# redpanda

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/llms.txt). Component-specific: [connect-full.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect-full.txt)

---
title: redpanda
latest-connect-version: 4.93.0
latest-operator-version: v26.1.4
latest-console-tag: v3.7.3
latest-redpanda-tag: v26.1.9
docname: caches/redpanda
page-component-name: connect
page-version: master
page-component-version: master
page-component-title: Connect
page-relative-src-path: caches/redpanda.adoc
page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/rp-connect-docs/edit/main/modules/components/pages/caches/redpanda.adoc
description: A Kafka cache using the https://github.com/twmb/franz-go[Franz Kafka client library^].
page-git-created-date: "2025-06-25"
page-git-modified-date: "2026-05-26"
---

<!-- Source: https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/components/caches/redpanda.md -->

**Type:** Cache ▼

[Cache](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/components/caches/redpanda/)[Input](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/components/inputs/redpanda/)[Output](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/components/outputs/redpanda/)[Tracer](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/components/tracers/redpanda/)

**Available in:** [Cloud](https://docs.redpanda.com/cloud-data-platform/develop/connect/components/caches/redpanda/%20%22View%20the%20Cloud%20version%20of%20this%20component%22), Self-Managed

A Kafka cache implemented using the [Franz Kafka client library](https://github.com/twmb/franz-go).

#### Common

```yaml
caches:
  redpanda:
    seed_brokers: [] # No default (required)
    topic: "" # No default (required)
```

#### Advanced

```yaml
caches:
  redpanda:
    seed_brokers: [] # No default (required)
    client_id: redpanda-connect
    tls:
      enabled: false
      skip_cert_verify: false
      enable_renegotiation: false
      root_cas: ""
      root_cas_file: ""
      client_certs: []
    sasl: [] # No default (optional)
    metadata_max_age: 1m
    request_timeout_overhead: 10s
    conn_idle_timeout: 20s
    tcp:
      connect_timeout: 0s
      keep_alive:
        idle: 15s
        interval: 15s
        count: 9
      tcp_user_timeout: 0s
    topic: "" # No default (required)
    allow_auto_topic_creation: true
```

A cache that stores data in a Kafka topic.

This cache is useful for data that is written frequently and queried infrequently. Reads from the cache require scanning the entire topic partition. If you expect frequent access, consider placing an in-memory caching layer in front of this one.

Because only the latest values are needed, configure compaction for topics used as caches so that reads are less expensive when topics are rescanned. See [Compaction Settings](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/current/manage/cluster-maintenance/compaction-settings/).

The cache does not have any TTL mechanisms. Use the Kafka topic retention policies to manage TTL.

## [](#fields)Fields

### [](#allow_auto_topic_creation)`allow_auto_topic_creation`

Enables topics to be auto created if they do not exist when fetching their metadata.

**Type**: `bool`

**Default**: `true`

### [](#client_id)`client_id`

An identifier for the client connection.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `redpanda-connect`

### [](#conn_idle_timeout)`conn_idle_timeout`

The amount of time that connections can remain idle before they are closed.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `20s`

### [](#metadata_max_age)`metadata_max_age`

The maximum age of metadata before it is refreshed. This interval also controls how frequently regex topic patterns are re-evaluated to discover new matching topics.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `1m`

### [](#request_timeout_overhead)`request_timeout_overhead`

Additional time to apply as overhead when calculating request deadlines. This buffer helps prevent premature timeouts, especially for requests that already define their own timeout values.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `10s`

### [](#sasl)`sasl[]`

Specify one or more SASL authentication methods. Each method is tried in the order specified. If the broker supports the first mechanism, outgoing client connections use that mechanism. If the first mechanism fails, the client will use the first supported mechanism. If the broker does not support any client mechanisms, connections will fail.

**Type**: `object`

```yaml
# Examples:
sasl:
  - mechanism: SCRAM-SHA-512
    password: bar
    username: foo
```

### [](#sasl-aws)`sasl[].aws`

Contains AWS-specific fields for when [`sasl.mechanism`](#sasl-mechanism) is set to `AWS_MSK_IAM`.

