[id='proc-checking-topic-messages-{context}']
= Checking topic messages

[role="_abstract"]
Track the flow of messages for a specific topic from the *Messages* tab.
The *Messages* tab presents a chronological list of messages for a topic.

.Procedure

. Log in to the Kafka cluster in the StreamsHub Console, then click *Topics*.
. From the *Topics* page, click the name of the topic you want to inspect.
. Check the information on the *Messages* tab.
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For each message, you can view its timestamp (in UTC), offset, key, and value.
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Click on a message to view the full message details.
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Click the *Manage columns* icon (represented as two columns) to choose the information to display.

. Click the search dropdown and select the advanced search options to refine your search.
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Choose to display the latest messages or messages from a specified time or offset. 
You can display messages for all partitions or a specified partition.
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When you are done, you can click the CSV icon (represented as a CSV file) to download the information on the returned messages. 

.Refining your search

In this example, search terms, and message, retrieval, and partition options are combined:

* `messages=timestamp:2024-03-01T00:00:00Z retrieve=50 partition=1 Error on page load where=value`

The filter searches for the text "Error on page load" in partition 1 as a message value, starting from March 1, 2024, and retrieves up to 50 messages.

Search terms:: Enter search terms as text (_has the words_) to find specific matches and define _where_ in a message to look for the term. You can search anywhere in the message or narrow the search to the key, header, or value.  
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For example:
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* `messages=latest retrieve=100 642-26-1594 where=key`
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This example searches the latest 100 messages on message key `642-26-1594`. 

Message options:: Set the starting point for returning messages.
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* *Latest messages* to start from the latest message.
** `messages=latest`
* *From offset* to start from an offset in a partition. In some cases, you may want to specify an offset without a partition. 
However, the most common scenario is to search by offset within a specific partition.
** `messages=offset:5600253 partition=0` 
* *From Unix timestamp* to start from a time and date in Unix format. 
** `messages=epoch:1`
* *From timestamp* to start from an exact time and date in ISO 8601 format.  
** `messages=timestamp:2024-03-14T00:00:00Z`

Retrieval options:: Set a retrieval option.
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* *Number of messages* to return a specified number of messages.
** `messages=latest retrieve=50`
* *Continuously* to return the latest messages in real-time. Click the pause button (represented by two vertical lines) to pause the refresh. Unpause to continue the refresh.
** `retrieve=continuously`

Partition options:: Choose to run a search against all partitions or a specific partition.
