Types of Connectors
Connectors are categorized by the direction data flows into or out of Camunda Platform 8.
Looking for pre-built, Out-of-the-box Connectors?
Outbound Connectors
Outbound Connectors allow workflows to trigger external systems or services, making it possible to integrate workflows with other parts of a business process or system architecture.
Use outbound Connectors if something needs to happen in the third-party system if a process reaches a service task. For example, calling a REST endpoint or publishing a message to Slack.
Inbound Connectors
Inbound Connectors enable workflows to receive data or messages from external systems or services, making it possible to integrate workflows into a wider business process or system architecture.
Use inbound Connectors if something needs to happen within the workflow engine because of an external event in the third-party system. For example, because a Slack message was published, or a REST endpoint is called.
There are three types of inbound Connectors:
- Webhook Connector: An inbound connector which creates a webhook for a Camunda workflow.
- Subscription Connector: An inbound Connector that subscribes to a message queue.
- Polling Connector: An inbound Connector that periodically polls an external system or service for new data using HTTP polling.
Currently, only webhooks are supported.
Protocol Connectors
Protocol Connectors can serve as either inbound or outbound Connectors, supporting a variety of technical protocols. These connectors are highly generic, designed to provide a flexible and customizable means of integrating with external systems and services.
Protocol Connectors can be customized to meet the needs of specific use cases using configurable Connector Templates, with no additional coding or deployment required. Examples of protocol Connectors include HTTP REST, GraphQL, as well as message queue connectors.
Next steps
Review the current list of available Connectors.