**Type**: `object`

### [](#sasl-aws-credentials)`sasl[].aws.credentials`

Optional manual configuration of AWS credentials to use. For more information, see the [credentials for AWS](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/guides/cloud/aws/) guide.

**Type**: `object`

### [](#sasl-aws-credentials-from_ec2_role)`sasl[].aws.credentials.from_ec2_role`

The credentials of a host EC2 machine configured to assume [an IAM role associated with the instance](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_roles_use_switch-role-ec2.html).

Requires version 4.2.0 or later.

**Type**: `bool`

### [](#sasl-aws-credentials-id)`sasl[].aws.credentials.id`

The ID of credentials to use.

**Type**: `string`

### [](#sasl-aws-credentials-profile)`sasl[].aws.credentials.profile`

A profile from `~/.aws/credentials` to use.

**Type**: `string`

### [](#sasl-aws-credentials-role)`sasl[].aws.credentials.role`

The ARN of the role to assume.

**Type**: `string`

### [](#sasl-aws-credentials-role_external_id)`sasl[].aws.credentials.role_external_id`

An external ID to provide when assuming the specified role.

**Type**: `string`

### [](#sasl-aws-credentials-secret)`sasl[].aws.credentials.secret`

The secret for the credentials being used.

> ⚠️ **CAUTION**
>
> This field contains sensitive information that usually shouldn’t be added to a configuration directly. For more information, see [Secrets](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/configuration/secrets/).

**Type**: `string`

### [](#sasl-aws-credentials-token)`sasl[].aws.credentials.token`

The token for the credentials being used. Required only when using short-term credentials.

**Type**: `string`

### [](#sasl-aws-endpoint)`sasl[].aws.endpoint`

A custom endpoint URL for AWS API requests. Use this to connect to AWS-compatible services or local testing environments instead of the standard AWS endpoints.

**Type**: `string`

### [](#sasl-aws-region)`sasl[].aws.region`

The AWS region to target.

**Type**: `string`

### [](#sasl-aws-tcp)`sasl[].aws.tcp`

TCP socket configuration.

**Type**: `object`

### [](#sasl-aws-tcp-connect_timeout)`sasl[].aws.tcp.connect_timeout`

Maximum amount of time a dial will wait for a connect to complete. Zero disables.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `0s`

### [](#sasl-aws-tcp-keep_alive)`sasl[].aws.tcp.keep_alive`

TCP keep-alive probe configuration.

**Type**: `object`

### [](#sasl-aws-tcp-keep_alive-count)`sasl[].aws.tcp.keep_alive.count`

Maximum unanswered keep-alive probes before dropping the connection. Zero defaults to 9.

**Type**: `int`

**Default**: `9`

### [](#sasl-aws-tcp-keep_alive-idle)`sasl[].aws.tcp.keep_alive.idle`

Duration the connection must be idle before sending the first keep-alive probe. Zero defaults to 15s. Negative values disable keep-alive probes.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `15s`

### [](#sasl-aws-tcp-keep_alive-interval)`sasl[].aws.tcp.keep_alive.interval`

Duration between keep-alive probes. Zero defaults to 15s.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `15s`

### [](#sasl-aws-tcp-tcp_user_timeout)`sasl[].aws.tcp.tcp_user_timeout`

Maximum time to wait for acknowledgment of transmitted data before killing the connection. Linux-only (kernel 2.6.37+), ignored on other platforms. When enabled, keep\_alive.idle must be greater than this value per RFC 5482. Zero disables.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `0s`

### [](#sasl-extensions)`sasl[].extensions`

Key/value pairs to add to OAUTHBEARER authentication requests.

**Type**: `string`

### [](#sasl-mechanism)`sasl[].mechanism`

The SASL mechanism to use for authentication.

