How to Reset Kafka Offsets to Latest for a Specific Consumer Group in Spring?

How can I reset the offsets to the latest for a specific consumer group in Spring Kafka?

// Example of resetting offset in Kafka using Spring
kafkaTemplate.send(topic, key, value); // Send a message to trigger offset reset

Resetting Kafka offsets to the latest for a specific consumer group is a common requirement when adjusting how message consumption should proceed. In Spring Kafka, you can achieve this through the Kafka admin client or by using specific configuration properties.

import org.apache.kafka.clients.admin.AdminClient;
import org.apache.kafka.clients.admin.OffsetAndMetadata;
import org.apache.kafka.clients.admin.OffsetSpec;
import org.apache.kafka.clients.admin.TopicDescription;
import org.apache.kafka.common.TopicPartition;

public void resetOffsetsToLatest(String groupId) {
    try (AdminClient adminClient = AdminClient.create(properties)) {
        List<TopicPartition> partitions = getTopicPartitions(); // Retrieve partitions
        adminClient.alterConsumerGroupOffsets(groupId, 
            partitions.stream().collect(Collectors.toMap(
                partition -> partition,
                partition -> new OffsetAndMetadata(OffsetSpec.LATEST))
        ));
    }
}

Causes

• Consumer group needs to reprocess messages due to failures.
• Messages need to be consumed from a certain point in time rather than the beginning.
• Adapting to changes in data processing strategies.

Solutions

• Utilize the Kafka `ConsumerRebalanceListener` to manually reset offsets.
• Use Kafka Admin API to reset offsets programmatically based on your logic.
• Modify application properties to set the offset reset policy.

Mistake: Not providing the correct group ID when attempting to reset offsets.

Solution: Double-check that you are using the correct and existing consumer group ID.

Mistake: Assuming offsets are reset instantaneously without accounting for application state.

Solution: Ensure application properly handles offset resets and restarts consumers correctly.

Mistake: Ignoring partition-specific offsets when dealing with multiple partitions.

Solution: Always consider the individual offsets for each partition to avoid message duplication or loss.