Operaton

Sonarqube Static Analysis 99 Percent Reduction

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A Milestone Achievement: 99% Reduction in Static Analysis Issues

We’re thrilled to share a significant milestone in the Operaton Project—we’ve successfully reduced static analysis issues reported by SonarQube by 99%. This achievement represents not just numbers on a dashboard, but a fundamental transformation in our commitment to code quality and long-term maintainability.

From 16,000+ Issues to Under 200

When we first analyzed the Operaton codebase with SonarQube, we discovered over 16,000 code quality issues—a daunting mountain of technical debt inherited from the project’s origins. While the overall code quality wasn’t poor, the sheer volume of issues created challenges:

Obscured real problems behind thousands of minor findings
Discouraged contributors from maintaining high standards
Made code reviews harder by mixing critical issues with trivial ones
Slowed development as developers navigated through inconsistent code patterns

Today, we’ve brought that number down to under 200 issues—a reduction of 99%. This isn’t just about cleaning up warnings; it’s about creating a codebase that’s ready for the future.

Why This Matters

For Code Quality

A clean SonarQube report means:

Easier identification of genuine bugs and security vulnerabilities
Consistent code patterns that make the codebase easier to understand
Higher confidence when making changes or adding features
Better maintainability for both core contributors and community members

For the Community

This achievement creates a welcoming environment for contributors:

New developers can understand the code more quickly
Contributors can maintain high standards without fighting existing patterns
Code reviews focus on meaningful improvements rather than style inconsistencies
The project signals its commitment to professional quality

For Long-Term Sustainability

Technical debt doesn’t just slow you down today—it compounds over time. By addressing these issues systematically, we’re:

Preventing future problems before they accumulate
Building on a solid foundation for new features
Reducing maintenance burden for years to come
Ensuring Operaton remains viable as a modern BPMN engine

The Role of SonarQube

SonarQube has been instrumental in this journey. As a leading platform for continuous code quality inspection, it helps us:

Detect bugs and code smells automatically across our extensive codebase
Identify security vulnerabilities before they reach production
Track technical debt and measure progress objectively
Enforce coding standards consistently across all modules
Maintain code coverage and test quality metrics

By leveraging SonarQube’s powerful static analysis capabilities, we’ve transformed subjective code quality discussions into objective, measurable improvements.

How We Got Here

This wasn’t achieved overnight. It required:

Clear Goals: Setting ambitious but achievable targets and tracking progress
Systematic Approach: Addressing issues module by module, priority by priority
Team Dedication: Multiple contributors working consistently toward the same vision
Quality Standards: Establishing and enforcing higher standards for new code
Community Support: Early adopters testing changes and providing feedback

Every pull request, every code review, every refactoring contributed to this achievement.

Part of a Bigger Picture

This milestone doesn’t exist in isolation—it’s part of our broader modernization journey:

JUnit 5 migration: Moving from legacy testing frameworks to modern standards
Dependency updates: Removing outdated Java EE components
API refinement: Ensuring stability and consistency for the 1.0 release
Documentation improvements: Making Operaton accessible to everyone

Each initiative reinforces the others, creating a cohesive, modern platform that truly belongs to the community.

What’s Next?

Reaching 99% reduction isn’t the end—it’s a new beginning:

Maintaining standards: Ensuring new code meets our quality bar
Eliminating remaining issues: Working toward 99% and beyond
Continuous improvement: Leveraging automated tools and code reviews
Sharing knowledge: Helping other open-source projects achieve similar results

Join Us on This Journey

This achievement belongs to the entire Operaton community. Whether you’ve contributed code, reported issues, participated in discussions, or simply used Operaton in your projects—you’re part of this success.

As we continue building a sustainable, modern BPMN engine, we invite you to:

Contribute to the codebase with confidence in its quality
Share your ideas in our forum
Help us maintain these high standards as we grow

Together, we’re proving that open-source projects can achieve enterprise-grade quality while remaining community-driven and accessible.

Celebrating Quality

Reducing static analysis issues by 99% is more than a technical achievement—it’s a statement of our values. It demonstrates that Operaton is committed to excellence, not just in features, but in the foundation upon which those features are built.

Here’s to clean code, sustainable development, and a bright future for the Operaton Project.

Thank you to everyone who made this possible.

Below 1k Sonar Issues

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Static analysis findings drop below 1,000 issues!

Today, we’re thrilled to announce a significant milestone for the Operaton project: our static code analysis findings have dropped below 1,000 issues! This achievement reflects our ongoing commitment to code quality, maintainability, and overall project health.

A Commitment To Quality

Over the past months, our development team has been diligently working to address technical debt and improve the codebase. By leveraging tools like SonarQube, we’ve been able to identify areas for improvement and systematically tackle them.

When SonarQube was first introduced to the Operaton project, we had over 16,000 issues to address. Now, we have adressed ~95% of them.

Our mission was clear: reduce complexity, eliminate code smells, and enhance the overall quality of our BPMN engine.

Why This Matters

Reducing static analysis findings is more than just a numbers game. It directly impacts:

Maintainability: A cleaner codebase is easier to understand, modify, and extend. This means faster development cycles and reduced risk of introducing bugs.
Reliability: Addressing code smells and potential bugs leads to a more stable and reliable BPMN engine, which is crucial for mission-critical applications.
Community Confidence: As an open-source project, we rely on our community of contributors and users. A high-quality codebase fosters trust and encourages more developers to get involved.
Future Growth: A solid foundation allows us to innovate and add new features more effectively, ensuring that Operaton remains a leading choice for BPMN process automation.

