---
title: "Before you begin"
url: "https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-destinations/configuring-destinations-kafka-c/configuring-destinations-kafka-c-prer-decl/"
last_modified: "2026-08-02T11:39:11+02:00"
---

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/llms.txt).

# Before you begin

This section describes the prerequisites and restrictions for using the `kafka-c()` destination, and important information about the declaration of the destination.

## Prerequisites and restrictions

- The `kafka-c()` destination uses the [librdkafka client library](https://github.com/confluentinc/librdkafka).
- If you used the Java implementation before, see [Shifting from Java implementation to C implementation](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-destinations/configuring-destinations-kafka-c/destination-kafka-c-from-java/index.md).
- The AxoSyslog `kafka-c()` destination supports all properties of the official Kafka producer. For details, see [the librdkafka documentation](https://github.com/edenhill/librdkafka/blob/master/CONFIGURATION.md).
- For the list of options, see [Options of the kafka() destination’s C implementation](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-destinations/configuring-destinations-kafka-c/reference-destination-kafka-c/index.md).

## Declaration:

```shell
kafka-c(
    bootstrap-servers("1.2.3.4:9092,192.168.0.2:9092")
    topic("MYTOPIC")
);
```

## Example: Sending log data to Apache Kafka

The following example defines a `kafka-c` destination, using only the required options.

```shell
destination d_kafka {
  kafka-c(
    bootstrap-servers("1.2.3.4:9092,192.168.0.2:9092")
    topic("MYTOPIC")
  );
};
```

You can also use the `kafka()` name, which is an SCL alias for `kafka-c()`. In that case, your configuration must contain `@include "scl.conf"`. For details, see [kafka: Publish messages to Apache Kafka](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-destinations/configuring-destinations-kafka/index.md).

Last modified August 2, 2026: [Adds required modules/packages to install and destination pages (553d6d9b)](https://github.com/axoflow/axosyslog-core-docs/commit/553d6d9be9a0e3ef444e62cc5351dd2ac764f01d)