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Version: 8.7

Connector SDK

The Connector SDK allows you to develop custom connectors using Java code.

You can focus on the logic of the connector, test it locally, and reuse its runtime logic in multiple runtime environments. The SDK achieves this by abstracting from Camunda 8 internals that usually come with job workers.

You can find the latest Connector SDK version source code here.

The SDK provides APIs for common connector operations, such as:

  • Fetching and deserializing input data
  • Validating input data
  • Replacing secrets in input data

Additionally, the SDK allows for convenient testing of your connector behavior and executing it in the environments that suit your use cases best.

Creating a custom connector​

Using the Connector SDK, you can create environment-agnostic and reusable connector runtime behavior. This section outlines how to set up a connector project, test it, and run it locally.

Setup​

When developing a new Connector, we recommend using one of our custom connector templates for custom outbound and inbound connectors. These templates are Maven-based Java projects, and can be used in various ways such as:

  • Create your own GitHub repository: Click Use this template and follow the prompted steps. You can manage code changes in your new repository afterward.
  • Experiment locally: Check out the source code to your local machine using Git. You won't be able to check in code changes to the repository due to restricted write access.
  • Fetch the source: Download the source code as a ZIP archive using **Code > **Download ZIP**. You can adjust and manage the code the way you like afterward using your chosen source code management tools.

To manually set up your connector project, include the following dependency to use the SDK. Ensure you adhere to the project outline detailed in the next section.

<dependency>
  <groupId>io.camunda.connector</groupId>
  <artifactId>connector-core</artifactId>
  <version>${version.connectors}</version>
</dependency>

Outbound connector project outline​

There are multiple parts of a connector that enable it for reuse, modeling, and the runtime behavior. For example, the following parts make up an outbound connector:

my-connector
├── element-templates/
│   └── template-connector.json        (1)
├── src/main
│   ├── java/io/camunda/connector      (2)
│   │   ├── MyConnectorFunction.java   (3)
│   │   ├── MyConnectorRequest.java    (4)
│   │   └── MyConnectorResult.java     (5)
│   └── resources/META-INF/services
│       └── io.camunda.connector.api.outbound.OutboundConnectorFunction (6)
└── pom.xml (7)

For the modeling building blocks, the connector provides Connector templates with (1).

You provide the runtime logic as Java source code under a directory like (2). Typically, a connector runtime logic consists of the following:

  • Exactly one implementation of a OutboundConnectorFunction with (3).
  • At least one input data object like (4).
  • At least one result object like (5).

For a detectable connector function, you are required to expose your function class name in the OutboundConnectorFunction SPI implementation with (6).

A configuration file like (7) manages the project setup, including dependencies. In this example, we include a Maven project's POM file. Other build tools like Gradle can also be used.

Outbound connector element template​

To create reusable building blocks for modeling, you are required to provide a domain-specific Connector template.

A connector template defines the binding to your connector runtime behavior via the following object:

{
  "type": "Hidden",
  "value": "io.camunda:template:1",
  "binding": {
    "type": "zeebe:taskDefinition",
    "property": "type"
  }
}

This type definition io.camunda:template:1 is the connection configuring which version of your connector runtime behavior to use. In technical terms, this defines the Type of jobs created for tasks in your process model that use this template. Consult the job worker guide to learn more.

Besides the type binding, connector templates also define the input variables of your connector as zeebe:input objects. For example, you can create the input variable message of your connector in the element template as follows:

{
  "label": "Message",
  "type": "Text",
  "feel": "optional",
  "binding": {
    "type": "zeebe:input",
    "name": "message"
  }
}

You can also define nested data structures to reflect domain objects that group attributes. For example, you can create the domain object authentication that contains the properties user and token as follows:

{
  "label": "Username",
  "description": "The username for authentication.",
  "type": "String",
  "binding": {
    "type": "zeebe:input",
    "name": "authentication.user"
  }
},
{
  "label": "Token",
  "description": "The token for authentication.",
  "type": "String",
  "binding": {
    "type": "zeebe:input",
    "name": "authentication.token"
  }
}

You can deserialize these authentication properties into a domain object using the SDK. Visit the input data section for further details.