How We Achieved This

Our team continously monitors the codebase using SonarQube, and resolve whatever we can.

A large portion of findings have been resolvable using OpenRefactory automated refactorings.

But beyond this, we had to tackle each of the remaining issues manually, which required careful analysis and thoughtful refactoring.

AI tools, especially GitHub Copilot, have been a great help in this process, assisting our developers in crafting cleaner, more efficient code.

Furthermore, resolving static analysis findings are a low hanging fruit for new contributors to get familiar with the codebase and contribute meaningfully. We have received refactorings from multiple first-time contributors, which has been a great help.

How You Can Help

The remaining issues are more complex and will require deeper analysis and refactoring. We invite our community members to join us in this effort. If you’re interested in contributing, here are a few ways you can help:

Review the SonarQube Dashboard: Familiarize yourself with the current findings and identify areas where you can contribute
Pick an Issue: Choose an issue that interests you and start working on a solution
Submit a Pull Request: Share your improvements with the community by submitting a pull request

Dvelop Migrates To Operaton

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

d.velop Successfully Migrated to Operaton in Production

We’re thrilled to share exciting news from the Operaton community: d.velop, a leading provider of document management and digital process solutions, has successfully migrated to Operaton in production!

This milestone was announced by Andre Thesker on LinkedIn, and further discussed by Karsten Thoms, representing more than just a technical achievement—it’s a powerful validation of Operaton’s maturity, stability, and readiness for mission-critical enterprise workloads.

Why This Matters

d.velop’s decision to migrate to Operaton demonstrates several key points:

Production-Ready Stability: Operaton has proven itself capable of handling real-world, business-critical workflows in demanding enterprise environments.
Seamless Migration Path: The transition from Camunda 7 CE to Operaton can be accomplished smoothly, minimizing disruption and risk.
Community Confidence: When established software companies choose Operaton, it signals strong confidence in the project’s long-term viability and open-source commitment.

d.velop: Advancing Digital Transformation

d.velop has built its reputation on providing robust document management systems and workflow automation platforms. Their BPMN-based process automation relies on a solid, dependable engine to orchestrate complex business processes across their platform.

By migrating to Operaton, d.velop ensures:

Continued Innovation: Access to an actively maintained, community-driven BPMN engine that evolves with modern requirements.
Open Source Freedom: No vendor lock-in, full transparency, and the ability to contribute to the platform’s future.
Long-Term Sustainability: A stable foundation built on proven technology with a committed community behind it.

What This Means for the Operaton Community

d.velop’s successful production migration is significant for several reasons:

Real-World Validation: Moving production workloads to Operaton proves that the engine is ready for enterprise use. It’s not just a promising alternative—it’s a proven solution.

Migration Confidence: Organizations still running Camunda 7 CE can look to d.velop’s experience as evidence that migration to Operaton is achievable and worthwhile.

Growing Ecosystem: Every company that adopts Operaton strengthens the community, contributes to the knowledge base, and helps ensure the project’s sustainability.

The Open Source Advantage

d.velop’s choice reinforces why open source matters in business-critical infrastructure:

Transparency: Complete visibility into the codebase ensures no hidden surprises.
Control: Organizations retain control over their technology stack without depending on commercial licensing decisions.
Collaboration: The ability to contribute improvements benefits everyone in the community.

Join the Movement

d.velop joins a growing community of organizations choosing Operaton for their BPMN process automation needs. From healthcare to enterprise software, companies are recognizing that Operaton provides:

Full compatibility with Camunda 7.24
Active development and regular releases
Comprehensive documentation and migration tools
A welcoming, collaborative community

Looking Forward

As more organizations like d.velop migrate to Operaton, we’re building momentum for a truly independent, community-driven BPMN engine. Each success story strengthens the ecosystem and demonstrates that open source can deliver enterprise-grade reliability.

We’re grateful to d.velop for their confidence in Operaton and for sharing their success with the community. Their migration paves the way for others and shows that the future of BPMN process automation is open, collaborative, and bright.

Are you considering migrating to Operaton? Connect with our community, explore our migration guides, and discover how Operaton can power your business processes. Together, we’re building the BPMN engine that truly belongs to everyone.

Operaton Youtube Channel

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Operaton is Now on YouTube

We’re excited to announce that Operaton has officially launched its YouTube channel! As our community continues to grow, we wanted to create a space where you can discover Operaton through video content—making it easier than ever to learn, explore, and stay connected.

Why YouTube?

Learning by watching has become one of the most effective ways to understand new technologies. With our YouTube channel, we’re bringing Operaton closer to you through:

Tutorials and Getting Started Guides – Step-by-step videos to help you set up, configure, and run Operaton
Feature Deep Dives – Explore the capabilities of Operaton’s BPMN, CMMN, and DMN engines
Community Highlights – Stories from users and contributors who are building with Operaton
Release Updates – Stay informed about new versions and what’s changing

Join Our Growing Community

The YouTube channel is another way we’re expanding how you can engage with Operaton. Whether you prefer reading documentation, discussing on our forum, or watching video tutorials—there’s now a place for everyone.

