Allow users to hide / whitelist topics (focus mode for large clusters) #1555
Description
Issue submitter TODO list
- I've searched for an already existing issues here
- I'm running a supported version of the application which is listed here and the feature is not present there
Is your proposal related to a problem?
In many real-world Kafka deployments:
A single cluster may contain hundreds or thousands of topics.
Individual users or service owners typically only care about a small set of topics.
Scrolling through the full topic list is slow, noisy, and error-prone.
Existing filtering (search bar) helps temporarily, but cannot permanently hide irrelevant topics.
The result: Kafka-UI becomes cluttered and difficult to use for daily debugging / monitoring.
This is one of the most common UX issues for Kafka users in large organizations.
Describe the feature you're interested in
Proposed Solution: Topic Whitelist / Favorites
Add UI support to let users configure which topics are shown.
✔ Option A (Frontend only, simplest):
Store topic whitelist in browser localStorage:
Add “Manage My Topics” panel
Allow selecting from all topics
Save selected list in localStorage
When whitelist is non-empty → UI only displays these topics
This requires no backend changes, works well for personal use, and is easiest to implement.
✔ Option B (Full feature, recommended):
Store whitelist on server (via API):
Add 2 backend endpoints:
GET /api/ui/topic-whitelist
PUT /api/ui/topic-whitelist
Backend persists configuration into a JSON/YAML file (e.g. under /etc/kafkaui/)
Frontend reads & updates this list
UI hides all topics that are not in the whitelist
This enables:
shared configuration for teams
consistent topic visibility across browsers
Expected UI Behavior
Add a button on Topics page:
“My Topics / Visibility Settings”
Allow selecting / deselecting topics in a modal dialog
Store whitelist = [ "topic1", "topic2", ... ]
When whitelist is not empty:
Topic list shows only topics in whitelist
Search / filters apply within whitelist
Provide a “Show all topics temporarily” toggle
Benefits
Huge UX improvement for large Kafka clusters
Makes Kafka-UI practical for daily use in enterprise environments
Reduces noise and cognitive load
Users can focus on the topics they actually own
Zero risk to cluster operations
Works seamlessly with existing Kafka-UI architecture
Describe alternatives you've considered
Search bar → temporary, not persistent
Topic prefix filtering → not flexible enough
Forking and customizing Kafka-UI → maintenance burden
Hence, a first-class feature is needed.
Version you're running
v1.4.2
Additional context
Please consider adding a Topic Visibility / Topic Whitelist feature to Kafka-UI.
I am willing to provide feedback, test builds, or help with design if needed.
Thank you for your great work on Kafka-UI!