Kafka Schema Registry

Kafka Schema Registry Skill

Scan a project to identify Kafka applications, extract schemas, generate Terraform for Schema Registry registration, and produce a comprehensive analysis report.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when:

• A user asks to analyze a project for Kafka usage in order to add event schemas or integrate Schema Registry
• A user wants to extract schemas from Kafka producers
• A user wants Terraform to register schemas to Schema Registry
• A user wants to audit Kafka producer/consumer configurations

Deliverables

This skill produces 3 outputs in the target project:

1. schema-report.md — Full analysis report with findings, risks, and upgrade recommendations
2. schemas/ — Extracted schema files (Avro, JSON Schema, Protobuf) with PII tagging
3. terraform/ — Terraform configs using Confluent provider to register schemas

Optional: Code Migration Assistance

If the user asks for their application code to be updated to integrate Schema Registry, use the [Code Migration Reference](references/code-migration.md) to update the code with proper Schema Registry integration patterns.

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High-Level Workflow

Phase 0: Initialize

• Check for existing schema.yaml and schemas/ directory manually
• Note any existing schema infrastructure in the report

Phase 1: Project Scan & Kafka Detection

1. Find build files — Search for pom.xml, build.gradle, requirements.txt, package.json, etc.
2. Detect Kafka dependencies — Look for spring-kafka, confluent-kafka, kafkajs, etc.
3. Find producers & consumers — Grep for KafkaTemplate, Producer(, producer.send, etc.
4. Extract topic names — From string literals, config properties, YAML files
5. Identify serializers — Find value.serializer, KafkaAvroSerializer, custom serializers
6. Build app catalog — Compile findings: app name, language, role, topics, serializer, category

Detailed patterns: [Detection Patterns Reference](references/detection-patterns.md)

App catalog structure:

app_name: module name
language: Java | Python | .NET | Go | Node/TS
role: producer | consumer | both
topics: [list of topics]
serializer_class: value.serializer used
custom_serializer: true | false
schema_format: AVRO | JSON | PROTOBUF | UNKNOWN
sr_integrated: true | false
category: A | B | C | D | E  # REQUIRED

Multi-schema topic detection:

• If multiple data models produce to the same topic, create a wrapper schema with oneOf/union/oneof
• Generate Terraform with schema_reference blocks
• Flag prominently in report

Phase 2: Risk Detection

Search for:

• auto.register.schemas=true — Uncontrolled schema evolution (Category C)
• use.latest.version — Eases migration when set
• Custom serializers — Bypass SR entirely (Category E)

Record file path, line number, and affected topics for each occurrence.

Patterns: [Detection Patterns Reference](references/detection-patterns.md#risk-detection)

Phase 3: Schema Inference

For each producer:

1. Check for existing schema files — **/*.avsc, **/*.proto, **/*.schema.json
2. Infer from data models — Java classes, Pydantic models, TypeScript interfaces, Go structs
3. Infer from inline data — HashMap, dict literals, map[string]any, plain objects, JSON strings
4. Convert to schemas — Map language types to JSON Schema / Avro / Protobuf
5. Tag PII fields — Scan field names for email, ssn, phone, address, etc.

PII tagging: Add confluent:tags (PII, PRIVATE, SENSITIVE, PHI) to detected fields.

Detailed inference patterns: [Schema Inference Reference](references/schema-inference.md)

Phase 4: Categorize Producers

Classify each producer:

| Category | Criteria | |----------|----------| | A: Compliant | Confluent serializer + SR + no auto.register | | A→Header | Already on SR, migrating to headers | | B: Schema in code, no SR | Data models exist, but no SR integration | | C: Auto-register | auto.register.schemas=true | | D: No schema | Raw strings/bytes, no data model | | E: Custom serializer | Custom Serializer or inline serialization without SR |

CRITICAL: Use exact phrase "Category X" in:

• App catalog field
• Applications Discovered table
• Report section headers
• Terraform comments
• Risk sections

Details: [Categorization Reference](references/categorization.md)

Phase 5: Create Schema Files

Directory structure:

schemas/
├── avro/
│   └── {topic}-value.avsc
├── json/
│   └── {topic}-value.json
└── proto/
    └── {topic}-value.proto

File naming: MUST use kebab-case (lowercase with hyphens):

• Value: {topic}-value.{ext}
• Key: {topic}-key.{ext}
• Examples: order-events-value.avsc, user-notifications-value.json

Initialize: Create schema.yaml.

