KIP-82 — Add Record Headers

Accepted ProtocolClient

KIP-82 adds first-class header support to the Kafka record format, allowing producers to attach arbitrary key-value metadata to records separate from the payload. Most messaging systems (JMS, AMQP, HTTP) support headers for transport-level metadata such as routing hints, tracing context, and content type; Kafka had no equivalent, forcing producers to embed this metadata inside the record value.

Protocol Impact

Produce · Fetch

Details