Buf

aid: buf
name: Buf
description: Buf is a modern developer platform for Protocol Buffers and gRPC, providing a CLI toolchain, schema registry,
  and streaming infrastructure. It replaces traditional protoc-based workflows with linting, breaking change detection, code
  generation, remote plugins, and the Buf Schema Registry (BSR) for centralized schema distribution. Buf also offers Bufstream,
  a Kafka-compatible streaming platform built on Protobuf. Used by enterprises including EA, Intel, IBM, OpenAI, and Okta.
type: Index
deliveryModel:
  model: open-core
  license: Apache-2.0
  open_source: true
  commercial: true
  callable_host: false
  label: Open core · an OSS project plus a commercial hosted product
  confidence: high
  source:
  - license
  - pricing
  generated: '2026-08-28'
  method: derived
accessModel:
  pricing: freemium
  onboarding: unknown
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Freemium
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - plans
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/buf.png
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/buf/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
created: '2026-03-25'
modified: '2026-04-21'
specificationVersion: '0.23'
tags:
- Code Generation
- gRPC
- Kafka
- Open-Source
- Protocol Buffers
- Schema Registry
- SDK
- Streaming
tags_raw:
- Code Generation
- gRPC
- Kafka
- Open Source
- Protocol Buffers
- Schema Registry
- SDKs
- Streaming
apis:
- aid: buf:buf-schema-registry
  name: Buf Schema Registry (BSR)
  description: The Buf Schema Registry (BSR) is a centralized repository for managing, distributing, and documenting Protobuf
    schemas. It provides dependency management, generated SDKs in multiple languages, remote plugins for code generation,
    and a Reflection API for runtime schema discovery.
  humanURL: https://buf.build/product/bsr
  tags:
  - Code Generation
  - Protocol Buffers
  - Schema Registry
  - SDK
  tags_raw:
  - Code Generation
  - Protocol Buffers
  - Schema Registry
  - SDKs
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://buf.build/docs/bsr/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://buf.build/docs/bsr/introduction/
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://buf.build/docs/bsr/authentication/
  - type: Reference
    url: https://buf.build/docs/reference/
- aid: buf:buf-cli
  name: Buf CLI
  description: The Buf CLI is a local Protobuf development toolchain providing linting, breaking change detection, code generation,
    formatting, dependency management, and schema push/pull to the Buf Schema Registry. It replaces protoc with a faster,
    more developer-friendly interface.
  humanURL: https://buf.build/product/cli
  tags:
  - CLI
  - Code Generation
  - Linting
  - Protocol Buffers
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://buf.build/docs/cli/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://buf.build/docs/tutorials/getting-started-with-buf-cli
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/bufbuild/buf
- aid: buf:bufstream
  name: Bufstream
  description: Bufstream is a Kafka-compatible streaming platform built on Protocol Buffers. It provides schema enforcement,
    Iceberg integration, and administrative tooling for managing Kafka-compatible streaming workloads with Protobuf as the
    data format.
  humanURL: https://buf.build/product/bufstream
  tags:
  - Kafka
  - Protocol Buffers
  - Streaming
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://buf.build/docs/bufstream/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://buf.build/docs/bufstream/introduction/
common:
- type: IssueTracker
  url: https://github.com/bufbuild/buf/issues
- type: Releases
  url: https://github.com/bufbuild/buf/releases
- type: License
  name: Apache-2.0
  url: https://github.com/bufbuild/buf/blob/main/LICENSE
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/buf-domain-security.yml
- type: LinkedIn
  url: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bufbuild
- type: Website
  url: https://buf.build
- type: Documentation
  url: https://buf.build/docs
- type: GitHubOrganization
  url: https://github.com/bufbuild
- type: GitHubRepository
  url: https://github.com/bufbuild/buf
- type: Blog
  url: https://buf.build/blog
- url: https://buf.build/blog/rss.xml
  type: BlogRSS
  description: Discovered RSS/Atom feed for https://buf.build/blog
- type: Pricing
  url: https://buf.build/pricing
- type: Signup
  url: https://buf.build/signup
- type: Login
  url: https://buf.build/login
- type: Contact
  url: https://buf.build/contact
- type: TermsOfService
  url: https://buf.build/legal/terms-of-use
- type: PrivacyPolicy
  url: https://buf.build/legal/privacy-policy
- type: Community
  url: https://buf.build/b/slack
- type: SchemaRegistry
  url: https://buf.build/registry
- name: Use Cases
  type: UseCases
  data:
  - name: Protobuf Schema Management
    url: https://buf.build/product/bsr
    features:
    - Centralized Schema Registry
    - Module Versioning
    - Dependency Management
    - Schema Discovery
    - API Documentation Generation
    - Breaking Change Prevention
  - name: Code Generation
    url: https://buf.build/docs/generate/
    features:
    - Multi-Language SDK Generation
    - Remote Plugin Execution
    - Go SDK Generation
    - Python SDK Generation
    - TypeScript/npm SDK Generation
    - Java/Maven SDK Generation
    - Rust/Cargo SDK Generation
    - Swift SDK Generation
    - .NET/NuGet SDK Generation
  - name: API Linting and Governance
    url: https://buf.build/docs/lint/
    features:
    - Protobuf Style Enforcement
    - Breaking Change Detection
    - CI/CD Integration
    - Custom Policy Rules
    - Field Deprecation Tracking
  - name: gRPC and ConnectRPC Development
    url: https://connectrpc.com/
    features:
    - gRPC Server Support
    - Connect Protocol
    - Browser-Compatible RPC
    - Mobile Client Support
    - Protovalidate Semantic Validation
- name: Features
  type: Features
  data:
  - name: buf lint
    url: https://buf.build/docs/lint/
    features:
    - Style Guide Enforcement
    - Default and Custom Rules
    - CI/CD Compatible
    - Per-File Ignore Rules
  - name: buf breaking
    url: https://buf.build/docs/breaking/
    features:
    - Breaking Change Detection
    - Wire Compatibility Checks
    - Source Compatibility Checks
    - Git-Based Comparison
  - name: buf generate
    url: https://buf.build/docs/generate/
    features:
    - Multi-Language Code Generation
    - Remote Plugin Support
    - Managed Mode
    - Template Configuration
  - name: buf push / buf dep
    url: https://buf.build/docs/bsr/
    features:
    - Schema Publishing
    - Dependency Resolution
    - Module Locking
    - Version Tagging
  - name: Reflection API
    url: https://buf.build/docs/bsr/reflection/
    features:
    - Runtime Schema Discovery
    - gRPC Server Reflection
    - Prototransform Integration
  - name: Language Server Protocol
    url: https://buf.build/docs/cli/
    features:
    - IDE Integration
    - Inline Linting
    - Autocomplete Support
    - VS Code Compatible
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com