Subscribe to our channel:
🎬 youtube.com/@operaton-engine

We’d love to hear what kind of content you’d like to see. Drop us a comment, connect with us on LinkedIn, or join the conversation in our forum.

Building the Future Together

This is just the beginning. As Operaton evolves, so will our video content. We’re committed to creating resources that help developers, architects, and organizations succeed with open-source process automation.

Thank you for being part of this journey. Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button and stay tuned for more!

See you on YouTube!

Operaton 1 0 Released

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Operaton 1.0: A New Era for Open-Source Process Automation

Today marks a momentous milestone in our journey: Operaton 1.0 is here!

After months of dedicated work, rigorous testing, and invaluable community support, we’re proud to announce the first stable, production-ready release of Operaton. This isn’t just a version number—it’s a commitment to the open-source community and the future of process automation.

The Journey to 1.0

When we started Operaton as a fork of Camunda 7, our mission was clear: keep open-source process automation alive, accessible, and community-driven. But we didn’t want to just maintain what existed—we wanted to build something better, stronger, and truly open.

The path to 1.0 has been marked by:

Over 1,500 commits pushing the project forward
1,100+ pull requests merged from dedicated contributors
370+ issues resolved to ensure stability and reliability
60+ contributors who believed in this vision
25,000+ automated tests modernized to JUnit 5
80%+ code coverage meeting SonarQube standards

These numbers tell a story of dedication, collaboration, and a shared belief that open-source process automation deserves a bright future.

Battle-Tested and Production-Ready

Operaton 1.0 isn’t just stable on paper—it’s proven in real-world environments. Multiple organizations have already deployed Operaton in production, validating its reliability and robustness. Their confidence in our platform fuels our commitment to excellence.

This release represents more than technical achievements. It’s about creating a platform that developers and businesses can trust for their most critical workflow automation needs.

Seamless Migration Path

We understand that migrating platforms is a significant decision. That’s why Operaton 1.0 maintains full compatibility with Camunda 7.24, making your transition as smooth as possible.

Here’s how simple it can be:

Upgrade your Camunda installation to version 7.24 (if needed)
Switch your dependencies to Operaton
Use our OpenRewrite-based migration tools for automated updates

We’ve built the bridge—now you can cross it with confidence.

What Makes 1.0 Special?

This release represents our promise to the community:

No breaking changes in the Java API moving forward—stability you can depend on
Complete technical transparency—no closed-source components, ever
Modern foundation—built on current, supported technologies
Community-first approach—your voice shapes our direction
Focus on the core—BPM, CMMN, and DMN engines and closely related components

A Community Achievement

Operaton 1.0 is not the work of a single team—it’s a community achievement. Every bug report, every pull request, every discussion in our forum has contributed to making this release possible.

To everyone who tested beta versions, provided feedback, contributed code, or simply believed in what we’re building: Thank you. This milestone belongs to all of us.

Looking Forward

Reaching 1.0 isn’t the end of our journey—it’s the beginning of a new chapter. With a stable foundation in place, we’re ready to innovate, grow, and continue building the BPM engine that truly belongs to everyone.

Join the Movement

Whether you’re considering migration from Camunda 7, exploring process automation for the first time, or looking for a truly open-source BPM solution, we invite you to join us.

Try Operaton 1.0 on GitHub
Join the conversation in our forum
Share your success stories—we’d love to hear how you’re using Operaton
Contribute—every contribution, big or small, makes a difference

Together, we’re not just maintaining a project—we’re building the future of open-source process automation.

Welcome to Operaton 1.0. Welcome to a new era.

The Operaton Team

What We Learned From Taking Over Camunda 7 CE

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Inheriting Complexity

When you take over a complex open source project like Camunda 7 CE—without the original development team—you’re not just inheriting code. You’re inheriting a legacy of undocumented decisions, implicit knowledge, and deep architectural nuances. That legacy can simultaneously be a great advantage and a significant challenge.

At Operaton, we faced exactly this scenario. Our goal was clear but ambitious: fork Camunda 7 CE, evolve it into something new, yet preserve the core elements that originally made it powerful. The greatest challenge we faced wasn’t just technical; it was understanding the system deeply enough to be self-reliant, both technically and conceptually.

Why Refactoring Tests Was Our First Step

When confronted with a massive, unfamiliar codebase, one of the most effective strategies for understanding it is to refactor its tests. Refactoring tests helps you:

Understand the original developers’ assumptions.
Reveal hidden dependencies and identify unstable or flaky behaviors.
Determine which aspects are critical and which merely happen to work.

In other words, by refactoring tests, you don’t simply verify the code—you test your own understanding of how the system functions.

Owning the Test Infrastructure is Non-Negotiable

Integration tests in a production-grade workflow engine aren’t optional—they’re fundamental to the architecture. Without robust and maintainable test infrastructure, making any substantial changes feels risky and unstable.

To confidently manage our fork, we prioritized:

Gaining a deep understanding of the existing test framework.
Optimizing our Continuous Integration (CI) pipelines for reliability and speed.
Developing new test cases tailored to the future direction of our project.

