2. Running Camunda 8 Locally

Run a full Camunda 8 on your own machine, deploy a model from the Desktop Modeler, and watch it in Operate. This follows the Camunda 8 Run getting-started bundle: a self-contained Java application that bundles the engine, the web tools, a search store and the connectors runtime. Architecture: Camunda 8 Architecture.

What you need

$ java -version                                  # confirm 21, 22 or 23
$ git clone https://github.com/camunda/camunda-8-get-started.git

Start it

$ cd c8run
$ ./c8run start        # starts the engine, tools and Elasticsearch
$ ./c8run stop         # stops everything again

#!/bin/bash
cd c8run
./c8run start --startup-url="https://developers.camunda.com/developers/quick-start?c8run_start=success"
cd ..

What is running and where (defaults):

It also starts an Elasticsearch that holds the data the tools show, and the connectors runtime (extra connectors can go in the custom_connectors folder).

Your first process: the order example

The demo has two small models:

flowchart LR
    S(("Order received")) --> A["Check inventory"] --> B["Charge payment method"] --> C["Ship items"] --> E(("Order shipped"))
    A -. "error: item not in stock" .-> N(("Order not shipped"))

1. Open Camunda Desktop Modeler, then File > Open bpmn/diagram_1.bpmn.
2. Click the play icon in the bottom toolbar. Choose the local cluster and deploy and start.
3. Open Operate. You will see one active instance sitting at "Check inventory". Nothing happens because no worker is running for the job type check-inventory.
4. Start the workers (below). The instance finishes at once.

Each service task's job type is set in the Properties panel (check-inventory, charge-payment, ship-items). The worker must use exactly the same strings.

Run the workers

Node.js

$ cd nodejs && npm install
$ npx ts-node workers.ts

$ cd java && ./mvnw spring-boot:run

Try these experiments

1. Make a task fail: change a worker to throw an error. See the incident in Operate, fix the code, press Retry.
2. Use the error path: open diagram_2.bpmn, make the inventory worker throw the BPMN error. The instance should end at "Order not shipped".
3. Add a user task to approve large orders, give it a form, and complete it in Tasklist.
4. Change a variable in Operate on a stuck instance and retry.
5. Redeploy a changed model and notice the new version; old instances keep the old one.
6. Start an instance from the API instead of the Modeler:

   $ curl -u demo:demo -X POST http://localhost:8080/v2/process-instances \
       -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
       -d '{"processDefinitionId":"order-process","variables":{"orderId":"A-1001"}}'
   

   (The API path and fields depend on the Camunda version; check the API reference for yours.)

Docker Compose alternative

The Run bundle also ships a docker-compose-8.8 folder. Use it when you want the same stack in containers (2. Docker Compose):

$ cd docker-compose-8.8
$ docker compose up -d
$ docker compose ps

Troubleshooting