Clusters for Apache Kafka® - Quickstart

Reviewed on September 15, 2025

Clusters for Apache Kafka® is Scaleway's product to provide a secure, fully-managed infrastructure for your Apache Kafka® deployments. With our clusters, you can create data pipelines and event-driven architectures that run natively on Apache Kafka®, without having to manage the underlying infrastructure.

Follow our quickstart guide to get your first cluster up and running efficiently, and know how to delete it when you no longer need it.

Before you start

To complete the actions presented below, you must have:

• A Scaleway account logged into the console
• Owner status or IAM permissions allowing you to perform actions in the intended Organization

How to create a cluster

1. Click Apache Kafka® in the Data and Analytics section of the console side menu. The Clusters for Apache Kafka®a product page displays.

2. Click Create cluster. The creation wizard displays.

3. Select a region for the cluster. During Private Beta, clusters are only available in the Paris region.

4. Select a Kafka® version to run on the cluster. Only one pre-selected Kafka® version is available during Private Beta.

5. Select the number of nodes (brokers) you want in the cluster, either 3 nodes for a highly-available cluster enabling data replication, or 1 node for a cluster suitable for testing and development. During Private Beta, the number of nodes cannot be changed after cluster creation.

6. Select a node type. Choose between dedicated or shared nodes, depending on your workload requirements and use case. For shared nodes, various types are available, each offering different cost-performance ratios.

7. Configure network connectivity. During Private Beta, connectivity to clusters is facilitated exclusively through Private Networks. Select a Private Network from the dropdown list to attach your cluster to.

8. Create credentials by defining a username and password. These will be used when connecting to your cluster. During Private Beta, only one user can be created per cluster, and the username is not modifiable after creation (though the password can be changed).

9. Enter a name, and (optionally), tags to identify your cluster.

10. Check the estimated cost summary, then click Create cluster.

Your cluster is created, and you are taken to its Overview page in the console.

How to connect to your cluster

All clients that want to connect to your cluster must:

• Have downloaded the cluster's TLS certificate and configured the client to recognize it
• Be attached to a Private Network in the same VPC as the cluster, or connect via a Public Gateway in the VPC
• Know the cluster's username and password

Once you have ensured the client satisfies the conditions above, you can facilitate connection via the framework of your choice. Code snippets are provided for Go, Python and Java; access them by following the steps below.

1. Click Apache Kafka® in the Data and Analytics section of the console side menu. A list of your clusters displays.

2. Click the cluster you want to connect to. Its Overview page displays.

3. In the Connectivity panel, click Connect.

   A pop-up displays, with tabs for each sample framework: Go, Python, Java, Node.js, and Mongoose.

4. Click the tab of your choice to view the code sample.

How to configure your cluster

Configuration actions that cannot currently be carried out via the Scaleway console, API or devtools include:

• Creating topics, events and streams
• Configuring cluster parameters, such as replication factors, retention policies, and partitions
• Integrating clients and consumers

All such actions for internally configuring your cluster can be carried out via a client library or Kafka CLI.

How to delete a cluster

You can delete your cluster when you no longer need it.

1. Click Apache Kafka® in the Data and Analytics section of the console side menu. A list of your clusters displays.

2. Click the cluster you want to delete. Its Overview page displays.

3. Click the Settings tab.

4. Click Delete cluster.

   A pop-up displays, informing you that this action will permanently delete the cluster, and all data stored on its nodes will be lost.

5. Type DELETE in the box, and click Delete cluster.

   The cluster is deleted, and you are returned to the product page.