Why We Started One Year Before Camunda 7 CE’s EOL

Camunda 7 CE will reach end-of-life (EOL) in October 2025. Recognizing the importance of genuine ownership over our fork, we knew waiting until the last moment wasn’t an option.

We made an intentional decision to begin a full year ahead of EOL to fully own the future of our project. Practically, this meant:

Forking and actively managing the lifecycle of the entire Camunda 7 CE stack.
Committing to an entire year of backports from the Camunda 7 CE repository.
Carefully refactoring the codebase while ensuring stability throughout.

This process has undoubtedly been intensive, but necessary. Without this proactive approach, we would remain perpetually behind, constantly reacting to upstream changes rather than proactively shaping our own roadmap.

Beyond Legacy: Shaping the Future

Our experience reinforced a critical insight: exceptional software doesn’t just come from inherited code. It emerges from understanding deeply, refactoring thoroughly, and consistently rebuilding confidence.

While Camunda 7 CE provided us with a powerful foundation, what we’re building with Operaton is fundamentally different: a free, embeddable BPMN engine designed explicitly for accessibility and broad adoption.

We are not just carrying a legacy—we are actively reshaping it. This effort ensures that what we create meets the needs of current and future developers, projects, and innovations.

Open Source Vs Open Core

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

How Operaton Does Governance Differently

“If it doesn’t cost anything, it can’t be worth anything!”
– A common argument from sales teams.
But does this really apply to open-source software?

Much of the digital world we rely on every day is built on open-source foundations. From smartphones (Android, based on Linux), to websites (WordPress, Apache, Nginx), and cloud-native infrastructure (Kubernetes, Docker)—modern technology would be unthinkable without open-source contributions.

While the software may be free to use, it is far from free to create.

Open Source: Built on Collaboration

Behind every impactful open-source project lies a network of dedicated developers, active community members, and companies investing time, expertise, and resources. Many of these efforts are supported by organizations whose staff contribute not for direct profit, but for broader strategic, technical, and societal benefits.

Open source is not “free as in free beer.” It’s “free as in freedom”—freedom to use, modify, distribute, and improve. It is about knowledge sharing, collaborative development, transparency, and a commitment to building better software together. Key pillars of open-source governance include:

Inclusive decision-making
Transparent security and code quality processes
Open tracking of project activity and financials

These principles foster trust and encourage organic community growth driven by shared values and passion—not just commercial incentives.

The Limitations of the Open-Core Model

In contrast, the Open-Core model typically centers around a single company retaining control. While the core software is technically open source, critical features, updates, and integrations are often locked behind paid “enterprise” versions.

This approach has several downsides:

Restricted innovation: Features vital to many users are not community-accessible.
Limited community engagement: Independent contributors often focus on bug fixes rather than feature development.
Single-vendor dependence: The roadmap is driven by one entity, reducing transparency and diversity of input.

While this model may drive short-term commercial gains, it often fails to cultivate the vibrant, sustainable ecosystems that pure open-source projects can achieve.

Operaton: 100% Open Source, Forever

Operaton takes a different approach. We are—and always will be—a fully open-source project. There is no “enterprise edition” with gated features. Everything we build is accessible to everyone, under the same open license.

Our model supports commercial collaboration through trusted partners who offer:

Turn-Key Solutions – Integrated offerings for specific industries and use-cases with Operaton at the core.
Commercial Consulting & Enterprise Support – Expert services, training, and technical support tailored to professional and enterprise environments.
Combined Services – Many partners blend both delivery and advisory, ensuring end-to-end value.

To safeguard our commitment to openness, the Operaton trademark will be held by an independent non-profit organization. This ensures no single company can monopolize the Operaton brand. Commercial vendors must build their own distributions and services on top of Operaton—just as Red Hat Enterprise Linux is based on the Linux kernel.

Join the Movement

Whether you’re interested in building solutions on top of Operaton, becoming a trusted partner, or simply contributing to the ecosystem—there’s a place for you in the Operaton community.

Let’s build the future of process automation—together, openly, and sustainably.

From Vintage Engine To The Future

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Migrating Operaton to JUnit 5

At the Operaton Project, our mission goes beyond merely keeping software alive—we ensure it thrives, remains maintainable, and continues to empower developers today and into the future. A significant step in this journey is our ambitious project of migrating our extensive test suite from JUnit 4 to JUnit 5.

Why Move Away from JUnit 4?

Firstly, let’s clear up a common misunderstanding: JUnit 4 is robust, reliable, and has served the Java community exceptionally well. In fact, there’s a popular saying:

“New projects start with JUnit 5, existing stable projects stay on JUnit 4.”

This reflects a widely held respect for the reliability of JUnit 4. However, at Operaton, we’re thinking strategically for the long term.

Embracing Developer Experience

Modern developers overwhelmingly prefer JUnit 5. Its intuitive structure, enhanced readability, and better annotations significantly boost developer productivity and happiness. A positive developer experience makes Operaton attractive for current and future contributors, enriching our community and ensuring our software remains vibrant.

Shaping Operaton’s Future

The migration to JUnit 5 isn’t merely an upgrade—it’s a clear signal that we’re committed to forward-thinking sustainability. By moving beyond the JUnit Vintage Engine (which enables running JUnit 4 tests), we distance ourselves from legacy technology. This aligns with our evolving identity as an independent, forward-looking BPMN engine, distinct from our origins based on the Camunda 7 CE codebase.

