Camunda 7 to 8 Migration Checklist

There are a lot of great reasons to migrate from Camunda 7 to Camunda 8. If migration is on your roadmap, it’s important to consider that migrating from Camunda 7 to Camunda 8 involves several steps to ensure a smooth transition. Below is a comprehensive checklist to guide you through the migration process, based on our migration guide.

1. Orient yourself

Start by understanding the fundamental changes in architecture, APIs, and concepts between Camunda 7 and 8. This phase helps you assess the scope of your migration and align your technical and business goals.

• Understand the conceptual differences between Camunda 7 and Camunda 8 (e.g., no embedded engine, FEEL instead of JUEL, JSON-only variables, and connector model changes).
  
• Determine whether your migration path will follow the simplified or advanced flow. This will depend on the complexity of your process model, if you need to migrate running instances, the amount of custom code you’ve implemented, and whether you use delegates, among other items.
  
• Analyze your current solution with our Migration Analyzer & Diagram Converter to identify necessary changes.
  
• Explore code conversion patterns relevant to your implementation.
  
• Estimate the migration effort and allocate the necessary resources. Looking at code conversion patterns and multiplying by the number of tasks identified by the Migration Analyzer and Diagram Converter will allow you to calculate an initial estimate.
  
• Define your target Camunda version and establish a migration timeline.
  
• Consider leveraging advisory services from Camunda Consulting or Recognized Migration Partners.
  

2. Set up Camunda 8

Before migrating your workflows, decide whether to use Camunda 8 SaaS or Self-Managed, and get your environment ready. This step ensures your target system is stable, scalable, and correctly configured for your use case.

• Decide between using Camunda’s SaaS offering or setting up a Self-Managed instance. You could also get up and running quickly with Camunda 8 Run, which allows you to install and start a simplified, single-application Camunda cluster, useful for local development environments or small production systems.
  
• If using Camunda 8 Self-Managed, install and configure Camunda 8 according to your infrastructure requirements.
  
• Ensure that all necessary components are properly deployed and configured.

3. Migrate your solution

Break down your migration work into sub-tasks to adapt process models, decision logic, code, and data. This modular approach allows teams to focus efforts and validate compatibility step by step.

Adjust BPMN models

Camunda 8 supports a slightly different BPMN feature set than Camunda 7. Review your models and update them to match supported patterns.

• Update BPMN models to align with Camunda 8’s BPMN coverage.
  
• Replace any unsupported elements or configurations.
  
• Use the Migration Analyzer & Diagram Converter tool to assist in converting BPMN models from Camunda 7 to Camunda 8.

Adjust DMN models

Ensure that your decision logic works with the updated DMN engine in Camunda 8. You may need to modify decision tables or FEEL expressions based on syntax and evaluation behavior.

• Ensure DMN models are compatible with Camunda 8’s DMN engine.
  
• Modify any decision tables or expressions as needed. Camunda’s FEEL Copilot can help you rewrite more complex expressions.

Adjust source code

Camunda 8 has a different client API and replaces Java Delegates with job workers and a client-worker architecture. Refactor your source code accordingly and review all dependencies.

• Reference our Code Conversion patterns in order to refactor code to use Camunda 8 APIs, replacing deprecated or changed APIs from Camunda 7.
  
• Convert Java Delegates to Camunda 8 Job Workers.
  

Data migration

If runtime data needs to be preserved, use the Data Migrator tool (note: the ability to migrate history and audit data will be introduced with Camunda 8.9 in April 2026).

• Utilize the Data Migrator tool to transfer runtime and historical data from Camunda 7 to Camunda 8.
  
• Ensure data integrity and consistency post-migration.
  
• Plan for data backup and rollback procedures in case of migration issues.
  

4. Testing and validation

Thorough testing validates the technical correctness and business logic of your migrated solution. Performance and user acceptance testing are critical before rolling out to production.

• Refactor existing test cases or develop comprehensive new uses using Camunda Process Test.
  
• Conduct performance testing to ensure the new system meets required benchmarks if this is required by your company.
  
• Perform user acceptance testing to confirm that business requirements are met.
  

5. Deployment and rollout

Plan a phased or pilot-based deployment strategy to reduce risk. Monitor carefully during the rollout and be ready to adapt quickly based on performance and user feedback.

• Plan a phased rollout strategy to minimize risks.
  
• Monitor system performance and user feedback closely during the initial deployment phase.
  
• Be prepared to address any issues promptly to ensure a smooth transition.
  

6. Post-Migration activities

Once live, support your teams with training, establish new processes for maintenance, and capture insights from the project. These actions help you sustain the success of your migration.
The more you can document reusable patterns and use clean architecture, the easier future migration projects will be!

• Provide training and support to users and administrators on the new system.
  
• Establish ongoing maintenance and support plans.
  
• Document lessons learned and best practices for future reference.

By following this checklist, you can take a structured and comprehensive approach to migrating from Camunda 7 to Camunda 8—reducing risk, minimizing surprises, and aligning your technical migration with business goals.

If you’re not quite ready to migrate but want to ensure you’re prepared when the time comes, take a look at our migration-ready solutions for tips on how to future-proof your workflows and prepare your existing Camunda 7 solution for a smoother transition later.

Don’t miss it: Camunda 7 Migration Lab

Join us live every month at 10:00 a.m. EDT for our “Camunda 7 Migration Lab.” We’ll share the latest product updates, walk through new features and tooling designed to support migration, and dive into live demos that show what’s possible in Camunda 8. Most importantly, we’ll leave plenty of time for your questions—technical, architectural, or just “how would you handle this?”—so you can move forward with confidence.