# rpk topic

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

---
title: rpk topic
latest-redpanda-tag: v26.1.14
latest-console-tag: v3.9.0
latest-operator-version: v26.2.1
# EOL = End-of-Life (support lifecycle status)
page-is-nearing-eol: "false"
page-is-past-eol: "false"
page-eol-date: March 31, 2027
latest-connect-version: 4.104.0
docname: rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic
page-component-name: streaming
page-version: "26.1"
page-component-version: "26.1"
page-component-title: Streaming
page-relative-src-path: rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic.adoc
page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/docs/edit/v/26.1/modules/reference/pages/rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic.adoc
description: Manage Kafka topics, including creating, deleting, and configuring topics. Also includes commands for producing and consuming messages.
page-git-created-date: "2023-05-17"
page-git-modified-date: "2026-07-17"
support-status: supported
---

<!-- Source: https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/26.1/reference/rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic.md -->

Manage Kafka topics, including creating, deleting, and configuring topics. Also includes commands for producing and consuming messages.

## [](#usage)Usage

```bash
rpk topic [flags]
```

## [](#subcommands)Subcommands

| Command | Description |
| --- | --- |
| rpk topic add-partitions | Add partitions to existing topics. |
| rpk topic alter-config | Set, delete, add, and remove key/value configs for a topic. This command allows you to incrementally alter the configuration for multiple topics at a time. |
| rpk topic analyze | Analyze topics. This command consumes records from the specified topics to determine topic characteristics such as batch rate and batch size. |
| rpk topic consume | Consume records from topics. Consuming records reads from any amount of input topics, formats each record according to --format, and prints them to STDOUT. |
| rpk topic create | Create one or more Kafka topics with configurable partitions, replication factor, and topic-level settings. |
| rpk topic delete | Delete one or more Kafka topics. This operation is irreversible and removes all data in the topics. |
| rpk topic describe | Print detailed information about topics. There are three potential views: a summary of the topic, the topic configurations, and a detailed partitions section. |
| rpk topic describe-storage | Describe the cloud storage status of a topic, including storage mode, offset availability, segment sizes, and synchronization state. |
| rpk topic list | List topics, optionally listing specific topics. This command lists all topics that you have access to by default. |
| rpk topic produce | Produce records to a topic. Producing records reads from STDIN, parses input according to --format, and produces records to Redpanda. |
| rpk topic trim-prefix | Trim records from topics by setting the LogStartOffset for partitions to the requested offset. All segments whose base offset is less than the requested offset are deleted, and any records within the segment before the requested offset can no longer be read. |

## [](#global-flags)Global flags

| Value | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| --config | string | Redpanda or rpk config file; default search paths are ~/.config/rpk/rpk.yaml, $PWD/redpanda.yaml, and /etc/redpanda/redpanda.yaml. |
| -X, --config-opt | stringArray | Override rpk configuration settings; -X help for detail or -X list for terser detail. |
| --ignore-profile | bool | Ignore rpk.yaml and redpanda.yaml; use default settings. |
| --profile | string | rpk profile to use. |
| -v, --verbose | bool | Enable verbose logging. |

## [](#suggested-reading)Suggested reading

-   [Create a topic](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/26.1/reference/rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic-create/)

-   [Produce records to a topic](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/26.1/reference/rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic-produce/)

-   [List topics](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/26.1/reference/rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic-list/)

-   [Consume records from a topic](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/26.1/reference/rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic-consume/)

-   [Delete a topic](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/26.1/reference/rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic-delete/)

-   [Describe a topic and its configuration](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/26.1/reference/rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic-describe/)

-   [Describe the storage status of a topic](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/26.1/reference/rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic-describe-storage/)

-   [Modify topic configuration](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/26.1/reference/rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic-alter-config/)

-   [Trim existing records in a topic](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/26.1/reference/rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic-trim-prefix/)

-   [Add partitions to an existing topic](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/26.1/reference/rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic-add-partitions/)