Connectors that offer any kind of result from their invocation should allow users to configure how to map the result into their processes. Therefore, connector templates can reuse the two recommended objects, Result Variable and Result Expression:

{
  "label": "Result Variable",
  "description": "Name of variable to store the response in",
  "type": "String",
  "binding": {
    "type": "zeebe:taskHeader",
    "key": "resultVariable"
  }
},
{
  "label": "Result Expression",
  "description": "Expression to map the response into process variables",
  "type": "Text",
  "feel": "required",
  "binding": {
    "type": "zeebe:taskHeader",
    "key": "resultExpression"
  }
}

These objects create custom headers for the jobs created for the tasks that use this template. The connector runtime environments pick up those two custom headers and translate them into process variables accordingly. You can find an example of how to use this in the out-of-the-box REST connector.

All connectors are recommended to offer exception handling to allow users to configure how to map results and technical errors into BPMN errors. To provide this, connector templates can provide an Error Expression:

{
  "label": "Error Expression",
  "description": "Expression to define BPMN Errors to throw",
  "group": "errors",
  "type": "Text",
  "feel": "required",
  "binding": {
    "type": "zeebe:taskHeader",
    "key": "errorExpression"
  }
}

This object creates a custom header for the jobs created for the tasks that use this template. The connector runtime environments pick up this custom header and translate it into BPMN errors accordingly. You can observe an example of how to use this in the BPMN errors in connectors guide.

Outbound connector runtime logic​

To create a reusable runtime behavior for your connector, you are required to implement and expose an implementation of the OutboundConnectorFunction interface of the SDK. The connector runtime environments will call this function; it handles input data, executes the connector's business logic, and optionally returns a result. Exception handling is optional since the Connector runtime environments handle this as a fallback.

The OutboundConnectorFunction interface consists of exactly one execute method. A minimal recommended outline of a connector function implementation looks as follows:

package io.camunda.connector;

import io.camunda.connector.api.annotation.OutboundConnector;
import io.camunda.connector.api.error.ConnectorException;
import io.camunda.connector.api.error.ConnectorRetryExceptionBuilder;
import io.camunda.connector.api.outbound.OutboundConnectorContext;
import io.camunda.connector.api.outbound.OutboundConnectorFunction;
import java.util.Collections;
import org.apache.hc.client5.http.classic.methods.HttpGet;
import org.apache.hc.client5.http.impl.classic.CloseableHttpClient;
import org.apache.hc.client5.http.impl.classic.HttpClientBuilder;
import org.slf4j.Logger;
import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;

@OutboundConnector(
    name = "MYCONNECTOR",
    inputVariables = {"myProperty", "authentication"},
    type = "io.camunda:template:1"
)
public class MyConnectorFunction implements OutboundConnectorFunction {

  private static final Logger LOGGER = LoggerFactory.getLogger(MyConnectorFunction.class);

  private static int remainingRetries = 5;

  @Override
  public Object execute(OutboundConnectorContext context) throws Exception {
    // (1)
    var connectorRequest = context.bindVariables(MyConnectorRequest.class);
    // (2)
    return executeConnector(connectorRequest);
  }

  private MyConnectorResult executeConnector(final MyConnectorRequest connectorRequest) {
    String message = connectorRequest.getMessage();
    // (3)
    if (message != null && message.toLowerCase().startsWith("fail")) {
      throw new ConnectorException("FAIL", "My property started with 'fail', was: " + message);
    }

    externalApiCall();

    var result = new MyConnectorResult();

    // (4)
    result.setMyProperty("Message received: " + message);
    return result;
  }

  private Map<String, String> externalApiCall() {
    try (CloseableHttpClient httpClient = HttpClientBuilder.create().build()) {
      var request = new HttpGet("https://some-external-api.com/api");
      return httpClient.execute(request, r -> Collections.emptyMap());
    } catch (Exception e) {
      // (5)
      throw new ConnectorRetryExceptionBuilder()
              .message("External API error")
              .errorCode("EXTERNAL_API_ERROR")
              // (6)
              .retries(remainingRetries--)
              .backoffDuration(Duration.ofSeconds(10))
              .build();
    }
  }
}

The execute method receives all necessary environment data via the OutboundConnectorContext object. The connector runtime environment initializes the context and allows the following to occur:

  • Fetch and deserialize the input data as shown in (1). Refer to the input data section for details.
  • Execute the connector's business logic as shown in (2).

