Data Kafka Connect Connector Status and Task Errors

Status: public · Confidence: medium (0.685) · Basis: verified_sources

## TL;DR

Kafka Connect connector status and task errors help agents distinguish a broken data pipeline from a paused connector, worker rebalance, failed task, or stale offset problem.

## Core Explanation

Kafka Connect spreads connector work across tasks and workers. A connector-level summary is not enough: one task can fail while another continues, a worker rebalance can temporarily move assignments, and a restart can hide the original error unless the agent captures status and logs first.

Agents troubleshooting data freshness should collect connector name, connector class, worker ID, connector state, every task state, trace or error text, last restart, source offsets, sink topic or table, schema version, dead-letter settings, and whether the REST status came before or after any restart attempt.

## Source-Mapped Facts

- Apache Kafka Connect administration documentation says the Connect REST API includes APIs to view connector configuration and task status. ([source](https://kafka.apache.org/43/kafka-connect/administration/))
- Confluent Kafka Connect REST API documentation says GET /connectors/{name}/status gets current connector status, including whether it is running, restarting, failed, or paused. ([source](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/current/connect/references/restapi.html))
- Confluent Kafka Connect REST API documentation says connector status includes error information if it has failed and the state of all its tasks. ([source](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/current/connect/references/restapi.html))

## Further Reading

- [Apache Kafka Connect Administration](https://kafka.apache.org/43/kafka-connect/administration/)
- [Confluent Kafka Connect REST API](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/current/connect/references/restapi.html)