Camunda 8 Connectors vs Workers – What's the Difference and When to Use Which?

In Camunda 8, all work is executed outside the workflow engine.

There are two main ways to integrate external systems and execute logic:

1. Camunda 8 Connectors (pre-built, configuration-driven)

2. Camunda 8 Job Workers (custom code-based workers)

Both are built on top of Zeebe's job mechanism, but they serve very different purposes.

This blog explains:

• What Connectors and Workers are

• How they work internally

• Key differences

• Real-world examples

• When to use Connectors vs Workers

• Best practices

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⭐ 1. Big Picture: Execution Model in Camunda 8

Camunda 8 is:

• Cloud-native

• Event-driven

• Asynchronous only

👉 The engine never executes business logic itself.
👉 All work is done by external executors.

Both Connectors and Workers are:

• External

• Asynchronous

• Decoupled from the engine

• Scalable

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⭐ 2. What Are Camunda 8 Connectors?

Connectors are pre-built integration components provided by Camunda.

They allow you to connect BPMN processes to external systems without writing code.

🔹 Key Characteristics

✔ Configuration-based (no custom coding)
✔ Use forms and properties in Web Modeler
✔ Run as managed workers
✔ Follow best practices out of the box
✔ Ideal for common integrations

🔹 Common Built-in Connectors

• HTTP Connector

• REST API Connector

• Kafka Connector

• Slack Connector

• Email Connector

• AWS / Azure connectors

• Google Sheets, Webhooks, etc.

---

⭐ 3. Example: HTTP Connector (No Code)

In BPMN:

• Add a Service Task

• Select Connector as implementation

• Choose HTTP Connector

Configuration example:

Method: POST
URL: https://api.example.com/approve
Headers: Authorization: Bearer {{token}}
Body: {{requestPayload}}

✔ No Java / Node code
✔ Easy to maintain
✔ Business-friendly

---

⭐ 4. What Are Camunda 8 Job Workers?

Job Workers are custom programs (Java, Node.js, Go, Python) that:

• Subscribe to a job type

• Pull jobs from Zeebe

• Execute custom logic

• Complete or fail jobs

🔹 Key Characteristics

✔ Full control over logic
✔ Written in code
✔ Can call multiple systems
✔ Can implement complex orchestration
✔ Fully customizable retry logic

---

⭐ 5. Example: Custom Job Worker (Java)

client.newWorker()
  .jobType("validate-payment")
  .handler((jobClient, job) -> {
      Map<String, Object> vars = job.getVariablesAsMap();
      // custom business logic
      jobClient.newCompleteCommand(job.getKey()).send();
  })
  .open();

✔ Custom validation
✔ Advanced error handling
✔ Complex business rules

---

⭐ 6. Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Feature	Connectors	Workers
Setup	No-code / low-code	Code-based
Language	Config only	Java, Node, Go, Python
Complexity	Low–Medium	Medium–High
Custom logic	Limited	Unlimited
Reusability	High	High (with code reuse)
Maintenance	Low	Medium–High
Performance	Optimized	Depends on implementation
Error handling	Built-in	Custom
Best for	Common integrations	Complex logic

---

⭐ 7. Error Handling & Retries

🔹 Connectors

✔ Built-in retry handling
✔ Standardized error reporting
✔ Simpler failure configuration

🔹 Workers

✔ Custom retry strategies
✔ Circuit breakers
✔ Fallback logic
✔ Advanced observability

---

⭐ 8. Security Differences

Connectors

• Secrets managed centrally

• Safer for credentials

• Less risk of leaking keys

Workers

• Full control, but full responsibility

• Must manage secrets securely

• Better for enterprise security policies

---

⭐ 9. When Should You Use Connectors?

Choose Connectors if:

✔ You want fast implementation
✔ Integration is simple or standard
✔ You want low maintenance
✔ You prefer configuration over code
✔ Business teams model workflows
✔ You use Camunda Web Modeler
✔ You want built-in best practices

Typical use cases:

• REST/HTTP calls

• Sending emails

• Slack notifications

• Webhooks

• Simple Kafka publishing

---

⭐ 10. When Should You Use Workers?

Choose Workers if:

✔ You need custom business logic
✔ Multiple system calls are required
✔ Complex transformations are needed
✔ Advanced error handling is required
✔ You want full control over execution
✔ You already have microservices
✔ You need high performance tuning

Typical use cases:

• Payment processing

• Fraud detection

• Aggregation logic

• Legacy system integration

• Long-running orchestration

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⭐ 11. Best Practice: Combine Both

👉 Real-world Camunda 8 systems use both:

• Connectors for:

  • Simple integrations

  • Notifications

  • Standard APIs

• Workers for:

  • Core business logic

  • Domain-specific rules

  • Complex orchestration

This gives:
✔ Faster development
✔ Cleaner BPMN
✔ Lower maintenance cost
✔ Better scalability

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⭐ 12. Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Using Workers for simple HTTP calls
❌ Overloading Connectors with complex logic
❌ Hardcoding secrets in Workers
❌ Ignoring retry & timeout strategies
❌ Treating Camunda 8 like Camunda 7

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🎉 Conclusion

In Camunda 8:

• Connectors = fast, low-code, standardized integrations

• Workers = powerful, flexible, code-driven execution

👉 Simple rule:

• Simple integration → Connector

• Complex logic → Worker

• Enterprise systems → Both together

Understanding when to use Connectors vs Workers is key to building scalable, maintainable, cloud-native workflows with Camunda 8.

💼 Professional Support Available

If you are facing issues in real projects related to enterprise backend development or workflow automation, I provide paid consulting, production debugging, project support, and focused trainings.

Technologies covered include Java, Spring Boot, PL/SQL, Azure, and workflow automation (jBPM, Camunda BPM, RHPAM).

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