Run or publish your process

When you design a process in Camunda Hub, you have multiple flexible options to either run or publish it on Camunda 8. This page explains the differences between running and publishing a process, and outlines the various options to publish a process into any environment and to any audience.

Deploy a process

Camunda Hub autosaves all your changes on a diagram. If you change a diagram and it is autosaved, this has no effect on deployed or running processes in your cluster(s).

To make any change live in your cluster(s), you need to deploy it. If you deploy a process, it becomes available on the selected cluster and you can run or publish it.

info

Only users with the Organization Owner or Organization Admin role in Camunda Hub can deploy to prod clusters. Users without admin roles can only deploy to dev, test, or stage clusters.

To deploy:

1. From your Camunda Hub workspace, open a project.
2. Open a process file.
3. In the top right corner of the modeling interface, click the dropdown next to Deploy & run.
4. Click Deploy.
5. Select a stage, optional tenant ID, and the resources to deploy.
6. Click Deploy.

tip

In Self-Managed, you can deploy your diagram to the cluster defined in your Camunda Hub configuration.

Before deploying a process

• If the target cluster has authorizations enabled, make sure that the deploying users have CREATE permission to the RESOURCE resource type.
• Make sure your process is free of errors, otherwise it can't be deployed. Use the problems panel to detect and fix errors.
• Make sure all dependent files are deployed first, such as DMN diagrams, forms, or called processes. You can use the link tool to drill-down into linked resources and deploy them. If you are using versionTag binding for a linked resource, make sure it is deployed with the correct version tag.
• Implement and run your job workers if you use tasks such as service or send tasks.
• Ensure there are no missing secrets or misconfigured clients required for the process to run.
  • When missing secrets or no client credentials with access to the Orchestration Cluster API are detected, a warning is shown in the deployment dialog. Each warning offers a link to manage the missing secrets or misconfigured clients.

note

To perform any of these actions, make sure to be in Implement mode.

Run a process

Running a process means that you execute the process as a process instance on Camunda 8. It allows you to test and debug your process and observe how it performs in a live environment.

Before running a process

If the target cluster has authorizations enabled, make sure that the users running the process are assigned to both:

• The CREATE_PROCESS_INSTANCE permission to the PROCESS_DEFINITION resource type
• The CREATE permission to the RESOURCE resource type

Test run using Test mode

Before you publish or run a process, you can test it manually using the Test mode. With the Test mode, you can build and test your process iteratively in small steps. To enter the Test mode, click the Test tab in the top left corner of the modeling screen.

Run manually from Hub

You can also test your process thoroughly on a development cluster to observe how it behaves in Operate and Tasklist, in order to run your job workers, and to access your running process instances programmatically. To start a process instance manually, take the following steps:

1. From your Camunda Hub workspace, open a project.
2. Open a process file.
3. In the top right corner of the modeling interface, click Deploy & run.
4. Select a stage, optional tenant ID, and the resources to deploy.
5. (Optional) Specify variables written to the process context at startup. The variables must be formatted in valid JSON. As an example, you can use the following JSON:

{
  "hello": "world"
}

6. Click Deploy & run to confirm. This (re-)deploys the process and starts a process instance on the selected cluster.

After the process instance has been started, you will receive a notification with a link to the process instance view in Operate. Follow this link to observe the progress of the process instance and interact with it if required. If the target cluster has authorizations enabled, make sure you have the following permissions to be able to view the process instance in Operate:

• READ_PROCESS_DEFINITION and READ_PROCESS_INSTANCE permissions on the PROCESS_DEFINITION resource type
• operate permission to the COMPONENT resource type

Starting an instance from Camunda Hub deploys recent changes to the target cluster, which changes future runs of this process definition in case it has already been deployed and used. Existing process instances are not affected.

tip

By linking a Camunda Form to a start event, process instances can be started with the form's input via a public form (SaaS only) or directly in Tasklist.

Schedule via timer

You can also schedule a process to run at a specific time or interval using timers. Timers can be added to one or multiple start events of your process.

To schedule a process using a timer, follow these steps:

1. In the process file, click the start event.
2. Select the Change element menu icon.
3. Select Timer start event.
4. Open the Details panel on the right side of the modeling interface.
5. Under Properties > Timer, set the timer to trigger at a specific date and time or to repeat at a certain interval.
6. Deploy the process.

Once the process is deployed, the timer will be activated and the process will be executed at the scheduled time or interval.

