Connect Admin (VS Code Extension)

Connect Admin is a VS Code extension to manage Apache Kafka Connect clusters and Confluent Schema Registry instances directly from the editor.

This extension now uses the Kafka Credential Manager extension for secure connection and credential management.

Prerequisites

Required Extension: This extension depends on the Kafka Credential Manager extension for managing connections and credentials securely. Please install it from the VS Code marketplace or it will be automatically installed when you install this extension.

Features (implemented)

• Connection Management

  • Integrates with the Kafka Credential Manager extension for secure connection storage
  • Supports Kafka Connect (connect) and Schema Registry (schema-registry) connections
  • Authentication modes: none, basic (username+password), and bearer token
  • Credentials are securely stored using VS Code's built-in SecretStorage API

• Explorer tree view

  • A custom explorer view under the Explorer panel named "Connect Admin" showing registered connections from Credential Manager
  • Displays connectors, subjects and schema versions
  • Right-click context menu actions are available per-item (copy/paste schema, connector actions)

• Commands (typical / useful ones implemented)

  • connectAdmin.refreshConnections — refresh the Connections tree
  • connectAdmin.connector.pause / connectAdmin.connector.resume — pause or resume a connector
  • connectAdmin.connector.showOffsets — open the connector offsets/consumer-position view
  • connectAdmin.copySchema / connectAdmin.pasteSchema / connectAdmin.pasteSchemaToConnection — copy a schema (including multi-version payloads) and paste it into another registry or connection
  • connectAdmin.copySchemaVersion — copy a single schema version
  • connectAdmin.copySchemaVersion / connectAdmin.pasteSchemaVersion (hooks present for version-level copy/paste)
  • connectAdmin.openConnector / connectAdmin.openSchemaVersion — open connector details or a specific schema version in a webview

Getting Started

1. Install the Kafka Credential Manager extension (if not already installed):

   • Open VS Code Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
   • Run Extensions: Install Extensions
   • Search for "Kafka Credential Manager" by IuliusHutuleac
   • Install the extension

2. Add connections using the Credential Manager:

   • Click the "Connections" button in the status bar (bottom of VS Code)
   • Or use Command Palette: Credential Manager: Open Connection Manager
   • Add your Kafka Connect and Schema Registry connections with proper authentication

3. Explore your connections:

   • Open the "Connect Admin" view in the Explorer sidebar
   • Expand your connections to see connectors, subjects, and schema versions
   • Right-click on items for available actions

Key Features

• Schema copy & paste

  • Copy a schema subject (fetches all available versions) into an in-memory clipboard used by the extension.
  • Paste supports multi-version replay (registers versions in ascending order) and single-schema payloads.
  • Paste includes best-effort verification: attempts to fetch the registered schema, checks by id when returned, and performs diagnostic lookups when verification fails.
  • Robust handling of different schema payload shapes (various JSON payloads, schema vs schemaString, nested objects, Avro/JSON payloads).

• Connector management

  • Pause and resume connectors via Connect REST API.
  • Open connector view to inspect and edit connector offsets (OffsetEditor/ConnectorView webviews).

• Integration with Credential Manager

  • Secure credential storage using VS Code's built-in SecretStorage API
  • Centralized connection management shared across Kafka extensions
  • Support for multiple authentication types

• UI and developer convenience

  • Simple status bar item for quick access to the Connection Manager.
  • Extension output channel logging for diagnostic messages.

• Clients and integration

  • HTTP clients for Connect and Schema Registry interactions (including an OfficialSchemaRegistryClient wrapper).
  • Docker Compose configuration included for bringing up an integration stack (Kafka, Connect, Schema Registry) used by integration tests.

Development

1. Install dependencies:

npm install

2. Build the extension:

npm run build

3. Run unit tests:

npm test

4. Run (development):
   • Open this folder in VS Code and run the "Run Extension" launch configuration in the Debug panel. The extension will activate and the Connect Admin tree view will appear in Explorer.

Migration from Previous Versions

If you were using a previous version of this extension that had built-in connection management:

1. Your existing connections will no longer be visible in this extension
2. Install the Kafka Credential Manager extension as described above
3. Re-create your connections using the Credential Manager
4. Your connection data from the old version was stored in VS Code settings and is still there, but this extension no longer reads from those locations

Usage Tips

• Adding connections

  • Use the status bar "Connections" button for quick access to the Credential Manager
  • Or use Command Palette: Credential Manager: Open Connection Manager
  • Provide a name, URL, type (Connect or Schema Registry) and optional auth settings

• Working with schemas

  • Right-click on a schema subject to copy all versions
  • Right-click on a specific version to copy just that version
  • Paste schemas to other subjects or connections using the context menu

• Managing connectors

  • Click on a connector to view its details and configuration
  • Use context menu options to pause/resume connectors
  • View and edit connector offsets when needed

Troubleshooting

• "No connections found": Make sure the Credential Manager extension is installed and you've added connections through it

• Authentication errors: Verify your credentials in the Credential Manager

• Extension not loading: Check the Output panel (View → Output → Connect Admin) for error messages

• Managing connectors

  • Expand a connect connection in the Connect Admin view and choose a connector. Right-click to pause/resume or open offsets.

• Copying & pasting schemas

  • Right-click a schema subject and choose Copy Schema to copy all versions into the extension clipboard.
  • Navigate to another Schema Registry connection (or a subject under a connection) and choose Paste Schema (or Paste Schema to Connection) to register the schema(s) there.
  • When pasting, you can change the target subject name. The extension will attempt verification and will log diagnostics to the output channel.

Configuration & Security

This extension now uses the Credential Manager extension for secure connection storage.

• Connection metadata (name, URL, type, auth type, username) is stored in VS Code workspace settings under credentialManager.connections
• Secrets (passwords, bearer tokens) are securely stored using VS Code's encrypted SecretStorage API at credentialManager.secret.{connectionId}
• No plain text passwords are stored in any configuration files
• Legacy migration: Old connections stored in connectAdmin.connections.v1 are no longer supported - please recreate connections using the Credential Manager

For detailed information about the Credential Manager, see its extension documentation.

Docker Compose (integration test environment)

This repository includes docker-compose.yml which starts a small local testing stack:

• Zookeeper
• Kafka broker
• Kafka Connect (REST port 8083)
• Two Schema Registry instances (host ports 8081 and 8082)
• An init container that registers a sample connector using docker/connector.json

Start the stack (from the project root):

docker compose up --build

Notes: When running tests from WSL or using Docker Desktop on Windows, use localhost:8083 for the Connect REST API.

Testing

• Unit tests: Jest is configured. Run npm test to run unit tests (the test harness runs in-band for easier debugging).

Development scripts

• npm run build — compile TypeScript (tsc -p ./)
• npm run watch — compile in watch mode
• npm test — run Jest tests
• npm run lint — eslint (if configured)

Logging & Diagnostics

• The extension writes diagnostic messages to an Output Channel (visible in VS Code under "Output -> Connect Admin"), useful for troubleshooting copy/paste and registry interactions.

Limitations & Next steps

• Some UI flows and webview polish can be improved (form validation, richer connector inspector, pagination for large subject lists).
• Schema transfer tries to be robust but some registry implementations may behave differently; diagnostics are written to the output channel for troubleshooting.

Contributing

Please open issues or PRs with bug reports, feature requests, or improvements. Follow the existing code style and include tests for new behavior.

License

This repository does not contain a license file. Please verify licensing with the project owner before publishing.