Message handlers

Now that you have created your kafka consumer, you must create a handler for the messages this consumer receives. By default, a consumer is any callable. You can use an invokable class or a simple callback. Use the withHandler method to specify your handler:

$consumer = \Junges\Kafka\Facades\Kafka::consumer();

// Using callback:
$consumer->withHandler(function(\Junges\Kafka\Contracts\ConsumerMessage $message, \Junges\Kafka\Contracts\MessageConsumer $consumer) {
    // Handle your message here
});

Or, using an invokable class:

class Handler
{
    public function __invoke(\Junges\Kafka\Contracts\ConsumerMessage $message, \Junges\Kafka\Contracts\MessageConsumer $consumer) {
        // Handle your message here
    }
}

$consumer = \Junges\Kafka\Facades\Kafka::consumer()->withHandler(new Handler)

The ConsumerMessage contract gives you some handy methods to get the message properties:

  • getKey(): Returns the Kafka Message Key
  • getTopicName(): Returns the topic where the message was published
  • getPartition(): Returns the kafka partition where the message was published
  • getHeaders(): Returns the kafka message headers
  • getBody(): Returns the body of the message
  • getOffset(): Returns the offset where the message was published

When using manual commit mode (withAutoCommit(false)), your handlers receive a $consumer parameter that provides commit methods. This allows you to control exactly when message offsets are committed:

$consumer = \Junges\Kafka\Facades\Kafka::consumer()
    ->withAutoCommit(false)  // Enable manual commit mode
    ->withHandler(function(\Junges\Kafka\Contracts\ConsumerMessage $message, \Junges\Kafka\Contracts\MessageConsumer $consumer) {
        try {
            // Process your message
            $data = json_decode($message->getBody(), true);
            processBusinessLogic($data);
            
            // Commit the message after successful processing
            $consumer->commit($message);
            
        } catch (ValidationException $e) {
            // Don't commit invalid messages, send to DLQ or handle differently
            Log::warning('Invalid message format', ['message' => $message->getBody()]);
            
        } catch (Exception $e) {
            Log::error('Processing failed', ['error' => $e->getMessage()]);
            throw $e;
        }
    });

The $consumer parameter provides these commit methods:

Synchronous commits (blocking):

  • $consumer->commit() - Commit current assignment offsets
  • $consumer->commit($message) - Commit specific message offset

Asynchronous commits (non-blocking, better performance):

  • $consumer->commitAsync() - Commit current assignment offsets
  • $consumer->commitAsync($message) - Commit specific message offset

You can also create dedicated handler classes by implementing the Handler interface. Handler classes receive both the message and consumer parameters, just like closure handlers:

use Junges\Kafka\Contracts\Handler;
use Junges\Kafka\Contracts\ConsumerMessage;
use Junges\Kafka\Contracts\MessageConsumer;

class ProcessOrderHandler implements Handler
{
    public function __invoke(ConsumerMessage $message, MessageConsumer $consumer): void
    {
        try {
            $order = json_decode($message->getBody(), true);
            
            // Process the order
            $this->processOrder($order);
            
            // Manual commit after successful processing
            $consumer->commit($message);
            
        } catch (ValidationException $e) {
            // Don't commit invalid messages
            Log::warning('Invalid order data', ['message' => $message->getBody()]);
            
        } catch (Exception $e) {
            // Don't commit on processing errors
            Log::error('Order processing failed', ['error' => $e->getMessage()]);
            throw $e; // Re-throw to trigger DLQ handling if configured
        }
    }
    
    private function processOrder(array $order): void
    {
        // Your business logic here
    }
}

Using Handler classes with the consumer:

use Junges\Kafka\Facades\Kafka;

$consumer = Kafka::consumer(['orders'])
    ->withAutoCommit(false)  // Enable manual commit mode
    ->withHandler(new ProcessOrderHandler())
    ->build();

$consumer->consume();

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