We’re excited to share that the latest alpha release of Camunda is now live and available for download. For our SaaS customers who are up to date, you may have already noticed some of these features as we make them available for you automatically.
Below you’ll find a quick summary of everything new in Camunda for this month.
Table of contents
Web Modeler
The alpha includes the following new features for Web Modeler.
Organization administrators’ project access (self-managed)
With this release, organization administrators can access all modeling projects in their self-managed environment in super user mode just like in Camunda SaaS. This added functionality allows organization owners to control access to projects. This circumvents issues related to projects for out-of-office owners, etc.
Note: This feature has already been released in SaaS.
Connector sharing within a project and organization (self-managed)
With this release, developers can also create and share Connectors and Connector templates within a project and with multiple projects and the organization. This enables easy reuse of shared assets within Web Modeler.
Support for new Camunda 8 features
Version Tag Binding
BPMN and DMN deployments are all automatically versioned today in Camunda. When using Call activities or business rule tasks, you have to link to the latest version of the called process or decision.
However, this can be problematic—especially when multiple processes and decisions make up one process solution because the latest deployed version of the BPMN or DMN is not always the one that the process designer needs to use.
You can now provide a user-generated version tag, such as “1.3.2”, to ensure the desired version of processes, decisions, and forms when building process solutions is always used, regardless of future deployments. This is key for managing external or shared dependencies.
Prioritize user tasks
Before this release, there was no ability to flag user tasks by priority. In many cases, process developers must set a priority either static or via an expression (more often via an expression) to highlight more urgent tasks for critical processes.
For example, there may be tasks that need to be processed faster for specific key customers or possibly to prioritize fulfillment tasks for special membership customers such as a VIP or something similar.
With this release, there is a new user task “Priority” tag that will allow for this functionality.
We hope you enjoy everything in the latest Web Modeler 8.6.0-alpha5 release!
Desktop Modeler
There have been several updates to Desktop Modeler with this release including:
New variable overview
Tracking and managing all data elements within your process models is often difficult, lacking visibility to where data is created, modified, or utilized. This can lead to inefficiencies and errors in the process design and execution.
With this release, users are now equipped with a data management interface within Desktop Modeler that provides a clear overview of all data elements in the process including their creation, modification, and usage points.
Support for Camunda 8 features
Please see Web Modeler for details on the support of Camunda 8 features as they are available for both Web and Desktop Modeler.
Camunda 8 Connectors enabled by default
With this release, you can use the out-of-the-box Camunda 8 Connectors by default by fetching the latest templates. This feature enhances workflow efficiency and reduces setup time. To learn how to configure this feature, check out the Connectors documentation.
Check out the full release notes for this month’s Desktop Modeler v5.27 release right here.
Connectors
Improvements to the element template generator
With this release, various improvements have been made to the element template generator. The Postman and OpenAPI Element Template Generator now supports direct JSON input (previously it only supported link/file path input). The Postman Element Template Generator also now supports generating element templates for specified operation IDs.
Deprecation of none start event element templates
We have also depreciated the none start event element templates for message queue inbound Connectors. Until now, inbound Connectors could have been used with none start events, or with message start events. With this alpha release, we deprecated the none start event element templates for Kafka, RabbitMQ, AWS SQS, and SNS inbound connectors. None start events lack deduplication and correlation settings which are features often required when working with message-based data sources. To prevent confusion, we recommend using message start event element templates with Kafka, RabbitMQ, AWS SQS, and SNS inbound Connectors.
Check out the full release notes for this month’s Connectors 8.6.0-alpha5 release right here.
Operate
In this release, we have provided various bug fixes.
We hope you enjoy everything in the latest Operate 8.6.0-alpha5 release!
Zeebe
Several things are included with this alpha release of Zeebe including the following:
Message correlation with result
Zeebe now offers feedback on message correlation to report the success or failure of message correlation. This allows users to act on the outcome of the correlation, in case of a successful correlation the process instance key is returned.
Version tag binding for linked resources
You can now pin dependent files using a user-generated versionTag. By specifying a version tag like “1.3.4”, you can ensure that the right version of a dependent BPMN, DMN, or Form file is always used, regardless of future deployments. This feature is ideal for managing external or shared dependencies.
Migration of process management endpoints to Camunda 8 REST API
With the integration of the Zeebe endpoints into the Camunda 8 REST API, you can enhance your process application-building experience. Developers can transition from gPRC to REST with the assurance of having the same endpoints.
This release provides the full Job REST API. In addition, the REST client interceptors are now available and allow you to modify requests to the Camunda 8 REST API.
Check out the full release notes for this month’s Zeebe 8.6.0-alpha5 release right here.
