Kafka Error INVALID_PARTITIONS
Error code 37 · Non-retriable Admin
Number of partitions is below 1.
Common Causes
- kafka-topics.sh or AdminClient called with --partitions 0 or a negative value due to a config template bug or environment variable not being set
- Application code computing partition count dynamically returned 0 (e.g., empty config file, division error)
- Typo or misconfiguration in IaC/Terraform Kafka provider setting partitions to 0
Solutions
- Ensure partition count is explicitly set to >=1; add validation in deployment scripts before invoking topic creation
- Set a safe default in application config so partition count cannot be 0 even if the environment variable is missing
- Audit IaC configs (Terraform, Helm values) for topic definitions and add input validation or variable constraints
Diagnostic Commands
# Describe topic partitions, leaders, and ISR
kafka-topics.sh --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 --describe --topic <topic-name> 2>&1
# Search logs for related error messages
grep -r 'num.partitions\|partitions' /opt/kafka/config/ | grep -v '^Binary'Related APIs
This error can be returned by: CreatePartitions · CreateTopics
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