CORE-15436 delete topic enable by michael-redpanda · Pull Request #29365 · redpanda-data/redpanda

michael-redpanda · 2026-01-22T17:11:32Z

Add `delete_topic_enable` cluster configuration

This PR implements a new cluster configuration property delete_topic_enable that allows administrators to globally disable topic deletion via the Kafka DeleteTopics API, similar to Apache Kafka's delete.topic.enable broker configuration.

Motivation: Customers have requested the ability to prevent accidental topic deletion in production environments. While kafka_nodelete_topics protects specific topics, there was no way to globally disable topic deletion as a safety measure.

Implementation:

Added delete_topic_enable as a dynamic boolean cluster config (default: true for backward compatibility)
When set to false, all DeleteTopics requests are rejected with error code 73 (TOPIC_DELETION_DISABLED) for API v3+, or INVALID_REQUEST for older clients
The check happens before authorization, ensuring consistent behavior regardless of topic existence or permissions
This is a safety setting that cannot be overridden by superusers

Fixes #29347

Backports Required

none - not a bug fix

Release Notes

Features

Added delete_topic_enable cluster configuration property to globally enable or disable topic deletion via the Kafka API. When set to false, all topic deletion requests are rejected with error code TOPIC_DELETION_DISABLED (73). Default is true for backward compatibility. This setting works independently of kafka_nodelete_topics, which continues to protect specific topics regardless of this setting.

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR implements the delete_topic_enable cluster configuration property to provide a global safety mechanism for preventing topic deletion via the Kafka DeleteTopics API, similar to Apache Kafka's delete.topic.enable broker configuration.

Changes:

Added a new boolean cluster configuration property delete_topic_enable (default: true) that globally controls topic deletion
Implemented early rejection of DeleteTopics requests when the setting is disabled, returning TOPIC_DELETION_DISABLED (error 73) for API v3+ or INVALID_REQUEST for older API versions
Added comprehensive test coverage in both C++ unit tests and Python integration tests to verify the feature works correctly

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 5 out of 5 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
`src/v/config/configuration.h`	Declares the new `delete_topic_enable` property field in the configuration structure
`src/v/config/configuration.cc`	Defines the `delete_topic_enable` property with documentation, default value, and metadata
`src/v/kafka/server/server.cc`	Implements the early-rejection logic in the DeleteTopics handler to check the configuration and return appropriate error codes
`src/v/kafka/server/tests/delete_topics_test.cc`	Adds C++ unit tests verifying behavior with the setting disabled, for different API versions, and when re-enabled
`tests/rptest/tests/delete_topic_enable_test.py`	Adds Python integration tests covering disabled state, default behavior, interaction with `kafka_nodelete_topics`, and multiple topic deletion attempts

michael-redpanda · 2026-01-22T17:13:05Z

Force push:

Fixed python lint issue

michael-redpanda · 2026-01-22T17:41:26Z

Force push:

Fixed type checking in ducktape test

vbotbuildovich · 2026-01-22T19:20:13Z

CI test results

test results on build#79504

test_class	test_method	test_arguments	test_kind	job_url	test_status	passed	reason	test_history
Datalake3rdPartyMaintenanceTest	test_e2e_basic	{"catalog_type": "nessie", "cloud_storage_type": 1, "query_engine": "trino"}	integration	https://buildkite.com/redpanda/redpanda/builds/79504#019be6d5-4329-4905-93b5-58ca0b2ac95e	FLAKY	10/11	Test PASSES after retries.No significant increase in flaky rate(baseline=0.0000, p0=1.0000, reject_threshold=0.0100. adj_baseline=0.1000, p1=0.3487, trust_threshold=0.5000)	https://redpanda.metabaseapp.com/dashboard/87-tests?tab=142-dt-individual-test-history&test_class=Datalake3rdPartyMaintenanceTest&test_method=test_e2e_basic
PartitionForceReconfigurationTest	test_basic_reconfiguration	{"acks": 1, "controller_snapshots": false, "restart": true}	integration	https://buildkite.com/redpanda/redpanda/builds/79504#019be6d5-4331-413d-8f2a-b413c7bc8300	FLAKY	10/11	Test PASSES after retries.No significant increase in flaky rate(baseline=0.0000, p0=1.0000, reject_threshold=0.0100. adj_baseline=0.1000, p1=0.3487, trust_threshold=0.5000)	https://redpanda.metabaseapp.com/dashboard/87-tests?tab=142-dt-individual-test-history&test_class=PartitionForceReconfigurationTest&test_method=test_basic_reconfiguration

IoannisRP

lgtm

Add a new cluster configuration property `delete_topic_enable` that allows administrators to globally disable topic deletion via the Kafka DeleteTopics API, similar to Apache Kafka's `delete.topic.enable`. When set to false, all topic deletion requests are rejected with error code 73 (TOPIC_DELETION_DISABLED). This is a safety setting that cannot be overridden by superusers. Default is true for backward compatibility. Refs: CORE-15346 Signed-off-by: Michael Boquard <michael@redpanda.com>

Add topic_deletion_disabled to the license_required_feature enum and report it when delete_topic_enable is disabled. This allows license enforcement for clusters that have topic deletion disabled.