If the connector handles exceptional cases, it can use any exception to express technical errors. If a technical error should be associated with a specific error code, the connector can throw a ConnectorException and define a code as shown in (3).

We recommend documenting the list of error codes as part of the connector's API. Users can build on those codes by creating BPMN errors in their connector configurations.

As shown in (5), the connector can also throw a ConnectorRetryException to signal a retryable error (external API call in this case). Such errors will enable the connector to override the job retries and backoff duration values. Here are some specifics about the ConnectorRetryException:

  • If retries or backoffDuration are not set, the connector runtime will use the job values.
  • As shown in (6), the developer is responsible to set (decrease) the number of retries. The connector runtime will use these values as is to override the job values.
  • If the connector has a result to return, it can create a new result data object and set its properties as shown in (4).
  • For best interoperability, connector functions provide default meta-data via the @OutboundConnector annotation. connector runtime environments can use this data to auto-discover provided connector runtime behavior.

Using this outline, you start the business logic of your connector in the executeConnector method and expand from there.

Outbound connector input data​

The input data of a connector is provided by the process instance that executes the connector. You can either fetch this data as a raw JSON string using the context's getVariables method, or deserialize the data into your own request object directly with the bindVariables method shown in (1).

Using bindVariables will attempt to replace connector secrets, deserialize the JSON string containing the input data into Java objects, and perform the input validation. The JSON deserialization depends on the connector runtime environment your connector function runs in.

Thus, use this deserialization approach with caution. While it works reliably for many input data types like string, boolean, integer, and nested objects, you might want to consider deserializing your connector's input data in a custom fashion using getVariables and a library like Jackson or Gson.

The bindVariables method and tools like Jackson or Gson can properly reflect nested data objects. You can define nested structures by referencing other Java classes as attributes. Looking at the authentication data input example described in the Connector template, you can create the following input data objects to reflect the structure properly:

package io.camunda.connector;

public class MyConnectorRequest {

  private String message;
  private Authentication authentication;
}
package io.camunda.connector;

public class Authentication {

  private String user;
  private String token;
}

Inbound connector project outline​

There are multiple parts of a connector that enables it for reuse, as a reusable building block, for modeling, and for the runtime behavior. For example, the following parts make up an inbound connector:

my-connector
├── element-templates
│   └── inbound-template-connector.json                                     (1)
├── pom.xml
├── src
│   ├── main
│   │   ├── java/io/camunda/connector
│   │   │   └── inbound
│   │   │       ├── MyConnectorExecutable.java                              (2)
│   │   │       ├── MyConnectorEvent.java                                   (3)
│   │   │       ├── MyConnectorProperties.java                              (4)
│   │   │       └── subscription
│   │   │           ├── MockSubscription.java
│   │   │           └── MockSubscriptionEvent.java
│   │   └── resources/META-IN/services
│   │       └── io.camunda.connector.api.inbound.InboundConnectorExecutable (5)

For the modeling building blocks, the connector provides Connector element templates with (1).

You provide the runtime logic as Java source code. Typically, a connector runtime logic consists of exactly one implementation of a InboundConnectorExecutable with (2) and at least one input object like (3), and connector's properties like (4)

For a detectable connector function, you are required to expose your function class name in the InboundConnectorExecutable SPI implementation with (5).

A configuration file like (5) manages the project setup, including dependencies. In this example, we include a Maven project's POM file. Other build tools like Gradle can also be used.

Inbound connector element template​

To create reusable building blocks for modeling, you are required to provide a domain-specific Connector element template.

A connector template defines the binding to your connector runtime behavior via the following object:

{
  "type": "Hidden",
  "value": "io.camunda:mytestinbound:1",
  "binding": {
    "type": "zeebe:property",
    "name": "inbound.type"
  }
}

This type definition io.camunda:mytestinbound:1 is the connection configuring which version of your connector runtime behavior to use. In technical terms, this defines the Type of jobs created for tasks in your process model that use this template. Consult the job worker guide to learn more.

