0.16.0

Main Changes since 0.15.x

Using Kafka 4.0.0

Kafka libraries have been bumped to version 4.0.0 which removes support for Zookeeper. Kafka 4.0.0 server-side libraries are built with Java 17 bytecode compatibility. The client libraries are still built with Java 11 bytecode compatibility.

Java 17 required for building the project

Java 17 is now required for building the project. The example clients and the testsuite can also run with Java 11.
All the components are built with Java 11 bytecode compatibility except kafka-oauth-keycloak-authorizer which requires Java 17 due to the dependency on server-side Kafka 4.0.0 libraries.

Removed support for KeycloakAuthorizer ACL delegation in Zookeeper mode

KeycloakAuthorizer can be configured to delegate authorization decision to standard ACL authorizer provided by Kafka.
Since Zookeeper mode is no longer supported, the ACL authorizer delegation only works if the Kafka node runs in KRaft mode.
If KeycloakAuthorizer is deployed to Kafka running in Zookeeper mode, and strimzi.authorization.delegate.to.kafka.acl is set to true, the broker will fail to start. In order to keep using the delegation mode you should upgrade your Kafka brokers to KRaft mode.

Kafka 4.x users should upgrade to this OAuth version (0.16.0). Kafka 3.x users can use this OAuth version in both Kraft or Zookeeper mode, but if they use KeycloakAuthorizer with ACL delegation, that will not work in Zookeeper mode.

For more details about the new features see the RELEASE_NOTES.md and the README.md. All changes can be found under the 0.16.0 milestone.