Indeed, Operaton is no longer simply a fork or copy of Camunda 7 CE. We’ve extensively refactored and removed legacy JavaEE components, crafting a distinctly modern and maintainable engine. Migrating to JUnit 5 reinforces this identity and supports our long-term vision.

Migration Isn’t Easy—But It’s Worth It

Switching test frameworks involves far more than just changing annotations. Our migration journey includes:

Comprehensive migration of all tests from JUnit 4 to JUnit 5.
Revisiting and improving test visibility, naming conventions, and readability.
Reassessing disabled tests and standardizing our testing strategies.
Enhancing our overall test coverage to ensure robustness and quality.

Yes, it’s extensive and demanding—but the rewards are significant. Our developers grow deeply familiar with the Operaton engine by actively rewriting and refining tests. It’s a win-win for individual skill development and collective project health.

Progress Check: How Are We Doing?

As of now:

Roughly 70% of test directories have undergone initial migration.
Key modules such as the core engine and integration tests, crucial to Operaton’s functionality, are under active migration.
Our progress is steady, structured, and achievable.

Fully Committed to Completion

Migration projects often begin with enthusiasm but stall midway—not this one. Our commitment is firm: we’re set on completing the initial migration fully by this autumn. It’s essential for us to deliver a clear success story, showcasing what’s possible when the community is determined and collaborative.

Join Our Journey

We invite you to follow along, contribute ideas, or even better—join our growing community. Help shape Operaton’s future and be part of our shared success.

Operaton Runs Everywhere

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Versatile. Scalable. Future-Proof.

If you’ve ever worked with BPMN engines, you’re familiar with the classic deployment dilemma: Should you embed it directly within your Java application, deploy it as a standalone service, host it on-premises, or embrace the scalability of the cloud?

Operaton simplifies this choice by supporting all these deployment scenarios seamlessly.

Flexibility at its Core

With Operaton, you gain unparalleled flexibility:

Embedded Mode: Integrate Operaton directly into your Java application for maximum control and performance.
Standalone Service: Run Operaton as a dedicated service on your own infrastructure, providing isolation and manageability.
Cloud & Kubernetes: Deploy seamlessly on cloud infrastructure or leverage Kubernetes orchestration for effortless scalability and management.

Exciting News: Operaton Now Has a Helm Chart!

We’re thrilled to announce the release of the official Helm chart for Operaton!

Deploying Operaton on Kubernetes is now simpler than ever. With just a single command, you can have Operaton up and running, fully integrated into your Kubernetes environment.

You can find our Helm chart available on ArtifactHUB, the centralized repository for Kubernetes charts, which streamlines your workflow automation journey.

If you’re running a local Kubernetes setup like Minikube, you’re in luck! You can test-drive Operaton immediately without any complicated configuration steps.

Check out the details and start your Kubernetes deployment journey by visiting our operaton-helm repository.

Operaton: A Modern Fork of Camunda 7

Operaton is a forward-thinking fork of Camunda 7, maintaining compatibility while actively introducing enhancements, modernizing architecture, and simplifying integrations. Our goal is to continually refine Operaton to meet evolving business needs and technical landscapes.

Your Workflow, Your Way

We’re curious—how are you currently running your BPMN workflows? Do you prefer on-premises control, cloud agility, or the seamless integration of an embedded solution?

Let’s start a conversation!

Time To Clean Up Operaton

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Time to Clean Up Operaton

At Operaton, our fork of Camunda 7 Community Edition, we are fully committed to modernization. A significant step forward is removing legacy support for outdated environments, particularly Java EE application servers still using the older javax namespace. Although Camunda 7 CE impressively supported both Java EE and Jakarta EE simultaneously, this dual support added substantial complexity.

Our vision for Operaton is clear: we aim for a leaner, more modern, and maintainable platform, ensuring a smooth transition path for existing Camunda 7 CE users. The notable exception here is legacy Java EE servers, as migrating these servers typically requires broader modernization efforts.

This week, we reached an important milestone: after extensive cleanup and optimization, Operaton’s core engine successfully passed multiple integration tests on both Tomcat and WildFly within our CI pipeline. These tests are crucial, as they guarantee that the Operaton BPMN engine runs reliably on modern application servers and diverse database environments.

Our next step is to fully remove the legacy burden and streamline the codebase. The benefits of this cleanup will include:

Faster upgrades in the future
Enhanced clarity and easier onboarding for new contributors
Reduced legacy bloat, enabling greater focus on essential features

By the release of version 1.0.0-beta-4, this cleanup process will be finalized, all while maintaining robust stability. Our comprehensive integration tests provide the safety net needed to advance confidently.

Ritense Joins Operaton On The Open Source Journey

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The open source landscape is all about community, innovation, and independence. Today, we’re excited to share a major milestone in this journey: Ritense, the open source process company from the Netherlands, is now supporting Operaton.

“The German company Camunda forked the open-source BPMN engine Activiti ten years ago. Over a decade, they have made significant contributions to the product—not only by developing the engine but also by creating a wealth of knowledge in the form of documentation, videos, events, and even books. After receiving a $100 million investment from an American venture capitalist, the company is now moving away from the open-source codebase. As part of the large global user community, I want to thank Camunda for their enormous contribution to the open-source world.