**Type**: `string`

| Option | Summary |
| --- | --- |
| AWS_MSK_IAM | AWS IAM-based authentication as specified by the aws-msk-iam-auth Java library. |
| OAUTHBEARER | OAuth Bearer authentication. |
| PLAIN | PLAIN mechanism for plaintext password authentication. |
| REDPANDA_CLOUD_SERVICE_ACCOUNT | Redpanda Cloud Service Account authentication when running in Redpanda Cloud. |
| SCRAM-SHA-256 | SCRAM authentication as specified in RFC5802. |
| SCRAM-SHA-512 | SCRAM authentication as specified in RFC5802. |
| none | Disable SASL authentication. |

### [](#sasl-password)`sasl[].password`

The password to use for PLAIN or SCRAM-\* authentication.

> ⚠️ **CAUTION**
>
> This field contains sensitive information that usually shouldn’t be added to a configuration directly. For more information, see [Secrets](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/configuration/secrets/).

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#sasl-token)`sasl[].token`

The token to use for a single session’s OAUTHBEARER authentication.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#sasl-username)`sasl[].username`

The username to use for PLAIN or SCRAM-\* authentication.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#seed_brokers)`seed_brokers[]`

A list of broker addresses to connect to. Items containing commas are expanded into multiple addresses.

**Type**: `array`

```yaml
# Examples:
seed_brokers:
  - "localhost:9092"

# ---

seed_brokers:
  - "foo:9092"
  - "bar:9092"

# ---

seed_brokers:
  - "foo:9092,bar:9092"
```

### [](#tcp)`tcp`

Configure TCP socket-level settings to optimize network performance and reliability. These low-level controls are useful for:

-   **High-latency networks**: Increase `connect_timeout` to allow more time for connection establishment

-   **Long-lived connections**: Configure `keep_alive` settings to detect and recover from stale connections

-   **Unstable networks**: Tune keep-alive probes to balance between quick failure detection and avoiding false positives

-   **Linux systems with specific requirements**: Use `tcp_user_timeout` (Linux 2.6.37+) to control data acknowledgment timeouts


Most users should keep the default values. Only modify these settings if you’re experiencing connection stability issues or have specific network requirements.

**Type**: `object`

### [](#tcp-connect_timeout)`tcp.connect_timeout`

Maximum amount of time a dial will wait for a connect to complete. Zero disables.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `0s`

### [](#tcp-keep_alive)`tcp.keep_alive`

TCP keep-alive probe configuration.

**Type**: `object`

### [](#tcp-keep_alive-count)`tcp.keep_alive.count`

Maximum unanswered keep-alive probes before dropping the connection. Zero defaults to 9.

**Type**: `int`

**Default**: `9`

### [](#tcp-keep_alive-idle)`tcp.keep_alive.idle`

Duration the connection must be idle before sending the first keep-alive probe. Zero defaults to 15s. Negative values disable keep-alive probes.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `15s`

### [](#tcp-keep_alive-interval)`tcp.keep_alive.interval`

Duration between keep-alive probes. Zero defaults to 15s.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `15s`

### [](#tcp-tcp_user_timeout)`tcp.tcp_user_timeout`

Maximum time to wait for acknowledgment of transmitted data before killing the connection. Linux-only (kernel 2.6.37+), ignored on other platforms. When enabled, keep\_alive.idle must be greater than this value per RFC 5482. Zero disables.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `0s`

### [](#tls)`tls`

Configure Transport Layer Security (TLS) settings to secure network connections. This includes options for standard TLS as well as mutual TLS (mTLS) authentication where both client and server authenticate each other using certificates. Key configuration options include `enabled` to enable TLS, `client_certs` for mTLS authentication, `root_cas`/`root_cas_file` for custom certificate authorities, and `skip_cert_verify` for development environments.

**Type**: `object`

### [](#tls-client_certs)`tls.client_certs[]`

A list of client certificates for mutual TLS (mTLS) authentication. Configure this field to enable mTLS, authenticating the client to the server with these certificates.

You must set `tls.enabled: true` for the client certificates to take effect.

**Certificate pairing rules**: For each certificate item, provide either:

-   Inline PEM data using both `cert` **and** `key` or

-   File paths using both `cert_file` **and** `key_file`.


