diff --git a/test/kafka/api_sequence_test.go b/test/kafka/api_sequence_test.go
index dee9e4493..17eb12d5b 100644
--- a/test/kafka/api_sequence_test.go
+++ b/test/kafka/api_sequence_test.go
@@ -31,17 +31,18 @@ func TestKafkaGateway_APISequence(t *testing.T) {
 	handler := srv.GetHandler()
 	handler.AddTopicForTesting(topicName, 1)
 
-	// Create a writer and try to write a single message
+	// Create a writer and try to write a single message  
 	writer := &kafka.Writer{
 		Addr:         kafka.TCP(brokerAddr),
 		Topic:        topicName,
 		WriteTimeout: 15 * time.Second,
 		ReadTimeout:  15 * time.Second,
+		// Enable ALL kafka-go logging to see internal validation issues
 		Logger: kafka.LoggerFunc(func(msg string, args ...interface{}) {
-			fmt.Printf("KAFKA-GO WRITER LOG: "+msg+"\n", args...)
+			fmt.Printf("KAFKA-GO LOG: "+msg+"\n", args...)
 		}),
 		ErrorLogger: kafka.LoggerFunc(func(msg string, args ...interface{}) {
-			fmt.Printf("KAFKA-GO WRITER ERROR: "+msg+"\n", args...)
+			fmt.Printf("KAFKA-GO ERROR: "+msg+"\n", args...)
 		}),
 	}
 	defer writer.Close()
diff --git a/test/kafka/raw_protocol_test.go b/test/kafka/raw_protocol_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f4fde795a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/kafka/raw_protocol_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,267 @@
+package kafka
+
+import (
+	"encoding/binary"
+	"fmt"
+	"net"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/mq/kafka/gateway"
+)
+
+// TestRawProduceRequest tests our Produce API directly without kafka-go
+func TestRawProduceRequest(t *testing.T) {
+	// Start the gateway server
+	srv := gateway.NewServer(gateway.Options{
+		Listen:       ":0",
+		UseSeaweedMQ: false,
+	})
+
+	if err := srv.Start(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to start gateway: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer srv.Close()
+
+	brokerAddr := srv.Addr()
+	t.Logf("Gateway running on %s", brokerAddr)
+
+	// Pre-create topic
+	topicName := "raw-test-topic"
+	handler := srv.GetHandler()
+	handler.AddTopicForTesting(topicName, 1)
+
+	// Make a raw TCP connection
+	conn, err := net.Dial("tcp", brokerAddr)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to connect: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer conn.Close()
+
+	// Test 1: ApiVersions request (should work)
+	t.Log("=== Testing ApiVersions API ===")
+	if err := sendApiVersionsRequest(conn); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ApiVersions failed: %v", err)
+	}
+	t.Log("✅ ApiVersions API working")
+
+	// Test 2: Metadata request (should work)
+	t.Log("=== Testing Metadata API ===")
+	if err := sendMetadataRequest(conn); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Metadata failed: %v", err)
+	}
+	t.Log("✅ Metadata API working")
+
+	// Test 3: Raw Produce request (this is what we want to test)
+	t.Log("=== Testing Produce API (RAW) ===")
+	if err := sendProduceRequest(conn, topicName); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Produce failed: %v", err)
+	}
+	t.Log("✅ Produce API working!")
+}
+
+func sendApiVersionsRequest(conn net.Conn) error {
+	// Build ApiVersions request
+	correlationID := uint32(1)
+	
+	msgBody := make([]byte, 0, 32)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, 0, 18) // API key 18 (ApiVersions)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, 0, 0)  // API version 0
+	
+	// Correlation ID
+	correlationBytes := make([]byte, 4)
+	binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(correlationBytes, correlationID)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, correlationBytes...)
+	
+	// Client ID (empty)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, 0, 0) // empty client ID
+	
+	// Send request
+	sizeBytes := make([]byte, 4)
+	binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(sizeBytes, uint32(len(msgBody)))
+	request := append(sizeBytes, msgBody...)
+	
+	if _, err := conn.Write(request); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("write request: %w", err)
+	}
+	
+	// Read response size
+	var responseSizeBytes [4]byte
+	if _, err := conn.Read(responseSizeBytes[:]); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("read response size: %w", err)
+	}
+	
+	responseSize := binary.BigEndian.Uint32(responseSizeBytes[:])
+	
+	// Read response body
+	responseBody := make([]byte, responseSize)
+	if _, err := conn.Read(responseBody); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("read response body: %w", err)
+	}
+	
+	fmt.Printf("ApiVersions response: %d bytes\n", responseSize)
+	return nil
+}
+
+func sendMetadataRequest(conn net.Conn) error {
+	// Build Metadata request
+	correlationID := uint32(2)
+	
+	msgBody := make([]byte, 0, 32)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, 0, 3) // API key 3 (Metadata)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, 0, 1) // API version 1
+	
+	// Correlation ID
+	correlationBytes := make([]byte, 4)
+	binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(correlationBytes, correlationID)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, correlationBytes...)
+	
+	// Client ID (empty)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, 0, 0) // empty client ID
+	
+	// Topics array (empty = all topics)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF) // -1 = all topics
+	
+	// Send request
+	sizeBytes := make([]byte, 4)
+	binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(sizeBytes, uint32(len(msgBody)))
+	request := append(sizeBytes, msgBody...)