Besides the type binding, connector templates also define the properties of your connector as zeebe:property objects. For example, you can create the input variable sender of your connector in the element template as follows:

{
  "type": "String",
  "label": "Sender",
  "description": "Message sender name",
  "value": "Alice",
  "binding": {
    "type": "zeebe:property",
    "name": "sender"
  }
}

Inbound connector runtime logic​

To create a reusable runtime behavior for your connector, you are required to implement and expose an implementation of the InboundConnectorExecutable interface of the SDK. The connector runtime environments will call this function; it handles input data, executes the connector's business logic. Exception handling is optional since the connector runtime environments handle this as a fallback.

The InboundConnectorExecutable interface consists of two methods: activate and deactivate. A minimal recommended outline of a connector function implementation looks as follows:

package io.camunda.connector.inbound;

import io.camunda.connector.api.annotation.InboundConnector;
import io.camunda.connector.api.inbound.InboundConnectorContext;
import io.camunda.connector.api.inbound.InboundConnectorExecutable;
import io.camunda.connector.inbound.subscription.MockSubscription;
import io.camunda.connector.inbound.subscription.MockSubscriptionEvent;

@InboundConnector(name = "MYINBOUNDCONNECTOR", type = "io.camunda:mytestinbound:1")
public class MyConnectorExecutable implements InboundConnectorExecutable {

    private MockSubscription subscription;
    private InboundConnectorContext connectorContext;

    @Override
    public void activate(InboundConnectorContext connectorContext) {
        MyConnectorProperties props = connectorContext.bindProperties(MyConnectorProperties.class);

        this.connectorContext = connectorContext;

        subscription = new MockSubscription(
                props.getSender(), props.getMessagesPerMinute(), this::onEvent);
    }

    @Override
    public void deactivate() {
        subscription.stop();
    }

    private void onEvent(MockSubscriptionEvent rawEvent) {
        MyConnectorEvent connectorEvent = new MyConnectorEvent(rawEvent);
        var result = connectorContext.correlateWithResult(connectorEvent);
        handleResult(result);
    }

    private void handleResult(CorrelationResult result) {
      switch (result) {
        case Success ignored -> LOG.debug("Message correlated successfully");
        case Failure failure -> {
          switch (failure.handlingStrategy()) {
            case ForwardErrorToUpstream ignored -> {
              LOG.error("Correlation failed, reason: {}", failure.message());
              // forward error to upstream
            }
            case Ignore ignored -> {
              LOG.debug("Correlation failed but no action required, reason: {}", failure.message());
              // ignore
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
}

The activate method is a trigger function to start listening to inbound events. The implementation of this method has to be asynchronous. Once activated, the inbound connector execution is considered active and running. From this point, it should use the respective methods of InboundConnectorContext to communicate with the connector runtime (e.g. to correlate the inbound event or signal the interrupt).

The deactivate method is just a graceful shutdown hook for inbound connectors. The implementation must release all resources used by the subscription.

The onEvent method is a callback function that is triggered by the subscription whenever a new event is received. This method is responsible for passing the event to the connector runtime environment for correlation.

The handleResult method is a helper method to handle the result of the correlation. The CorrelationResult object contains the result of the correlation and the handling strategy. The handling strategy defines how the connector implementation should handle the result.

Depending on the strategy, the connector implementation should either forward the error to the upstream system or ignore it. The handling strategy is derived by the connector runtime based on user configuration.

Validation​

Validating input data is a common task in a connector function. The SDK provides an out-of-the-box solution for input validation. A default implementation of the SDK's core validation API is provided in a separate, optional artifact connector-validation. If you want to use validation in your Connector, add the following dependency to your project:

<dependency>
  <groupId>io.camunda.connector</groupId>
  <artifactId>connector-validation</artifactId>
  <version>${version.connectors}</version>
</dependency>

Validation is performed automatically if you use the bindVariables / bindProperties methods.