Self-Managed
New licensing
As previously provided in our Licensing Update for Camunda 8 Self-Managed blog and the forum post, Camunda is proceeding with the requirement of a production license for Camunda to be used in production environments.
The new licensing approach introduces a unified license that encompasses the licensing of all Camunda 8 self-managed distribution components. This approach simplifies the licensing process, enhances the user experience, and ensures consistency and compliance across environments.
With the alpha5 release, you can test out the licensing installation process in nonproduction environments making sure you are ready to move forward with the new licensing process with Camunda version 8.6 when released.
All enterprise customers will receive their license keys before the Camunda 8.6 release, ensuring a smooth transition to the new model.
How the new licensing works
With the Camunda 8.6-alpha5 release, we will include the ability to provide license keys. Users must provide a valid license key to deploy Camunda 8 with the new licensing model. This key is essential for enabling advanced features and maintaining compliance with the new licensing terms.
When deploying Camunda 8 using Helm, the license key must be specified in the Helm values file under the global.licenseKey configuration parameter. You must ensure that the license key is properly encoded and referenced to avoid deployment issues.
global:
# https://github.com/camunda/camunda-platform/releases
license:
## @param global.license.existingSecret you can provide an existing secret name for Camunda license secret.
existingSecret: camunda-licence-key-secret
## @param global.license.existingSecretKey you can provide the key within the existing secret object for Camunda license key.
existingSecretKey: license-keyFor detailed instructions on configuring the license key and deploying Camunda 8, please refer to the Helm Chart documentation or the official Camunda website. We encourage all users to review these updates and make necessary adjustments to their deployment processes to align with the new licensing requirements.
Camunda multi-region, dual region set up
Improved failover and fallback performance
With this release, the failover process has been optimized to achieve a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of under 1 minute, excluding DNS considerations. The failback process now has an RTO of 5 + X minutes, where X accounts for the time required to back up and restore Elasticsearch. Additionally, a potential risk of data loss for Operate and Tasklist has been eliminated, ensuring a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of zero with the new procedure. If you want more information, see the documentation.
Extended multi-region setup to OpenShift
The self-managed dual region documentation has been updated to remove the “OpenShift not supported” statement and now outlines the requirements for inter-cluster communication. Kubernetes services in one cluster must be resolvable and reachable from the other. For OpenShift, Submariner is recommended to handle multi-cluster networking, with implementation guides coming soon.
Helm Chart Updates
Play supported by default
The play button is now visible by default in Web Modeler if the environmental PLAY_ENABLED is set to true.
Removed the need for post-render and dedicated values for OpenShift
It is now possible to install the Helm chart on OpenShift without the need for a post-renderer or dedicated values.yaml provided for installation purposes. Only one value must be changed in the values.yaml to make the chart compatible.
Streamlined upgrade process and secrets generation
Now it’s possible to auto-generate secrets conditionally which will streamline the upgrade process.
Elasticsearch runs in HA mode by default
With this release, Elasticsearch runs in three nodes by default to be more resilient to possible failures.
OpenShift version updated
Supported OpenShift versions have been updated according to the product lifecycle with this alpha release. OpenShift 4.12 is out of our support matrix since its EOL and OpenShift 4.16 has been tested and added to the support matrix.
Camunda 8 Run
Camunda has been working to make a new distribution to simplify usage and testing on the platform for users. Developers can now run Camunda 8 locally. With this release, Camunda 8 Run is available for download, allowing for quick installation and setup of a running automation cluster within minutes.
Optimize
In this release, we have provided various bug fixes.
We hope you enjoy everything in the latest Optimize 8.6.0-alpha5 release!
Tasklist
Internationalization
Tasklist now supports multiple languages, making it easier for teams around the globe to work with the tool in their preferred language. This enhancement improves usability and accessibility, allowing users to switch languages seamlessly within the Tasklist interface. The languages that will be supported on this version are: German, English, Spanish and French.
Task Prioritization
With this release, we have introduced Task Priority management in Tasklist! You can now set and manage priorities for your tasks, ensuring that the most important items are highlighted and tackled first. This feature streamlines task management and helps teams stay focused on high-priority work. The priority can be set on the modeler with accepted values from 0 to 100.
Custom core-styling
Tasklist now offers enhanced customization with core-styling capabilities. Users can tailor the look and feel of Tasklist to better match their brand or workflow, making it more adaptable and visually aligned with their specific needs.
Camunda 7
You can find the latest release notes for Camunda Platform 7.22.0-alpha5 on our forums. Check them out here.
Thank you
We hope you enjoy the latest updates! For more, be sure to review the latest release notes as well. If you have any feedback or thoughts, please feel free to contact us or let us know on our forum.
If you don’t have an account, you can try out the latest version today with a free trial.
Start the discussion at forum.camunda.io