL
log reader
commit-ordered · exactly-once
Kafka
native writer
How capture works on MySQL
TwinCommit connects as a replica, reads the row-based binary log and tracks position by GTID, so failovers and replica promotions are seamless.
Prerequisites
- ✓binlog_format = ROW and binlog_row_image = FULL
- ✓GTID mode recommended
- ✓REPLICATION SLAVE and REPLICATION CLIENT grants
How apply works on Kafka
Each source transaction is published with Kafka transactions, so consumers using read_committed never see a partial transaction. Messages are keyed by primary key in JSON, Avro or Protobuf.
Requirements
- ✓A topic naming template
- ✓Producer ACLs including transactional.id
- ✓Optional Schema Registry for Avro and Protobuf
Setup
Set up MySQL → Kafka in four steps
- 1
Prepare MySQL
Run twincommit check. It verifies binlog_format = row and binlog_row_image = full and the other prerequisites, and prints the exact fix for anything missing.
- 2
Point at Kafka
Add a target block for Kafka. TwinCommit can generate target DDL with twincommit ddl -apply.
- 3
Snapshot
twincommit snapshot copies each table under a brief share lock and records the exact log position.
- 4
Stream
twincommit run streams every committed change from that position, exactly once and in commit order.
source:
type: mysql
dsn: ${SOURCE_DSN}
server_id: 4201
target:
type: kafka
bootstrap_servers: broker-1:9092,broker-2:9092
topic: "{schema}.{table}"
format: avro
schema_registry: http://registry:8081
tables:
- source: SALES.ORDERS
- source: SALES.ORDER_LINES
exclude_columns: [INTERNAL_NOTES]MySQL to Kafka replication FAQ
How does TwinCommit replicate MySQL to Kafka?
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TwinCommit reads changes from the MySQL transaction log, buffers them per transaction, and applies each committed transaction to Kafka in commit order. Each source transaction is published with Kafka transactions, so consumers using read_committed never see a partial transaction. Messages are keyed by primary key in JSON, Avro or Protobuf.
Does MySQL to Kafka replication need triggers or capture tables?
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No. TwinCommit reads the MySQL log directly and creates no objects in the source database.
Is MySQL to Kafka replication exactly-once?
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Yes. TwinCommit commits its checkpoint in the same Kafka transaction as the data, so a crash or restart never loses or duplicates a transaction.
What MySQL versions are supported?
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MySQL 5.7, 8.0, 8.4, 9.x · Amazon RDS & Aurora MySQL · Azure Database for MySQL · Cloud SQL.
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