This instructs the context to prepare a validator that is provided by an implementation of the ValidationProvider interface. The connector-validation artifact brings along such an implementation. It uses the Jakarta Bean Validation API together with Hibernate Validator.

For your input object connectorRequest to be validated, you need to annotate the input's attributes to define your requirements:

package io.camunda.connector;

import javax.validation.Valid;
import javax.validation.constraints.NotEmpty;
import javax.validation.constraints.NotNull;

public class MyConnectorRequest {

  @NotEmpty private String message;
  @NotNull @Valid private Authentication authentication;
}

The Jakarta Bean Validation API comes with a long list of supported constraints. It also allows to validate entire object graphs using the @Valid annotation. Thus, the authentication object will also be validated.

package io.camunda.connector;


import javax.validation.constraints.NotEmpty;

public class Authentication {

  @NotEmpty private String user;

  @NotEmpty @Pattern(regexp = "^xobx") private String token;
}

Using this approach, you can validate your whole input data structure with one initial call from the central connector function.

Beyond that, the Jakarta Bean Validation API supports more advanced constructs like groups for conditional validation and constraints on different types, i.e., attributes, methods, and classes, to enable cross-parameter validation. You can use the built-in constraints and create custom ones to define requirements exactly as you need them.

If the validation approach that comes with connector-validation doesn't fit your needs, you can provide your own SPI implementing the SDK's ValidationProvider interface. Have a look at the Connector validation code for a default implementation.

Conditional validation​

Validating connector input data can require to check different constraints, depending on the specific input data itself. As an example, the following authentication input object requires that oauthToken is only necessary when the type is oauth. If the type is basic, the attribute password is required instead.

public class Authentication {

  private String type;
  private String user;
  private String password;
  private String oauthToken;
}

Using the connector-validation module, there are three common options to achieve this conditional validation:

  1. Write a custom constraint that allows to validate one attribute in relation to another attribute. This appraoch yields a reusable constraint that you can use in other classes as well. This approach also comes with the highest implementation effort.
  2. Write manual, imperative validation logic in a method with a boolean return value and annotate it with @AssertTrue. You require less code to take this appraoch but the result is also specifc to the respective class. You cannot reuse the logic in other classes as is. This approach also comes without further constraint annotation support. You have to write all validation logic manually in the method.
  3. Define validation groups dynamically with Hibernate Validator's @DefaultGroupSequenceProvider. This appraoch allows to reuse existing constraint annotations and to only apply them for specific use cases. It has a higher complexity than an imperative validation method but allows to reuse existing constraints to avoid writing manual validation logic.

Each option has its own benefits and drawbacks, depending on what you need in your connector. The following sections cover each of the options in more detail.

Custom constraint​

The Bean Validation guide covers defining custom constraints extensively. For the use case described above, you could write a custom constraint like the following:

@Target({TYPE, ANNOTATION_TYPE})
@Retention(RUNTIME)
@Repeatable(NotNullIfAnotherFieldHasValue.List.class)
@Constraint(validatedBy = NotNullIfAnotherFieldHasValueValidator.class)
@Documented
public @interface NotNullIfAnotherFieldHasValue {

    String fieldName();
    String fieldValue();
    String dependFieldName();

    String message() default "{NotNullIfAnotherFieldHasValue.message}";
    Class<?>[] groups() default {};
    Class<? extends Payload>[] payload() default {};

    @Target({TYPE, ANNOTATION_TYPE})
    @Retention(RUNTIME)
    @Documented
    @interface List {
        NotNullIfAnotherFieldHasValue[] value();
    }

}

You can use this constraint on the connector input object as follows:

@NotNullIfAnotherFieldHasValue(
    fieldName = "type",
    fieldValue = "oauth",
    dependFieldName = "oauthToken")
@NotNullIfAnotherFieldHasValue(
    fieldName = "type",
    fieldValue = "basic",
    dependFieldName = "password")
public class Authentication {

  @NotEmpty
  private String type;
  @NotEmpty
  private String user;
  private String password;
  private String oauthToken;
}

You can find more details and the NotNullIfAnotherFieldHasValueValidator implementation in this StackOverflow thread.

