Hi, +1 (binding)
- Verified the signatures - Ran the tests on the source archive - Verified the quickstart - Verified the artifacts, Javadocs, and release notes It looks like we need to replace https://kafka.apache.org/KEYS with https://downloads.apache.org/kafka/KEYS in the vote email text above. Thanks for running the release! Thanks, Manikumar On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 2:23 PM Federico Valeri <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Christo, I think I found a possible blocker: > > https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/KAFKA-20183 > > I proposed a solution and I'll leave to you to confirm priority. > > Thanks for running the release. > > Cheers > Fede > > > On Thu, Feb 12, 2026 at 2:13 PM Lucas Brutschy via dev < > [email protected]> > wrote: > > > Hi Christo, > > > > * Verified signatures and checksums for source, binary, and site-docs > > tarballs > > * Verified LICENSE file exists and is correct > > * Built from source with JDK 21 (built in ~20 min) > > * Ran the quickstart (KRaft mode) - produce/consume working > > * Tested Docker images (both JVM and native) > > * Reviewed Javadoc and release notes > > * Verified Maven staging artifacts with correct dates (Feb 10, 2026) > > * Validated KIP-1071: > > - Tested wordcount app using group.protocol=streams > > - kafka-streams-groups.sh working with --verbose output > > - Dynamic config for standby replicas working > > > > Issue found (non-blocking): > > * Binary distribution NOTICE file has "Copyright 2021" instead of > > "Copyright 2026" > > (source tarball has the correct year) > > > > +1 (binding) > > > > Cheers, > > Lucas > > > > On Thu, Feb 12, 2026 at 12:55 PM Andrew Schofield <[email protected] > > > > wrote: > > > > > > Hi Christo, > > > I did the following to validate the release. > > > > > > * Checked the readme > > > * Downloaded the binary release > > > * Created a cluster > > > * Checked feature levels and supported broker APIs > > > * Performed basic testing of share groups > > > * Checked Javadoc for new 4.2 content > > > * Tested the Docker image with Spring Boot > > > > > > +1 (non-binding) > > > > > > Thanks, > > > Andrew > > > > > > On 2026/02/10 15:27:09 Christo Lolov wrote: > > > > Hello Kafka users, developers and client-developers, > > > > > > > > This is the RC4 candidate for release of Apache Kafka 4.2.0. > > > > > > > > This release has many exciting changes: > > > > * Kafka Queues (Share Groups) is now production-ready with new > > > > features like the RENEW acknowledgement type for extended processing > > > > times, adaptive batching for coordinators, and comprehensive lag > > > > metrics. > > > > * Kafka Streams brings the server-side rebalance protocol to GA with > a > > > > limited feature set, adds dead letter queue support in exception > > > > handlers, introduces anchored wall-clock punctuation for > deterministic > > > > scheduling, and gives users full control over whether to send a leave > > > > group request on closing. > > > > * This release also delivers significant improvements to consistency > > > > and observability: CLI tools now feature standardized arguments like > > > > --bootstrap-server across all tools, metric naming has been corrected > > > > to follow the kafka.COMPONENT convention, and new idle ratio metrics > > > > provide better visibility into controller and MetadataLoader > > > > performance. > > > > * Security is enhanced with a new allowlist connector client > > > > configuration override policy, while thread-safety improvements to > > > > RecordHeader eliminate concurrency risks. > > > > * Additional highlights include external schema support in > > > > JsonConverter for reduced message sizes, dynamic configuration for > > > > remote log manager thread pools, and rack ID exposure in the Admin > API > > > > for consumer and share group members. > > > > > > > > Release notes for the 4.2.0 release: > > > > > > > https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/kafka/4.2.0-rc4/RELEASE_NOTES.html > > > > > > > > *** Please download, test and vote by Friday, February 13, 5pm UTC > > > > > > > > Kafka's KEYS file containing PGP keys we use to sign the release: > > > > https://kafka.apache.org/KEYS > > > > > > > > * Release artifacts to be voted upon (source and binary): > > > > https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/kafka/4.2.0-rc4/ > > > > > > > > * Docker release artifacts to be voted upon: > > > > apache/kafka:4.2.0-rc4 > > > > apache/kafka-native:4.2.0-rc4 > > > > > > > > * Maven artifacts to be voted upon: > > > > > https://repository.apache.org/content/groups/staging/org/apache/kafka/ > > > > > > > > * Javadoc: > > > > > > > https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/kafka/4.2.0-rc4/javadoc/index.html > > > > > > > > * Tag to be voted upon (off 4.2 branch) is the 4.2.0 tag: > > > > https://github.com/apache/kafka/releases/tag/4.2.0-rc4 > > > > > > > > * Documentation: > > > > * Protocol: > > > > https://github.com/apache/kafka-site/pull/785 > > > > > > > > * Successful CI builds for the 4.2 branch: > > > > Unit/integration tests: > > > > https://github.com/apache/kafka/actions/runs/21860071096 > > > > System tests: I have started the tests in my environment and will > share > > > > test results in the next ~24 hours. > > > > > > > > * Successful Docker Image Github Actions Pipeline for 4.2 branch: > > > > Docker Build Test Pipeline (JVM): > > > > https://github.com/apache/kafka/actions/runs/21861574007 > > > > Docker Build Test Pipeline (Native): > > > > https://github.com/apache/kafka/actions/runs/21861786570 > > > > > > > > Thanks, > > > > Christo > > > > > > >