Check the delete_topic_enable config at the start of the DeleteTopics handler. When disabled, reject all deletion requests with error code 73 (TOPIC_DELETION_DISABLED) for API v3+, or INVALID_REQUEST for older clients that don't understand error 73. The check is placed before any validation or authorization to ensure fast rejection and consistent behavior regardless of topic existence or permissions. Also adds unit tests verifying: - Error code 73 returned for modern API versions - INVALID_REQUEST returned for old API versions (< v3) - Dynamic config toggle works correctly Refs: CORE-15346 Signed-off-by: Michael Boquard <michael@redpanda.com>

Add ducktape integration tests verifying the delete_topic_enable cluster configuration: - test_delete_topic_enable_disabled: Topics cannot be deleted when config is false, returns TOPIC_DELETION_DISABLED error - test_delete_topic_enable_default: Default value (true) allows deletion for backward compatibility - test_nodelete_topics_still_protected: kafka_nodelete_topics is still honored when delete_topic_enable is true - test_delete_topic_enable_multiple_topics: All topics rejected when config is false Refs: CORE-15346 Signed-off-by: Michael Boquard <michael@redpanda.com>

Add topic_deletion_disabled feature to the enterprise features license test. The feature is enabled when delete_topic_enable is set to false.

michael-redpanda · 2026-02-02T20:46:25Z

Force push:

Converted to enterprise property

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 9 out of 9 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Copilot · 2026-02-02T20:47:02Z

      1_MiB)
+  , delete_topic_enable(
+      *this,
+      false,


The delete_topic_enable property is initialized with false as the second parameter to the constructor, but according to the PR description and line 1768, the default value should be true for backward compatibility. The second parameter appears to be the enterprise license requirement flag (not the default value), and the actual default value true is passed as the last parameter on line 1768. However, passing false for the license requirement means this feature does NOT require an enterprise license to use. According to the enterprise feature tracking in feature_manager.cc (lines 281-283) and the test enterprise_features_license_test.py, this feature should require an enterprise license when DISABLED (when set to false). The license requirement flag should be true to indicate that disabling topic deletion is an enterprise feature.

Suggested change

false,

true,

the second parameter is the restricted value. All good here.

Copilot · 2026-02-02T20:47:03Z

+        const auto ec = (ctx.header().version >= api_version(3))
+                          ? error_code::topic_deletion_disabled
+                          : error_code::invalid_request;
+        const auto err_msg = "Topic deletion is disabled.";


The error message is constructed as a const auto and captured by value in the lambda expressions below. This results in the string literal being copied multiple times for each topic in the request. Consider using std::string_view or moving the message construction inside the response building logic to avoid unnecessary copies, or capture by reference if the lifetime is guaranteed.

this is just a const char* so copilot is wrong. However, why it a const char* instead of const char[] is... very c++...

I would argue that auto should be replaced with an explicit type (probs string_view as the comment says... but for very different reasons)

IoannisRP

looks good 👍

IoannisRP · 2026-02-05T19:14:22Z

+    report.set(
+      features::license_required_feature::topic_deletion_disabled,
+      !cfg.delete_topic_enable());


yeah, an extra inversion won't confuse anyone... it's fine 😅

(i see why it needs to be like that, but i had to call it out 🙄)

yeah... i struggled with this one for that reason...

IoannisRP · 2026-02-05T19:22:11Z

+        const auto ec = (ctx.header().version >= api_version(3))
+                          ? error_code::topic_deletion_disabled
+                          : error_code::invalid_request;
+        const auto err_msg = "Topic deletion is disabled.";


this is just a const char* so copilot is wrong. However, why it a const char* instead of const char[] is... very c++...

I would argue that auto should be replaced with an explicit type (probs string_view as the comment says... but for very different reasons)

IoannisRP · 2026-02-05T19:26:11Z

      1_MiB)
+  , delete_topic_enable(
+      *this,
+      false,


the second parameter is the restricted value. All good here.

michael-redpanda self-assigned this Jan 22, 2026

michael-redpanda requested a review from a team as a code owner January 22, 2026 17:11

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings January 22, 2026 17:11

github-actions Bot added the area/redpanda label Jan 22, 2026

michael-redpanda requested review from a team, dotnwat and pgellert and removed request for a team January 22, 2026 17:11

Copilot AI reviewed Jan 22, 2026

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michael-redpanda force-pushed the kafka/CORE-15436-delete-topic-enable branch from 5f865ff to 6d4a767 Compare January 22, 2026 17:12

michael-redpanda changed the title ~~ORE-15436 delete topic enable~~ CORE-15436 delete topic enable Jan 22, 2026

michael-redpanda force-pushed the kafka/CORE-15436-delete-topic-enable branch 2 times, most recently from 18f3bdc to d1bb385 Compare January 22, 2026 17:41

IoannisRP reviewed Jan 23, 2026

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michael-redpanda added 5 commits February 2, 2026 15:36

features: report topic_deletion_disabled enterprise feature

b6895c8

Add topic_deletion_disabled to the license_required_feature enum and report it when delete_topic_enable is disabled. This allows license enforcement for clusters that have topic deletion disabled.

tests: add topic_deletion_disabled to enterprise features test

b71750e

Add topic_deletion_disabled feature to the enterprise features license test. The feature is enabled when delete_topic_enable is set to false.

michael-redpanda force-pushed the kafka/CORE-15436-delete-topic-enable branch from d1bb385 to b71750e Compare February 2, 2026 20:45

michael-redpanda requested review from IoannisRP and Copilot February 2, 2026 20:46

Copilot AI reviewed Feb 2, 2026

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IoannisRP approved these changes Feb 5, 2026

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michael-redpanda merged commit 9adc7e2 into redpanda-data:dev Feb 5, 2026
21 of 29 checks passed

mfernest mentioned this pull request Mar 17, 2026

feat(DOC-1942): document delete_topic_enable enterprise feature redpanda-data/docs#1610

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michael-redpanda commented Jan 22, 2026

Add delete_topic_enable cluster configuration

Backports Required

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michael-redpanda commented Jan 22, 2026

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Add `delete_topic_enable` cluster configuration