This approach is the most flexible and reusable one for writing conditional constraints. It is independent of the parameters and classes involved. However, for simple use cases, one of the following approaches might lead to more maintainable results that require less code.

Manual validation method​

The Jakarta Bean Validation API comes with an AssertTrue constraint that you can use to ensure boolean attributes are enabled.

The nature of the bean validation API allows to also use this annotation on methods; those are usually better methods for boolean attributes. However, there doesn't have to be a related boolean attribute in an object in order to validate a method constraint. Thus, you can use this constraint to also write manual validation logic in a method that returns a boolean value and starts with is.

For the example use case, you can write a method that verifies the requirements as follows:

public class Authentication {

  @NotEmpty private String type;
  @NotEmpty private String user;
  private String password;
  private String oauthToken;

  @AssertTrue(message = "Authentication must contain 'oauthToken' for type 'oauth' and 'password' for type 'basic'")
  public boolean isAuthValid() {
    return ("basic".equals(type) && password != null) ||
        ("oauth".equals(type) && oauthToken != null);
  }
}

This approach allows for concise conditional validation when the constraint logic is simple and does not justify creating more complex, reusable interfaces and validators.

Dynamic validation groups​

The Jakarta Bean Validation API allows to statically define validation groups for conditional constraint evaluation. However, to use those groups you have to define the group to validate statically when starting the validation. To dynamically define the groups to validate, you can use Hibernate Validator's DefaultGroupSequenceProvider.

Given the following validation groups:

public interface BasicAuthValidation {}
public interface OAuthValidation {}

You can annotate the input object as follows:

@GroupSequenceProvider(AuthenticationSequenceProvider.class)
public class Authentication {

  @NotEmpty private String type;
  @NotEmpty private String user;
  @NotEmpty(groups = BasicAuthValidation.class)
  private String password;
  @NotEmpty(groups = OAuthValidation.class)
  private String oauthToken;

The AuthenticationSequenceProvider needs to implement the DefaultGroupSequenceProvider to dynamically add the validation groups you need:

public class AuthenticationSequenceProvider implements DefaultGroupSequenceProvider<Authentication> {

  @Override
  public List<Class<?>> getValidationGroups(Authentication authentication) {

    List<Class<?>> sequence = new ArrayList<>();

    // Apply all validation rules from Default group, e.g. ensuring type is not empty
    sequence.add(Authentication.class);

    if ("basic".equals(authentication.getType())) {
      sequence.add(BasicAuthValidation.class);
    } else if ("oauth".equals(authentication.getType())) {
      sequence.add(OAuthValidation.class);
    }

    return sequence;
  }
}

Using this approach, you can reuse existing constraint annotations in your input objects. The sequence provider is however bound to your specific input class and therefore less reusable than writing custom constraints.

Secrets​

Connectors that require confidential information to connect to external systems need to be able to manage those securely. As described in the guide for creating secrets, secrets can be controlled in a secure location and referenced in a connector's properties using a placeholder pattern {{secrets.*}}. To make this mechanism as robust as possible, secret handling comes with the Connector SDK out of the box. That way, all connectors can use the same standard way of handling secrets in input data.

The SDK allows replacing secrets in input data as late as possible to avoid passing them around in the environments that handle connector invocation. We do not pass secrets into the Connector function in clear text but only as placeholders that you can replace from within the connector function.

Secrets are replaced automatically in the connector input when you use the variable access methods of the OutboundConnectorContext or properties access methods of the InboundConnectorContext. You will always receive inputs with secrets replaced.

The Runtime automatically replaces secrets in String fields or in container types. Using the placeholder pattern {{secrets.*}} in a String field will replace the placeholder with the secret value. Using the placeholder pattern in a container type will replace the placeholder in all String fields of the container type.

package io.camunda.connector;

public class MyConnectorRequest {

  private String message;
  private Authentication authentication;
}
package io.camunda.connector;

import io.camunda.connector.api.annotation.Secret;

public class Authentication {

  private String user;
  private String token;
}

In the input model above, the Runtime will attempt to find and replace secrets in all String fields of the Authentication and MyConnectorRequest classes.

