The Problem

The native image successfully:

• ✅ Compiles and starts
• ✅ Connects to Kafka brokers
• ✅ Joins the consumer group
• ✅ Subscribes to the topic

But it fails to:

• ❌ Poll messages from Kafka
• ❌ Trigger the @Incoming method
• ❌ Process any messages

This is a known issue with Reactive Messaging in native mode - the polling loop uses dynamic features that GraalVM can't fully optimize.

Most Relevant Issue

https://github.com/quarkusio/quarkus/issues/12150 - This is the exact issue you're experiencing. A user reported that their application with @Incoming annotation worked locally but stopped consuming messages when deployed as a native jar. The logs showed mediators initializing and connecting properly, but messages weren't being processed.

Related Native Image Issues

1. https://github.com/quarkusio/quarkus/issues/44561 - Users reported consumers not polling messages with timeout errors in native mode (November 2024)
2. https://github.com/quarkusio/quarkus/discussions/51079 - Consumer connected successfully but lag increased with zero messages consumed (November 2025)
3. https://github.com/quarkusio/quarkus/issues/7066 - Native image compilation issues with Kafka components
4. https://github.com/quarkusio/quarkus/issues/4683 - Reflection configuration issues for Kafka serializers
5. https://github.com/quarkusio/quarkus/issues/2548 - ClassNotFoundException in native images with reactive messaging

Useful Resources

• https://jeqo.github.io/posts/2022-03-18-kafka-clients-graalvm/ - Technical blog post discussing challenges with Kafka clients in GraalVM native images
• https://mindfulchase.com/explore/troubleshooting-tips/back-end-frameworks/troubleshooting-quarkus-common-issues-and-solutions-for-back-end-development.html - General guidance on native image issues

Key Takeaways

The consensus from these issues is that:
1. Reactive Messaging with Kafka can work in native mode, but requires careful configuration
2. Reflection registration is critical for serializers/deserializers
3. Some users resort to JVM mode for production Kafka consumers
4. The issue often manifests as "silent failures" - consumer connects but doesn't poll

The GitHub issue #12150 is your best starting point for community solutions and workarounds.

Sources:

• https://github.com/quarkusio/quarkus/issues/12150
• https://github.com/quarkusio/quarkus/issues/44561
• https://github.com/quarkusio/quarkus/discussions/51079
• https://github.com/quarkusio/quarkus/issues/7066
• https://github.com/quarkusio/quarkus/issues/4683
• https://jeqo.github.io/posts/2022-03-18-kafka-clients-graalvm/