Quickstart: run your first Camunda 8 project locally
Getting started with an example project
Follow this guide to download and run an example project with a local instance of Camunda 8.
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
- Java + Spring
- Node.js
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.
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
Unzip the developer bundle.
Start Camunda 8 Run by changing into the directory and running the command:
- Mac OS + Linux
- Windows
./1-camunda-starter.sh
.\1-camunda-starter.bat
Open Camunda Modeler.
In Camunda Modeler, use:
to open the file:File > Open File...
camunda-8-get-started/bpmn/diagram_1.bpmn
Click the "Rocket" icon to connect to your Camunda 8 Run instance and deploy the model. Select
Camunda 8 Self-Managed
and usehttp://localhost:26500
as the cluster endpoint.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"}
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: when the workers are running, process instances will be completed immediately and further process instances will not appear as active).
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.
- Java + Spring
- Node.js
Change into the Spring SDK directory:
cd camunda-8-get-started
cd javaStart the workers with the command:
mvn spring-boot:run
You can stop the application via Ctrl+C.
Change into the Node.js SDK directory:
cd camunda-8-get-started
cd nodejsInstall dependencies with the command:
npm i
Start the workers with the command:
npm start
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.
- Java + Spring
- Node.js
Complete!
Your active process instance in Operate will now transition to completed. You have completed your first process instance by:
- Running Camunda 8 Run locally.
- Deploying a process model.
- Starting a process instance.
- Completing the service tasks in the process instance using job workers.
Next steps
To create a new Spring project, refer to our guide using Spring.
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:
- Mac OS + Linux
- Windows
cd c8run && ./c8run stop
cd c8run; .\c8run.exe stop