Testing​

Ensuring your connector's business logic works as expected is vital to develop the connector. The SDK aims to make testing of connectors convenient without imposing strict requirements on your test development flow. The SDK is not enforcing any testing libraries.

By abstracting from Camunda 8 internals, the SDK provides a good starting ground for scoped testing. There is no need to test Camunda engine internals or provide related mocks. You can focus on testing the business logic of your connector and the associated objects.

We recommend testing at least the following parts of your connector project:

  • All data validation works as expected.
  • All expected attributes support secret replacement.
  • The core logic of your connector works as expected until calling the external API or service.

The SDK provides a OutboundConnectorContextBuilder for test cases that lets you create a OutboundConnectorContext. You can conveniently use that test context to test the secret replacement and validation routines.

Writing secret replacement tests can look similar to the following test case. You can write one test case for each attribute that supports secret replacement:

@Test
void shouldReplaceTokenSecretWhenReplaceSecrets() {
  // given
  var input = new MyConnectorRequest();
  var auth = new Authentication();
  input.setMessage("Hello World!");
  input.setAuthentication(auth);
  auth.setToken("{{secrets.MY_TOKEN}}");
  auth.setUser("testuser");

  // (1)
  var context = OutboundConnectorContextBuilder.create()
    .secret("MY_TOKEN", "token value")
    .build();
  // when
  var variables = context.bindVariables(MyConnectorType.class);
  // then
  assertThat(input)
    .extracting("authentication")
    .extracting("token")
    .isEqualTo("token value");
}

Ensuring validation routines work as expected can be written similarly for every attribute that is required:

@Test
void shouldFailWhenValidate_NoAuthentication() {
  // given
  var input = new MyConnectorRequest();
  input.setMessage("Hello World!");
  var context = OutboundConnectorContextBuilder.create().build();
  // when
  assertThatThrownBy(() -> context.validate(input))
    // then
    .isInstanceOf(IllegalArgumentException.class)
    .hasMessageContaining("authentication");
}

Testing custom validations works in the same way:

@Test
void shouldFailWhenValidate_TokenWrongPattern() {
  // given
  var input = new MyConnectorRequest();
  var auth = new Authentication();
  input.setMessage("foo");
  input.setAuthentication(auth);
  auth.setUser("testuser");
  auth.setToken("test");
  var context = OutboundConnectorContextBuilder.create().build();
  // when
  assertThatThrownBy(() -> context.validate(input))
    // then
    .isInstanceOf(IllegalArgumentException.class)
    .hasMessageContaining("Token must start with \"xobx\"");
}

Testing the business logic of your connector can vary widely depending on the functionality it provides. For our example logic, the following test would be a good start:

@Test
void shouldReturnReceivedMessageWhenExecute() throws Exception {
  // given
  var input = new MyConnectorRequest();
  var auth = new Authentication();
  input.setMessage("Hello World!");
  input.setAuthentication(auth);
  auth.setToken("xobx-test");
  auth.setUser("testuser");
  var function = new MyConnectorFunction();
  var context = OutboundConnectorContextBuilder.create()
    .variables(input)
    .build();
  // when
  var result = function.execute(context);
  // then
  assertThat(result)
    .isInstanceOf(MyConnectorResult.class)
    .extracting("myProperty")
    .isEqualTo("Message received: Hello World!");
}

Runtime environments​

To integrate connectors with your business use case, you need a runtime environment to act as the intermediary between your business and connectors space.

The connector SDK enables you to write environment-agnostic runtime behavior for connectors. This makes the connector logic reusable in different setups without modifying your connector code. To invoke this logic, you need a runtime environment that knows the connector function and how to call it.

In Camunda 8 SaaS, every cluster runs a component that knows the available out-of-the-box connectors and how to invoke them. This component is the runtime environment specific to Camunda's SaaS use case.

Regarding Self-Managed environments, you are responsible for providing the runtime environment that can invoke the connectors.

