0352 — Renaming a topic is its own verb, not a NewName field on the alter patch
Edit this pagePosted: 2026-09-08
Context. AlterTopic and RenameTopic both write the topic row, so folding a NewName field into AlterConfig was the obvious consolidation. But the rename uses the name as its lookup key while alter treats it as fixed identity, and every other table is addressed by id — a rename is metadata-only, a single row update. Dated approximately; built across July 2026.
Decision. RenameTopic is a separate verb. Rejected: a NewName field on AlterConfig — it would mix identity-change with config-change in one call; one concept gets one named home.
Consequences. Each verb keeps a single semantic: alter patches settings, rename changes identity. The CLI mirrors the split (topic alter vs topic rename).