# General

The Kafka consumer step requires definitions for setup, batch, fields, result fields, Kafka-specific options, and Offset Settings to stream messages.

![Kafka consumer dialog box](/files/kiA9i30s64cktyX96Swn)

Enter the following information in the **Step name** and **Transformation** fields:

| Option             | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Step name**      | Specifies the unique name of the step on the canvas. The **Step name** is set to Kafka consumer by default.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| **Transformation** | <p>Specify the child transformation to execute by performing any of the following actions:</p><ul><li>Entering its path</li><li>Clicking <strong>Browse</strong> to select an existing child transformation</li><li>Clicking <strong>New</strong> to create and save a new child transformation. See <a href="/pages/qonjHwx6NQRgYmm4GzLx">Create and save a new child transformation</a> for more details.</li></ul><p>The selected child transformation must start with the Get Records from Stream step.</p><p>If you select a transformation that has the same root path as the current transformation, the variable <em>${Internal.Entry.Current.Directory}</em> is automatically inserted in place of the common root path. For example, if the current transformation's path is <code>/home/admin/transformation.ktr</code> and you select a transformation in the directory <code>/home/admin/path/sub.ktr</code>, then the path is automatically converted to <code>*${Internal.Entry.Current.Directory}*/path/sub.ktr.</code></p><p>If you are working with a repository, you must specify the name of the transformation. If you are not working with a repository, you must specify the XML file name of the transformation.</p><p>Transformations previously specified by reference are automatically converted to be specified by the transformation name in the Pentaho Repository.</p> |


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