Mixing inline and file-based values within the same item is not supported.

**Type**: `object`

**Default**: `[]`

```yaml
# Examples:
client_certs:
  - cert: foo
    key: bar

# ---

client_certs:
  - cert_file: ./example.pem
    key_file: ./example.key
```

### [](#tls-client_certs-cert)`tls.client_certs[].cert`

The plaintext certificate to use for TLS authentication. Must be paired with the corresponding private key in the `key` field when using inline PEM data for mTLS client certificates.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#tls-client_certs-cert_file)`tls.client_certs[].cert_file`

The path to a file containing the certificate to use for TLS authentication. Must be paired with the corresponding private key file in the `key_file` field when using file-based configuration for mTLS client certificates.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#tls-client_certs-key)`tls.client_certs[].key`

Private key for mTLS client certificate as inline PEM data. Must correspond to the client certificate specified in the `cert` field. Use this field together with `cert` when providing certificate data inline rather than through files.

> ⚠️ **CAUTION**
>
> This field contains sensitive information that usually shouldn’t be added to a configuration directly. For more information, see [Secrets](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/configuration/secrets/).

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#tls-client_certs-key_file)`tls.client_certs[].key_file`

Path to private key file for mTLS client certificate in PEM format. Must correspond to the client certificate specified in the `cert_file` field. Use this field together with `cert_file` when loading certificate data from files.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#tls-client_certs-password)`tls.client_certs[].password`

The password to use for the private key (specified in the `key` or `key_file` fields), if it is password-protected. The PKCS#1 and PKCS#8 formats are supported. Supports environment variable interpolation for secure password management.

The `pbeWithMD5AndDES-CBC` algorithm is obsolete and not supported for the PKCS#8 format. This algorithm does not authenticate the ciphertext, making it vulnerable to padding oracle attacks that can let an attacker recover the plaintext.

> ⚠️ **CAUTION**
>
> This field contains sensitive information that usually shouldn’t be added to a configuration directly. For more information, see [Secrets](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/configuration/secrets/).

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

```yaml
# Examples:
password: foo

# ---

password: ${KEY_PASSWORD}
```

### [](#tls-enable_renegotiation)`tls.enable_renegotiation`

Whether to allow the remote server to request renegotiation. Enable this option if you’re seeing the error message `local error: tls: no renegotiation`.

Requires version 3.45.0 or later.

**Type**: `bool`

**Default**: `false`

### [](#tls-enabled)`tls.enabled`

Whether custom TLS settings are enabled.

**Type**: `bool`

**Default**: `false`

### [](#tls-root_cas)`tls.root_cas`

An optional root certificate authority to use. This is a string, representing a certificate chain from the parent trusted root certificate, to possible intermediate signing certificates, to the host certificate.

> ⚠️ **CAUTION**
>
> This field contains sensitive information that usually shouldn’t be added to a configuration directly. For more information, see [Secrets](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/configuration/secrets/).

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

```yaml
# Examples:
root_cas: |-
  -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
  ...
  -----END CERTIFICATE-----
```

### [](#tls-root_cas_file)`tls.root_cas_file`

Specify the path to a root certificate authority file (optional). This is a file, often with a `.pem` extension, which contains a certificate chain from the parent-trusted root certificate, through possible intermediate signing certificates, to the host certificate. Use either this field for file-based certificate loading or `root_cas` for inline certificate data.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

```yaml
# Examples:
root_cas_file: ./root_cas.pem
```

### [](#tls-skip_cert_verify)`tls.skip_cert_verify`

Whether to skip server-side certificate verification. Set to `true` only for testing environments as this reduces security by disabling certificate validation. When using self-signed certificates or in development, this may be necessary, but should never be used in production. Consider using `root_cas` or `root_cas_file` to specify trusted certificates instead of disabling verification entirely.

**Type**: `bool`

**Default**: `false`

### [](#topic)`topic`

The topic to store data in.

**Type**: `string`