> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.lenses.io/latest/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.lenses.io/latest/devx/5.5/getting-started/connections/kafka.md).

# Kafka

{% hint style="success" %}
See [provisioning](https://github.com/lensesio-dev/docs/blob/master/getting-started/connections/automation/README.md) for automating connections.
{% endhint %}

Lenses can connect to any Kafka cluster or service exposing the Apache Kafka APIs and supporting the authentication methods offered by Apache Kafka.

Follow the guide for your distribution to obtain the credentials and bootstrap broker to provide to Lenses.

<table data-view="cards" data-full-width="false"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-cover data-type="files"></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Apache Kafka</strong></td><td>Connect Lenses to your Apache Kafka cluster.</td><td></td><td><a href="/pages/1xzfsKQw2oBXlSZzl54u">/pages/1xzfsKQw2oBXlSZzl54u</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>AWS MSK</strong></td><td>Connect Lenses to your AWS MSK cluster.</td><td></td><td><a href="/pages/8lnHx43ItZKy22S00xUL">/pages/8lnHx43ItZKy22S00xUL</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>AWS MSK Serverless</strong></td><td>Connect Lenses to your AWS MSK Serverless.</td><td></td><td><a href="/pages/vOaEIFtC2WIFyBnsISXY">/pages/vOaEIFtC2WIFyBnsISXY</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Aiven</strong></td><td>Connect Lenses to your Aiven Kafka cluster.</td><td></td><td><a href="/pages/KsvFiUsEQGnpittqi2d0">/pages/KsvFiUsEQGnpittqi2d0</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Azure HDInsight</strong></td><td>Connect Lenses to your Azure HDInsight cluster.</td><td></td><td><a href="/pages/9c0Sq5htbe2d0LO4dEcX">/pages/9c0Sq5htbe2d0LO4dEcX</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Confluent Cloud</strong></td><td>Connect Lenses to your Confluent Cloud.</td><td></td><td><a href="/pages/SrD3aX6AeZaTik3mq7jI">/pages/SrD3aX6AeZaTik3mq7jI</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Confluent Platform</strong></td><td>Connect Lenses to your Confluent Platform (on premise) cluster.</td><td></td><td><a href="/pages/CBTf1bgPo6n04UJWjq3k">/pages/CBTf1bgPo6n04UJWjq3k</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>IBM Event Streams</strong></td><td>Connect Lenses to your IBM Event Streams cluster.</td><td></td><td><a href="/pages/AMy6Rs1iGYesThTAMTM4">/pages/AMy6Rs1iGYesThTAMTM4</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


---

# Agent Instructions
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## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.lenses.io/latest/devx/5.5/getting-started/connections/kafka.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

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