Validate: Call schema_lint(path: schemas/, fix: true) if available.

Phase 6: Generate Terraform

File structure (MANDATORY separate files):

terraform/
├── providers.tf              # Provider config
├── variables.tf              # Variable definitions
├── tags.tf                   # confluent_tag resources (if PII exists)
├── schemas.tf                # Active schemas (A, B, E)
├── flagged-auto-register.tf  # Category C only (commented out)
├── outputs.tf                # Output values
└── import.sh                 # Import script

CRITICAL:

• schemas.tf = Categories A, B, E — NOT commented out
• flagged-auto-register.tf = Category C ONLY — MUST be commented out
• tags.tf = MUST exist if ANY schema uses confluent:tags
• Each schema resource MUST have comment block: Topic, App, Source, Category

Templates: [Terraform Templates Reference](references/terraform-templates.md)

Phase 7: Generate Report

Create schema-report.md with:

• Executive Summary (metrics + category breakdown)
• Applications Discovered table (EXACT format, Category column MANDATORY)
• RISKS (auto-register, custom serializers)
• Producer Upgrade Recommendations (per app, with "Category X" in heading)
• Migration Rollout Ordering (by category)
• PII Fields Detected
• Terraform Resources Generated
• Next Steps checklist

CRITICAL formatting requirements:

1. Applications Discovered = markdown table, NOT narrative sections
2. Every app section MUST say "Category X" explicitly
3. Terraform comment blocks required for every resource

Template: [Report Template Reference](references/report-template.md)

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Migration Rollout by Category

• Category B (JSON, no SR): Producers first → consumers
• Category A→Header (already on SR): Verify consumer versions → producers only
• Category C (auto-register): Register via Terraform → disable auto-register → producers fetch latest
• Category E (custom serializers): Consumers first (composite deserializer) → producers

Details: [Categorization Reference](references/categorization.md#migration-rollout-order-by-category)

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Edge Cases

• Monorepos: Treat each service/module with Kafka deps as separate app
• Multi-topic producers: Generate one schema resource per topic
• Shared schemas: One schema file, multiple Terraform resources reference it
• No topic names: If loaded from env vars, use placeholders with TODO
• Test code: Skip test directories unless they contain only schema definitions
• Multiple serializers: Create separate schema files per format

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Output Organization

{project_root}/
├── schema-report.md              # Analysis report
├── schemas/
│   ├── schema.yaml               # Schema project config
│   ├── avro/
│   │   └── {topic}-value.avsc
│   ├── json/
│   │   └── {topic}-value.json
│   └── proto/
│       └── {topic}-value.proto
└── terraform/
    ├── providers.tf
    ├── variables.tf
    ├── tags.tf                    # PII/PRIVATE/SENSITIVE tags
    ├── schemas.tf                 # Active schemas (depends_on tags)
    ├── flagged-auto-register.tf   # Commented-out Category C
    ├── outputs.tf
    └── import.sh                  # Import existing schemas

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Reference Documentation

• [Detection Patterns](references/detection-patterns.md) — Patterns for finding Kafka apps, dependencies, producers, consumers, serializers
• [Schema Inference](references/schema-inference.md) — Extract schemas from data models, inline data, PII tagging
• [Categorization](references/categorization.md) — Category definitions, rollout order, client version requirements
• [Terraform Templates](references/terraform-templates.md) — File structure, templates, naming conventions
• [Report Template](references/report-template.md) — Required sections, formatting rules, validation checklist
• [Code Migration](references/code-migration.md) — Serializer/deserializer implementation patterns for Python, Java, JavaScript, Go, and .NET

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Execution Approach

1. Use Glob to find build files and schema files
2. Use Grep for pattern detection (dependencies, producers, serializers, risks)
3. Use Read to inspect source files and data models
4. Use Write to create schema files, Terraform configs, and report

No need to use Agent tool — this skill is self-contained and uses direct tool calls.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: confluentinc
• Source: confluentinc/agent-skills
• License: Apache-2.0

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.