Best practices for running a process

• Use the Test mode to run a process instance with test data before running it with live data.
• Verify that the process is running as expected on a development cluster before running it with live data in your production environment.
• Use Operate to help you diagnose any problems with the process.

tip

You can also define the success of your processes by setting key performance indicators (KPIs) for your process using Optimize.

Publishing a process

Publishing a process means you make it available to other users inside and outside of Camunda 8. Once published, other users can access and start instances of the process.

Deploy to run programmatically

To call a process programmatically from or inside another application or service, deploy it. Once deployed, you can run a process via our APIs, using an API client, or via one the various community SDKs. Read the documentation on APIs & clients to learn more.

Publish via webhook

You can publish a process via webhook, which allows you to integrate it easily with any system or service that can make an HTTP request. When a webhook is triggered in another system, it sends a HTTP request to a specified URL, which starts a process instance with the payload of the request.

Follow these steps to publish a process via a webhook:

1. In the process file, click the start event.
2. Select the Change element menu icon.
3. Select Webhook Start Event Connector.
4. Open the Details panel on the right side of the modeling interface.
5. Under Properties > Webhook configuration, configure the webhook. You have multiple options to ensure that the webhook connection is safe for use by your target audience only.
6. Deploy the process.

When the process is deployed, the webhook URL can be found in the Webhook tab of the properties panel, and called from any outside system.

Publish to Tasklist

Publishing a process to Tasklist makes it available to users through the web-based Tasklist application.

To publish a process to Tasklist, you first need to deploy it. Once the process is deployed, it will automatically appear in the Tasklist application, where users can start new instances of the process.

Publish via a public form

Camunda 8 SaaS only

Publishing a process via a public form allows you to share your process with external users who can start instances of the process without requiring access to Camunda 8. This feature is particularly useful when you want to gather data or initiate a process from users who are not part of your organization or do not have direct access to Camunda. It also allows you to rapidly test a process with your peers in a development environment.

To publish a process via a public form, you first need to link a Camunda Form to the process' start event, then you can follow these steps:

Deploy process to the public

1. Open the Publication section in the properties panel (not the tab of the same name).
2. Toggle Public access enabled.
3. Deploy the process.

Once the process is deployed, a public URL for the form is generated on the target cluster.

Get the public link and share it

You can access the URL in the Publication tab of the properties panel and share it with any user via email, social media, or any other communication channel.

Public form links were removed in Camunda 8.10. For current start options, use authenticated Tasklist starts or build a custom application with the Orchestration Cluster REST API.

Listen to message or signal events

Camunda 8 supports message and signal events, which can be used to trigger a process instance when a specific event occurs. Everyone on the platform that knows the message or signal correlation keys can call such a process. To listen to a message or signal event, you need to define a message or signal start event in your process model and configure it to listen for the desired event. Follow these steps to configure a message or signal start event:

1. In the process file, click the start event.
2. Select the Change element menu icon.
3. Select Message start event or Signal start event.
4. Open the Details panel on the right side of the modeling interface.
5. Under Properties, define the message or signal to listen to. Using messages, you can create a 1:1 relationship between calling processes. With signals, you can create broadcast-like message distributions.
6. Deploy the process.

As soon as a matching event is received, a process instance will be started. To learn more about message and signal events, refer to our documentation on events.

Best practices for publishing a process

• Use the problems panel to make sure the process is free of errors before publishing it.
• Ensure the process works by testing it interactively using Test mode.
• Use meaningful names and descriptions for the process and its elements.
• Document the process with clear instructions and details on how it should be used.
• Make sure the process is accessible to the appropriate users only.

note

When working on Camunda 8 Self-Managed, you can define access permissions on a per-process level using authorizations.

Missing client credentials

When you deploy a process requiring client credentials, a warning appears in the deployment dialog. The warning offers a link to manage the missing or misconfigured credentials. Client credentials with access to the Orchestration Cluster API are required when at least one of the following elements is used in the process: service tasks, messages, signals, and elements with a non-connector task definition.

Incorrect authorizations

When using Camunda Hub to deploy a process model or start a process instance, you may encounter issues related to resource authorizations. Verify the credentials you're using have the required authorizations to deploy a process model or start a process instance on the selected cluster and tenant. Note that deployments and process starts are performed as your logged-in user, so the necessary authorizations must be assigned to your user account.