Generate sample data with Docker

Use a Docker-based producer to generate sample data in Aiven for Apache Kafka®. It creates a customizable stream of messages for testing and development.

This example uses Docker images.

Prerequisites

Set up the fake data producer

Use the Dockerized fake data producer for Aiven for Apache Kafka® to stream sample messages into a topic.

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/aiven/fake-data-producer-for-apache-kafka-docker

Copy the sample config file to create your own version:
```
cp conf/env.conf.sample conf/env.conf
```
Open the conf/env.conf file and update the following values:
- my_project_name: Aiven project name
- my_kafka_service_name: Apache Kafka service name
- my_topic_name: Topic name to receive messages
- my_aiven_email: Aiven login email
- my_aiven_token: Personal access token

Generate a personal access token in the Aiven Console or use the Aiven CLI:

avn user access-token create                            \
  --description "Token used by fake data generator"     \
  --max-age-seconds 3600                                \
  --json | jq -r '.[].full_token'

tip

The command uses jq to extract the token from the Aiven CLI output. If jq is not installed, remove the | jq -r '.[].full_token' part and copy the token manually from the JSON output.

Build the Docker image:
```
docker build -t fake-data-producer-for-apache-kafka-docker .
```
tip
Rebuild the Docker image after editing the conf/env.conf file.

Start the producer:

docker run fake-data-producer-for-apache-kafka-docker

Once the Docker image is running, verify that the topic is receiving messages:
- In the Aiven Console, go to your Apache Kafka service and click Topics.
- Or use a command-line tool such as kcat to consume messages from the topic.

Stream sample data from the Aiven Console

Prerequisites​

Set up the fake data producer​

Prerequisites

Set up the fake data producer