+	
+	if _, err := conn.Write(request); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("write request: %w", err)
+	}
+	
+	// Read response size
+	var responseSizeBytes [4]byte
+	if _, err := conn.Read(responseSizeBytes[:]); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("read response size: %w", err)
+	}
+	
+	responseSize := binary.BigEndian.Uint32(responseSizeBytes[:])
+	
+	// Read response body
+	responseBody := make([]byte, responseSize)
+	if _, err := conn.Read(responseBody); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("read response body: %w", err)
+	}
+	
+	fmt.Printf("Metadata response: %d bytes\n", responseSize)
+	return nil
+}
+
+func sendProduceRequest(conn net.Conn, topicName string) error {
+	// Build simple Produce request
+	correlationID := uint32(3)
+	
+	msgBody := make([]byte, 0, 128)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, 0, 0) // API key 0 (Produce)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, 0, 1) // API version 1
+	
+	// Correlation ID
+	correlationBytes := make([]byte, 4)
+	binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(correlationBytes, correlationID)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, correlationBytes...)
+	
+	// Client ID (empty)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, 0, 0) // empty client ID
+	
+	// Acks (-1 = all replicas)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, 0xFF, 0xFF) // -1
+	
+	// Timeout (5000ms)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, 0, 0, 0x13, 0x88) // 5000ms
+	
+	// Topics count (1)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, 0, 0, 0, 1)
+	
+	// Topic name
+	topicNameBytes := []byte(topicName)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, byte(len(topicNameBytes)>>8), byte(len(topicNameBytes)))
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, topicNameBytes...)
+	
+	// Partitions count (1)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, 0, 0, 0, 1)
+	
+	// Partition 0
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, 0, 0, 0, 0) // partition ID = 0
+	
+	// Record set (simple test record)
+	testRecord := buildSimpleRecordSet("test-key", "test-value")
+	recordSetSize := make([]byte, 4)
+	binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(recordSetSize, uint32(len(testRecord)))
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, recordSetSize...)
+	msgBody = append(msgBody, testRecord...)
+	
+	// Send request
+	sizeBytes := make([]byte, 4)
+	binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(sizeBytes, uint32(len(msgBody)))
+	request := append(sizeBytes, msgBody...)
+	
+	fmt.Printf("Sending Produce request: %d bytes\n", len(request))
+	
+	if _, err := conn.Write(request); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("write request: %w", err)
+	}
+	
+	// Read response size
+	var responseSizeBytes [4]byte
+	if _, err := conn.Read(responseSizeBytes[:]); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("read response size: %w", err)
+	}
+	
+	responseSize := binary.BigEndian.Uint32(responseSizeBytes[:])
+	
+	// Read response body
+	responseBody := make([]byte, responseSize)
+	if _, err := conn.Read(responseBody); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("read response body: %w", err)
+	}
+	
+	fmt.Printf("Produce response: %d bytes\n", responseSize)
+	
+	// Check if the response indicates success (simplified check)
+	if responseSize > 8 {
+		// Extract correlation ID and basic error code
+		correlationResp := binary.BigEndian.Uint32(responseBody[0:4])
+		if correlationResp == correlationID {
+			fmt.Printf("✅ Produce request correlation ID matches: %d\n", correlationResp)
+		}
+		
+		// Look for error codes in the response
+		if len(responseBody) > 20 {
+			// Skip to where partition error code should be (rough estimate)
+			errorCode := binary.BigEndian.Uint16(responseBody[16:18])
+			if errorCode == 0 {
+				fmt.Printf("✅ Produce request succeeded (error code: 0)\n")
+			} else {
+				fmt.Printf("⚠️ Produce request error code: %d\n", errorCode)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	
+	return nil
+}
+
+func buildSimpleRecordSet(key, value string) []byte {
+	// Build a very simple Kafka record batch (v0 format for simplicity)
+	record := make([]byte, 0, 64)
+	
+	// Record batch header (simplified v0 format)
+	record = append(record, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0) // base offset
+	record = append(record, 0, 0, 0, 30)             // batch length (estimated)
+	record = append(record, 0, 0, 0, 0)              // partition leader epoch
+	record = append(record, 0)                       // magic byte (v0)
+	record = append(record, 0, 0, 0, 0)              // CRC32 (simplified)
+	record = append(record, 0, 0)                    // attributes
+	record = append(record, 0, 0, 0, 1)              // record count = 1
+	
+	// Simple record: key_length + key + value_length + value
+	keyBytes := []byte(key)
+	valueBytes := []byte(value)
+	
+	record = append(record, byte(len(keyBytes)>>8), byte(len(keyBytes)))
+	record = append(record, keyBytes...)
+	record = append(record, byte(len(valueBytes)>>8), byte(len(valueBytes)))
+	record = append(record, valueBytes...)
+	
+	return record
+}
diff --git a/weed/mq/kafka/gateway/server.go b/weed/mq/kafka/gateway/server.go
index d19f182be..acebac1cd 100644
--- a/weed/mq/kafka/gateway/server.go
+++ b/weed/mq/kafka/gateway/server.go
@@ -132,19 +132,21 @@ func (s *Server) GetListenerAddr() (string, int) {
 	}
 	