Now it’s time for a new organisation to take over stewardship of the engine—one that can guide the product to the next stage. Ritense had planned to take on this role, but Germany beat us to it. The Camunda engine has been forked in Germany under a FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) license, and Ritense is joining this initiative from the Netherlands.”

— Rutger Haagsma, Director and co-founder at Ritense

Operaton: A Community-Driven Successor

Operaton was born out of the need for independence and innovation. It represents the next chapter for the BPMN engine—a new organizational stewardship dedicated to evolving the product while keeping the core values of the open source movement alive. By forking the Camunda 7 CE engine under a FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) license, the Operaton initiative ensures that the development and governance of this powerful tool remain in the hands of a global community.

Ritense’s Commitment to Open Source Values

Ritense’s decision to support Operaton is a testament to their belief in open source as a means to achieve sustainable and independent BPM solutions. Their involvement is multi-faceted:

SLA Services: Ritense will provide robust service level agreements, ensuring that users in the Netherlands have access to reliable, professional support for Operaton.
Development Support: With a commitment to continuous improvement, Ritense will actively contribute to the further development of Operaton, ensuring that the engine not only meets current demands but is also prepared for future challenges.
Ecosystem Integration: Operaton is already proving its worth. In the Valtimo BPM platform, Operaton has been integrated seamlessly.

Why Open Source Matters

Open source is more than just a licensing model—it’s a philosophy that empowers innovation, promotes collaboration, and reduces dependency on any single entity. In our increasingly complex technological landscape, having multiple organizations and communities contribute to and govern a tool like the BPMN engine ensures resilience, adaptability, and growth.

Ritense’s support for Operaton underscores the belief that true progress in technology happens when knowledge, expertise, and responsibility are shared openly. This commitment not only honors the legacy of the original Activiti and Camunda projects but also sets a clear path for the future of BPM solutions.

Join the Movement

Operaton stands at the crossroads of innovation and community-driven progress. We invite everyone—from system administrators, integrators to developers—to join us in the open source spirit and building the next generation of independent BPM solutions.

Beta 3 Release

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We are excited to announce the release of Operaton Beta-3, bringing us one step closer to a powerful, community-driven BPMN engine.

Key Updates

Three Distributions – Beta-3 is available in three variants:
- Standalone (AKA “Operaton”)
- Tomcat 10
- WildFly 33
Docker Images – All distributions are now published as Docker images on DockerHub.
Comment API Enhancements – Added support for updating and deleting comments via Java/REST APIs.
Improved Error Logging – Unhandled BPMN errors now provide more informative log messages.

Bug Fixes & Improvements

Parent POM Restructuring – Cleaner and more maintainable builds.
Obsolete Tests Removed – Removed outdated Swagger UI tests.
SQL & API Fixes – Various improvements to SQL script tests and API page size handling.
WildFly Module Fixes – Improved compatibility and stability.
Code Quality Boost – Reduced issues by over 40% compared to Beta-2.
OpenAPI, OAuth2, and Identity Testing – Fixes and improvements for a more robust authentication and API experience.

Dependency & Build Updates

JReleaser Automation – Nightly builds are now handled automatically.
Spring Boot Upgrade – Enhanced security and performance.
JUnit 5 Enhancements – Resolved deprecations and improved testing coverage.
Code Cleanup – Removed unused private members and reduced technical debt.

Acknowledging Our Contributors

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to this release!

Contributors
Andreas Klein, Andreas Zill, Alena Geduldig, Arne Deutsch, Christoph Borowski, Christopher Möllerherm, Dirk Olmes, Javad Malaquti, Julian Haupt, Karsten Thoms, Mikhail Golubev, Paul Hempel, Prajwol Bhandari, Tales Paiva, Tim Zöller, Wolfgang Schmoller.

Try it Out Now!

Download the latest release and let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Kickstart Operaton

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Choose Your Preferred Access Method!

The Operaton Project, our free and open-source BPMN engine for everyone, is designed to make workflow automation straightforward and easy to use. We’re excited to share updates that expand how you can use Operaton in your projects.

Docker Containers

Our Docker containers are now ready to go!

Here’s what they offer:

Quick setup without dependencies.
Flexibility to run anywhere – locally, in CI/CD, or the cloud.
Version-controlled images for easy updates.

With a simple command, you can spin up Operaton in seconds:

docker run -p 8080:8080 operaton/operaton:SNAPSHOT

Then open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:8080. Log in using the credentials:

User: demo
Password: demo

Standalone Distribution

For those who prefer not to use Docker, we’re bringing back the distribution formerly known as Camunda Run, now simply Operaton.

How to get started:

Download the ZIP file from our GitHub releases page (section: Assets).
Unzip the file.
Start Operaton with the start script—no installation required!

Nightly Builds on GitHub

Stay up-to-date with the latest features by accessing our nightly builds on GitHub. These builds allow you to explore new advancements and provide timely feedback to the project.

Ensuring Quality with Integration Tests

It’s our goal to establish rigorous integration tests to ensure everything functions as expected.

While these tests are not yet fully implemented, they are a key part of what we’re working toward for the production-ready 1.0 release. This commitment will ensure a reliable and high-quality engine for all users.

