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Version: 8.8 (unreleased)

Run your first local Camunda 8 project

Beginner 1 hour

This guide is tailored for developers who want to implement process automation solutions using Java and Spring. You'll work with a local, self-managed, lightweight Camunda 8 environment.

Get started with an example project​

You will:

  • Run Camunda 8 in a local development environment using Camunda 8 Run.
  • Use the Camunda Modeler to deploy and start a business process.
  • Run workers written in either:
    • The Spring (Java) SDK, or
    • The Node.js (JavaScript) SDK
      to handle tasks in the process.

Prerequisites​

Download the Camunda 8 developer bundle​

Download the Camunda 8 developer bundle from the following website:
https://developers.camunda.com/install-camunda-8/

The developer bundle includes the following components:

  • Camunda 8 Run – A simplified, single-application Camunda configuration for a local development environment.
  • Camunda Modeler – An application for modeling BPMN, DMN, and Forms.
  • Getting started project – An example project with a simple BPMN process and workers in Java or JavaScript.

All of these components are included in the developer bundle. You do not need to download them separately. The links above are provided for additional information.

Example project​

The example project, located in the camunda-8-get-started directory, contains a BPMN process model that represents a simple e-commerce flow with three service tasks.

Example business process

The service tasks in the process are executed by job workers. The java and nodejs directories contain code for job workers that correspond to this process model.

Instructions​

  1. Unzip the developer bundle.

  2. Start Camunda 8 Run by changing into the directory and running the command:

    ./1-camunda-starter.sh

  3. Open Camunda Modeler.

  4. In Camunda Modeler, use: 

    File > Open File...
    to open the file: 
    camunda-8-get-started/bpmn/diagram_1.bpmn

  5. Click the "Rocket" icon to connect to your Camunda 8 Run instance and deploy the model. Select Camunda 8 Self-Managed and use http://localhost:26500 as the cluster endpoint.

    Connect to Cluster and deploy model

  6. Click the “Play” icon on the bottom toolbar of Modeler to deploy and start an instance of the process model.

    You do not need to set any variables for the process.

    Optionally, you can set a value for the item variable by pasting in:

    {"item": "special widget"}

    Start a new process instance in Camunda Modeler

View the process instance and start job workers​

A process instance is now running in the engine.

You can view the process instance in Operate, the visual operations tool, by navigating to:
http://localhost:8080/operate
Login with the credentials: demo / demo.

There you will see an active process instance.

note

Data needs to sync to Operate, so the process instance may not be visible immediately.

Additionally, when the workers are running, process instances will be completed immediately and further process instances will not appear as active.

Active process instance visible in Operate

Next, start the job workers to allow them to perform the work for the service tasks. The workers are configured to connect to the locally-running engine and retrieve available work for the process instance.

  1. Change into the Spring SDK directory:

    cd camunda-8-get-started
    cd java

  2. Start the workers with the command:

    mvn spring-boot:run

  3. You can stop the application via Ctrl+C.

The workers start, connect to the engine, and request work. You will see the workers processing the jobs for the process instance.

Worker output

Complete!​

Your active process instance in Operate will now transition to completed. You have completed your first process instance by:

  1. Running Camunda 8 Run locally.
  2. Deploying a process model.
  3. Starting a process instance.
  4. Completing the service tasks in the process instance using job workers.

Next steps​

For further information about the Node.js SDK, refer to the Camunda 8 JavaScript SDK API documentation.

Teardown​

You can stop Camunda 8 Run by executing:

cd c8run && ./c8run stop