 	addr := s.ln.Addr().String()
-	// Parse [::]:port or host:port format
+	// Parse [::]:port or host:port format - use exact match for kafka-go compatibility
 	if strings.HasPrefix(addr, "[::]:") {
 		port := strings.TrimPrefix(addr, "[::]:") 
 		if p, err := strconv.Atoi(port); err == nil {
-			return "localhost", p
+			// Revert to 127.0.0.1 for broader compatibility  
+			return "127.0.0.1", p
 		}
 	}
 	
 	// Handle host:port format
 	if host, port, err := net.SplitHostPort(addr); err == nil {
 		if p, err := strconv.Atoi(port); err == nil {
+			// Use 127.0.0.1 instead of localhost for better kafka-go compatibility
 			if host == "::" || host == "" {
-				host = "localhost"
+				host = "127.0.0.1"
 			}
 			return host, p
 		}
diff --git a/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/handler.go b/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/handler.go
index dfafb8dfe..6578743db 100644
--- a/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/handler.go
+++ b/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/handler.go
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ type Handler struct {
 
 	// Consumer group coordination
 	groupCoordinator *consumer.GroupCoordinator
-	
+
 	// Dynamic broker address for Metadata responses
 	brokerHost string
 	brokerPort int
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ func (h *Handler) GetLedger(topic string, partition int32) *offset.Ledger {
 	return h.ledgers[key]
 }
 
-// SetBrokerAddress updates the broker address used in Metadata responses  
+// SetBrokerAddress updates the broker address used in Metadata responses
 func (h *Handler) SetBrokerAddress(host string, port int) {
 	h.brokerHost = host
 	h.brokerPort = port
@@ -136,12 +136,13 @@ func (h *Handler) SetBrokerAddress(host string, port int) {
 
 // HandleConn processes a single client connection
 func (h *Handler) HandleConn(conn net.Conn) error {
+	connectionID := fmt.Sprintf("%s->%s", conn.RemoteAddr(), conn.LocalAddr())
 	defer func() {
-		fmt.Printf("DEBUG: Closing connection from %s\n", conn.RemoteAddr())
+		fmt.Printf("DEBUG: [%s] Connection closing\n", connectionID)
 		conn.Close()
 	}()
-
-	fmt.Printf("DEBUG: New connection from %s\n", conn.RemoteAddr())
+	
+	fmt.Printf("DEBUG: [%s] New connection established\n", connectionID)
 
 	r := bufio.NewReader(conn)
 	w := bufio.NewWriter(conn)
@@ -373,9 +374,9 @@ func (h *Handler) handleMetadata(correlationID uint32, requestBody []byte) ([]by
 	// Use dynamic broker address set by the server
 	host := h.brokerHost
 	port := h.brokerPort
-	
+
 	fmt.Printf("DEBUG: Advertising broker at %s:%d\n", host, port)
-	
+
 	response = append(response, 0, byte(len(host)))
 	response = append(response, []byte(host)...)