Future Distribution Channels

We’re planning to extend our distribution options even further. Once our first production-ready release is available, we aim to provide packages through:

Homebrew
Chocolatey
And more!

These channels will give you even more ways to start your journey with Operaton.

How Do You Prefer to Start Your BPMN Projects?

Are you a Docker advocate?
Do you prefer standalone distributions?

Join our forum and join the discussion!

Migrating From Camunda 7

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Making Migration Easier: From Camunda 7 CE to Operaton

Transitioning from Camunda 7 CE to Operaton is a significant step, and we understand that migrations are rarely effortless. That’s why our focus is on making the process as straightforward as possible, equipping you with tools, automation, and clear guidance to minimize challenges.

Integrating Every Useful Commit

We’re committed to backporting any quality and reliability improvements from Camunda 7 CE.

Here’s how we do it:

Semi-Automated Pull Requests: We’ve implemented a process to create pull requests from a curated selection of commits.
Review Process: Every useful commit from Camunda 7 CE (up to its EOL in the 7.24 release) is flagged for review and integrated into Operaton.
4-Eyes Check Principle: Each bugfix, enhancement, or feature addition is reviewed to ensure it meets our high standards of quality and doesn’t introduce regressions.

This approach ensures that you don’t miss critical updates during the transition. We’ve got you covered.

Automating Codebase Updates with OpenRewrite

To make migration even smoother, we’re developing OpenRewrite scripts to handle key code changes:

Rewriting Includes: Automatically updates your references to point to the Operaton Project.
Adjusting Class Names: Replaces renamed class names with the new ones used in Operaton.
Refactoring Deprecated Methods: Handles deprecated methods and replaces them with documented alternatives to keep your code modern and clean.

These scripts are designed to save time, reduce errors, and make the migration process far more manageable.

Why This Matters

Here’s what our migration approach offers:

Save Time and Effort: Let our tools and processes do the heavy lifting for you.
Ensure Continuity: Receive all updates from the Camunda 7 CE repository in our releases.
Adopt Confidently: Semi-automated tools, curated backports, and high-quality checks provide a reliable path for transitioning to Operaton.

Looking Ahead

The Operaton Project is more than just a BPMN engine—it’s a commitment to reliability, innovation, and community.

By focusing on migration, we’re ensuring that everyone can benefit from a modern, open-source alternative without compromising on quality or ease of use.

What Do You Think?

Are you considering the move to Operaton? Your feedback helps us improve and deliver the best possible experience.

Let’s build the future of open-source BPMN together!

Tackling Technical Debt

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A Path to Long-Term Sustainability

In software development, technical debt can feel like a hidden anchor—slowing progress, complicating maintenance, and hindering innovation. At the Operaton Project, we’re addressing this head-on to lay a solid foundation for long-term maintainability and modernization.

Key Initiatives

Revamping Our Testing Framework

We’re migrating to JUnit 5, not just for modernization’s sake but to establish a future-proof, extensible, and maintainable test base.

With over 25,000 test cases, maintaining tests is already a challenge. Outdated tools discourage contributors from adding new cases. By adopting JUnit 5, we ensure our testing framework meets today’s standards and expectations, making it easier for developers to contribute.

Reducing Technical Debt

Our Sonar analysis revealed over 16,000 code issues—a clear sign of accumulated technical debt. While the overall code quality is decent, the sheer volume of issues creates challenges in maintaining high standards.

Here’s what we’ve achieved so far:

Addressed one third of these findings.
Set a goal to reduce the debt to 8,000 issues within two months, with continuous improvement beyond that.

By setting and enforcing higher standards, we’re creating a cleaner, more maintainable codebase for the future.

Eliminating Legacy Dependencies

We’re removing outdated Java EE components, and this is about more than just “cleaning house.” It’s about:

Eliminating security risks.
Reducing complexity.
Opening the door for innovation.

By upgrading to the latest frameworks, we’re leveraging their ongoing improvements in security, performance, and quality while avoiding the burden of maintaining both legacy and modern implementations.

Why It Matters

Every part of this effort—from modernizing tests to addressing code quality—is about creating a platform that’s sustainable, secure, and ready for the future.

This isn’t just a cleanup—it’s a strategic renovation that lays the groundwork for innovation and seamless transitions, including for users migrating from Camunda 7.

What’s Your Approach?

How do you balance technical debt and innovation in your projects?

Feel free to join the conversation in our forum.

Together, we can create a stronger, more innovative open-source community.

Merry Christmas

Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from the Operaton Project!

As we close out another year, we have something special to celebrate with all of you: Operaton has reached 100 stars on GitHub!

This milestone is a testament to the incredible support and enthusiasm from our amazing community of developers, contributors, and supporters. Together, we share a vision of making BPMN accessible to everyone with a free, open-source engine that empowers innovation. Your trust and belief in our mission have been the greatest gift of 2024!

On behalf of the Operaton team, we wish you and your loved ones a magical Christmas and a joyful holiday season filled with happiness, peace, and inspiration.

As we look ahead to 2025, we’re more excited than ever about the future of Operaton. There’s so much more to build, improve, and share with the world—and we can’t wait to do it together!

What’s your BPMN goal for the new year?

Whether it’s implementing workflows, exploring automation, or contributing to open source, let’s start the conversation. Share your thoughts with us in our forum or on GitHub!

