Exporting from Confluent Schema Registry to Apicurio Registry

If you’re using Confluent Schema Registry and looking to migrate your schemas to Apicurio Registry, you’re in luck! The Confluent Export Tool provides a simple way to export all schemas from a Confluent Schema Registry in a format that is directly importable into Apicurio Registry.

In this blog post, we’ll walk through what the tool does, how to use it, and some key considerations for a smooth migration.

What is the Confluent Export Tool?

The Confluent Export Tool is a utility designed to extract all content from a Confluent Schema Registry instance and save it into a format that is compatible with Apicurio Registry. The exported data can then be seamlessly imported into Apicurio using its import capabilities.

Key Features:

Full Export: Captures all schemas from Confluent Schema Registry.
Apicurio Registry Compatible Format: Structures data to match Apicurio Registry’s import requirements.
Easy to Use: A simple command-line tool requiring minimal setup.

How to Use the Confluent Export Tool

Prerequisites

Before using the tool, ensure you have:

A running Confluent Schema Registry instance.
Java installed (Java 17 or later recommended).
Network access to the Confluent Schema Registry API.

Steps to Export Data

Clone the Apicurio Registry Repository:

git clone https://github.com/Apicurio/apicurio-registry.git
cd apicurio-registry

Build the Tool: Build the project using Maven:

mvn clean package -DskipTests  -pl utils/exportConfluent -am

Run the Export Tool:
```
cd utils/exportConfluent
java -jar target/apicurio-registry-utils-exportConfluent-*-runner.jar <schema-registry-url>
```
Replace <schema-registry-url> with the actual URL of your Confluent Schema Registry (e.g., http://localhost:8081).

When complete, a new file called confluent-schema-registry-export.zip will be created in the current working directory.

Importing into Apicurio Registry

Once you have the exported ZIP file, you can import it into Apicurio Registry using the Apicurio Import API:

curl -X POST "http://<registry-url>/apis/registry/v3/admin/import" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" -H "Content-Type: application/zip" \
  --data-binary @confluent-schema-registry-export.zip

Alternatively, you could log into the Apicurio Registry UI and import the file using the “Import from .ZIP” option found on the Explore tab.

Considerations and Best Practices

Backup Your Data: Before migration, always make a backup of your Confluent Schema Registry.
Confluent Authentication: If your Confluent Schema Registry requires authentication, configure appropriate credentials for the export tool.
Apicurio Authentication: If your Apicurio Registry instance requires authentication, configure appropriate credentials in the curl command, or simply use the Registry UI.

Conclusion

The Confluent Export Tool simplifies migration from Confluent Schema Registry to Apicurio Registry, making it easier for organizations to adopt Apicurio’s open-source schema management platform. By following the steps above, you can efficiently transition your schemas and continue managing them in Apicurio.

For more details, check out the official GitHub repository and start your migration today!