There are several runtime options provided by Camunda:

Spring Boot Starter runtime​

This option is applicable for Spring Boot users. All you need to do is to include respective starter:

<dependency>
    <groupId>io.camunda.connector</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-camunda-connectors</artifactId>
    <version>${version.connectors}</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.myorg</groupId>
    <artifactId>connector-my-awesome</artifactId>
    <version>${version.connector-my-awesome}</version>
</dependency>

Upon starting your Spring Boot application, you will have a job worker connected to Zeebe, waiting to receive jobs for your connectors.

Docker runtime image​

This option is applicable for those users who prefer Docker.

The Docker image can be found at the Docker Hub or alternatively built from source.

To build it, you have to run docker build -t camunda/connectors:X.Y.Z ..

Once you have both built a Docker image, and a custom connector into JAR, you can start runtime with:

docker run --rm --name=connectors -d \
  -v $PWD/connector.jar:/opt/app/connector.jar \                      # Add a connector jar to the classpath
  --network=your-zeebe-network \                                      # Optional: attach to network if Zeebe is isolated with Docker network
  -e ZEEBE_CLIENT_BROKER_GATEWAY-ADDRESS=ip.address.of.zeebe:26500 \  # Specify Zeebe address
  -e ZEEBE_CLIENT_SECURITY_PLAINTEXT=true \                           # Optional: provide security configs to connect to Zeebe
  -e CAMUNDA_OPERATE_CLIENT_URL=http://ip.address.of.operate:8080 \   # Specify Operate URL for inbound connectors
  -e CAMUNDA_OPERATE_CLIENT_USERNAME=demo \                           # Optional: provide Operate credentials
  -e CAMUNDA_OPERATE_CLIENT_PASSWORD=demo \
  -e MY_SECRET=secret \                                               # Optional: set a secret with value
  -e SECRET_FROM_SHELL \                                              # Optional: set a secret from the environment
  --env-file secrets.txt \                                            # Optional: set secrets from a file
    camunda/connectors:X.Y.Z

If you would like to disable inbound connectors, you can do so by setting CAMUNDA_CONNECTOR_POLLING_ENABLED=false.

Custom runtime environment​

A custom runtime environment may be required if your organizational and infrastructural needs are not met by the existing pre-packaged runtime environments. Such use cases may include (but are not limited to) running on custom serverless services or software platforms.

If using the pre-packaged runtime environment that comes with the SDK does not fit your use case, you can create a custom runtime environment. There are three options that come with the SDK:

  • Wrap connector functions as job workers using the ConnectorJobHandler.
  • Implement your own connector function wrapper.

Connector job handler​

To wrap connector functions as job workers, the SDK provides the wrapper class ConnectorJobHandler.

The job handler wrapper provides the following benefits:

  • Provides an OutboundConnectorContext that handles the Camunda-internal job worker API regarding variables.
  • Handles secret management by defaulting to an environment variables-based secret store and allowing to provide a custom secret provider via an SPI for io.camunda.connector.api.secret.SecretProvider.
  • Handles connector result mapping for Result Variable and Result Expression as described in the Connector element template section.
  • Provides flexible BPMN error handling via Error Expression as described in the Connector template section.

Using the wrapper class, you can create a custom Zeebe client. For example, you can spin up a custom client with the Zeebe Java client as follows:

import io.camunda.connector.MyConnectorFunction;
import io.camunda.connector.runtime.core.outbound.ConnectorJobHandler;
import io.camunda.connector.validation.impl.DefaultValidationProvider;
import io.camunda.zeebe.client.ZeebeClient;

public class Main {

  public static void main(String[] args) {

    var zeebeClient = ZeebeClient.newClientBuilder().build();

    zeebeClient.newWorker()
        .jobType("io.camunda:template:1")
        .handler(new ConnectorJobHandler(new MyConnectorFunction(), new DefaultValidationProvider()))
        .name("MESSAGE")
        .fetchVariables("authentication", "message")
        .open();
  }
}

Custom function wrapper​

If the provided job handler wrapper does not fit your needs, you can extend or replace it with your job handler implementation that handles invoking the connector functions.

Your custom job handler needs to create a OutboundConnectorContext that the connector function can use to handle variables, secrets, and connector results. You can extend the provided io.camunda.connector.runtime.core.AbstractConnectorContext to quickly gain access to most of the common context operations.