Thank you for being part of this journey. Here’s to an exciting and collaborative year ahead!

Happy Holidays,
The Operaton Team

Beta Today Better Tomorrow

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Beta Today, Better Tomorrow: Our Release Approach

You might be wondering: Why are we still releasing beta versions? Here’s why:

Heavy Refactoring

To ensure that Operaton is truly open and community-driven, we’ve been working hard to remove trademarks and address licensing concerns.

This wasn’t just a cosmetic change—it required modifying the codebase to:

Remove trademarks.
Eliminate potential risks and errors introduced during this process.

Most importantly, we’re committed to ensuring there are no breaking changes in the Java API after our first final release. This dedication to stability is why we’re proceeding cautiously.

Modernizing for the Future

We’ve made the decision to drop compatibility with outdated Java and Spring versions.

Why? Supporting legacy technology:

Slows us down.
Holds the community back.

By focusing on supported versions, we’re building a future-proof foundation for your BPMN needs.

Testing Challenges

Integration tests are essential for stable releases, but we faced a unique challenge:

Some tests relied on a non-open Jenkins pipeline and non-public Docker images.

To uphold our commitment to openness, we’re transitioning these tests to public infrastructure. This change will:

Allow everyone—not just us—to run and verify them.
Foster greater transparency and collaboration.

Stability, Thanks to the Community

Thanks to the support from early adopters in our community, we’re confident in the stability of Operaton.

But “pretty sure” isn’t good enough. That’s why we’re committed to rigorous testing and verification to ensure our first stable release is rock-solid and ready for everyone.

What’s Next?

We’re working hard to:

Port all integration tests to public infrastructure.
Provide various distributions as Docker images, making it easier for users to test and integrate Operaton.

Once these steps are complete, you’ll hear about our first stable release—a version that’s tested, verified, and truly open for the community.

Together, we can make this the BPMN engine that truly belongs to everyone.

Simplyfying Plugin Management

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Plugged In: Simplifying Plugin Management with Operaton

At Operaton, our mission is to create a seamless and accessible experience for both users and contributors. When it comes to community plugins, we’ve adopted a streamlined approach: we fork and maintain plugins as needed within our main GitHub organization.

No need for a separate “community hub” or scattered repositories—every popular plugin is centrally maintained under the Operaton umbrella. This ensures quality, reliability, and ease of access for everyone who uses or contributes to the project.

The First Fork: Keycloak Plugin

We’re thrilled to announce our first plugin fork: the popular Keycloak plugin!

Keycloak is a powerful open-source identity and access management solution that provides:

Single Sign-On (SSO)
Identity Brokering
Role-based Access Control (RBAC)
Customizable Authentication Flows

With the Keycloak plugin, Operaton simplifies authentication and authorization for BPMN workflows, ensuring a secure and user-friendly environment.

Why Centralized Plugin Management?

By maintaining plugins centrally, we stay focused on what matters most:

Providing a robust and cohesive BPMN engine.
Ensuring plugins are always up-to-date and reliable.
Making it easier for developers to access, use, and contribute to the project.

We’d Love to Hear From You!

Do you think a centralized approach to plugin maintenance is the way to go?
What benefits or challenges do you foresee with this strategy?

Support Operaton

Star us on GitHub to show your support and keep up with updates.
Join the discussion on our community forum. Your voice matters!

Hello World From The Operaton Project

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Operaton, a community-driven project dedicated to keeping open-source process automation alive and thriving!

Operaton was born as a fork of Camunda 7, the widely respected open-source process engine that has been a cornerstone of Java-based process automation for years. After Camunda’s announcement that the Community Edition will reach its end of life in October 2025, we knew it was time to act.

Why Operaton?

Camunda 7 Community Edition has built an incredible legacy in the world of open-source process automation. It’s known for its seamless integration into Spring Boot and other Java applications, as well as its versatility as a lightweight external engine.

While we thank Camunda for their immense contribution and inspiration, the decision to discontinue the Community Edition left a gap in the open-source landscape. That’s why we’ve stepped in with Operaton—a project built on the foundation of Camunda 7, but with a renewed focus on community-driven innovation and complete technical transparency.

Exciting Milestones So Far

We’re thrilled to share the progress we’ve made with Operaton so far:

Released Version Beta-2
Processed 219 pull requests
Resolved 63 issues
Running 25,000 test cases daily to ensure stability and reliability

Thanks to our incredible community of contributors, Operaton is growing rapidly. Together, we’re ensuring process automation remains accessible, open, and driven by the people who rely on it.

Our Vision

Operaton is more than just a fork—it’s a fresh start.

No closed-source components. Operaton will provide full technical transparency.
Community-first approach. We’re building this together, with open collaboration at the heart of the project.
A modern roadmap. We’re not just maintaining the past; we’re innovating for the future.

Join Us!

We’re just at the beginning of this exciting journey, and we’d love for you to be part of it.

Whether you’re a developer, business user, or simply curious, here’s how you can get involved:

Follow our updates.
Stay tuned to our blog and social channels for news and announcements.
Star us on GitHub.
Check out the code, test the project, and contribute!
Join the discussion.
Visit our forum to share ideas, provide feedback, and collaborate with the community.

Together, let’s make the world of process automation a little more open and free!

The Operaton Team