# Redpanda
[](https://redpanda.com/documentation)
[](https://redpanda.com/slack)
[](https://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=redpandadata)
[](https://university.redpanda.com/)
<p align="center">
<a href="https://www.redpanda.com/"><img src="docs/icon-redpanda.svg" alt="redpanda icon" width="400"></a>
</p>
Redpanda is the most complete, Apache Kafka®-compatible streaming data platform, designed from the ground up to be lighter, faster, and simpler to operate. Free from ZooKeeper™ and JVMs, it prioritizes an end-to-end developer experience with a huge ecosystem of connectors, configurable tiered storage, and more.
# Table of Contents
- [Get started](#get-started)
- [Prebuilt packages](#prebuilt-packages)
- [Debian/Ubuntu](#debianubuntu)
- [Fedora/RedHat/Amazon Linux](#fedoraredhatamazon-linux)
- [macOS](#macos)
- [rpk binaries](#rpk-binaries)
- [Other Linux environments](#other-linux-environments)
- [Build manually](#build-manually)
- [Release candidate builds](#release-candidate-builds)
- [RC releases on Debian/Ubuntu](#rc-releases-on-debianubuntu)
- [RC releases on Fedora/RedHat/Amazon Linux](#rc-releases-on-fedoraredhatamazon-linux)
- [RC releases on Docker](#rc-releases-on-docker)
- [Community](#community)
- [Resources](#resources)
# Get started
## Prebuilt packages
Redpanda Data recommends using the following free, prebuilt stable releases.
### Debian/Ubuntu
```
curl -1sLf \
'https://linux.pkg.redpanda.com/setup-redpanda.deb.sh' \
| sudo -E bash
sudo apt-get install redpanda
```
### Fedora/RedHat/Amazon Linux
```
curl -1sLf \
'https://linux.pkg.redpanda.com/setup-redpanda.rpm.sh' \
| sudo -E bash
sudo yum install redpanda
```
### macOS
Docker is required on MacOS.
```
brew install redpanda-data/tap/redpanda && rpk container start
```
### rpk binaries
Prebuilt `rpk` binaries for Linux, macOS and Windows (amd64 and arm64) are
published at `https://rpk.redpanda.com/<release>/rpk-<os>-<arch>.zip`, where
`<release>` is a version tag such as `v26.2.4`, or `latest` for the newest
stable release.
```
# latest stable release
curl -LO https://rpk.redpanda.com/latest/rpk-linux-amd64.zip
curl -LO https://rpk.redpanda.com/latest/rpk-darwin-arm64.zip
curl -LO https://rpk.redpanda.com/latest/rpk-windows-amd64.zip
# a specific release
curl -LO https://rpk.redpanda.com/v26.2.4/rpk-linux-arm64.zip
# SHA256 checksums (note: no `v` in the file name)
curl -LO https://rpk.redpanda.com/v26.2.4/rpk_26.2.4_checksums.txt
# SHA256 checksums for latest, without the version in the file name
curl -LO https://rpk.redpanda.com/latest/rpk_checksums.txt
```
Available files per release: `rpk-linux-amd64.zip`, `rpk-linux-arm64.zip`,
`rpk-darwin-amd64.zip`, `rpk-darwin-arm64.zip`, `rpk-windows-amd64.zip`,
`rpk-windows-arm64.zip` and `rpk_<version>_checksums.txt`. `latest/` also
carries the checksums as `rpk_checksums.txt`.
### Other Linux environments
To install from a `.tar.gz` archive, download the file and extract it into `/opt/redpanda`.
For amd64:
```
curl -LO https://vectorized-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/releases/redpanda/25.2.7/redpanda-25.2.7-amd64.tar.gz
```
For arm64:
```
curl -LO https://vectorized-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/releases/redpanda/25.2.7/redpanda-25.2.7-arm64.tar.gz
```
Replace `25.2.7` with the version you want to download. See [Release Notes](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/current/reference/releases/redpanda/) for available releases.
## Build Manually
Redpanda Data uses [Bazel](https://bazel.build/) as the build system. Bazel automatically manages most of the toolchains and third-party dependencies.
We rely on [bazelisk](https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazelisk) to get the right
version of bazel needed for the build. You can for example install it as follows
and add it to your $PATH (or use one of the other suggested ways from their
repo).
```
wget -O ~/bin/bazel https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazelisk/releases/latest/download/bazelisk-linux-amd64 && chmod +x ~/bin/bazel
```
There are a few system libraries and preinstalled tools our build assumes are
available locally. To bootstrap and build redpanda along with all its tests.
```bash
sudo ./bazel/install-deps.sh
bazel build --config=release //...
```
For more build configurations, see `.bazelrc`.
## Release candidate builds
Redpanda Data creates a release candidate (RC) build when we get close to a new release, and we publish it to make new features available for testing.
RC builds are not recommended for production use.
### RC releases on Debian/Ubuntu
```bash
curl -1sLf \
'https://linux.pkg.redpanda.com/setup-redpanda-unstable.deb.sh' \
| sudo -E bash
sudo apt-get install redpanda
```
### RC releases on Fedora/RedHat/Amazon Linux
```bash
curl -1sLf \
'https://linux.pkg.redpanda.com/setup-redpanda-unstable.rpm.sh' \
| sudo -E bash
sudo yum install redpanda
```
### RC releases on Docker
Example with `v25.1.1-rc1`:
```bash
docker pull docker.redpanda.com/redpandadata/redpanda-unstable:v25.1.1-rc1
```
# Community
- [Slack](https://redpanda.com/slack): This is the primary way the community interacts in real time. :)
- [Github Discussions](https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda/discussions): This is for longer, async, thoughtful discussions.
- [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda/issues): This is reserved only for actual issues. Please use the mailing list for discussions.
- [Code of Conduct](./CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md)
- [Contribute to the Code](./CONTRIBUTING.md)
# Resources
- [Redpanda Documentation](https://docs.redpanda.com/home/)
- [Redpanda Blog](https://www.redpanda.com/blog)
- [Upcoming Redpanda Events](https://www.redpanda.com/events)
- [Redpanda Support](https://support.redpanda.com/)
- [Redpanda University](https://university.redpanda.com/)