Custom Tasklist UI for Camunda 8 – Complete Guide

Custom Tasklist UI for Camunda 8 – Complete Guide

Camunda 8 provides a default Tasklist application, but many enterprises require a fully custom Tasklist UI to meet branding, UX, security, and integration requirements.

In Camunda 8, this is not a workaround — it is a first-class, recommended architecture.

This blog explains:

✔ Why and when to build a custom Tasklist UI
✔ Camunda 8 Tasklist architecture
✔ APIs involved
✔ How task lifecycle works
✔ Example UI flow
✔ Best practices and common mistakes

⭐ 1. Why Build a Custom Tasklist UI in Camunda 8?

You should build a custom Tasklist UI when you need:

✔ Company branding (colors, layout, UX)
✔ Integration into an existing portal (ERP, CRM, HR, Banking)
✔ Role-based dashboards (Agent, Manager, Admin)
✔ Advanced validation and UI logic
✔ Mobile-first or responsive UI
✔ Single Sign-On (SSO) with enterprise IAM
✔ Better performance and control

👉 In Camunda 8, external UIs are the standard, not an exception.

⭐ 2. Big Picture Architecture

Camunda 8 Custom Tasklist Architecture:

  1. User logs into your custom UI (React / Angular / Vue)

  2. UI authenticates via SSO/OAuth2/Keycloak

  3. UI calls Camunda Tasklist API

  4. UI displays assigned or candidate tasks

  5. User claims and completes tasks

  6. Camunda 8 Summaries Workflow Execution

⚠️ Important:
Camunda 8 does not allow embedding logic inside the engine.
Everything happens via APIs and events.

⭐ 3. Camunda 8 Tasklist vs Camunda 7 Tasklist

AppearanceCamunda 7Camunda 8
TasklistEmbedded webappSeparate service
UI CustomizationLimitedFully external
EngineMonolithicDistributed (Zeebe)
ExecutionSync + AsyncAsync only
Recommended UIBuilt-in TasklistCustom UI

⭐ 4. APIs Used for Custom Tasklist UI

Your UI communicates with Camunda 8 using Tasklist APIs (GraphQL or REST, depending on setup).

🔹 Key Operations

✔ Fetch tasks
✔ Claim tasks
✔ Unclaim tasks
✔ Complete tasks
✔ Fetch variables
✔ Filter by assignee / candidate group

Example: Fetch Tasks (Conceptual)

query {
  tasks {
    id
    name
    assignee
    candidateGroups
    dueDate
    priority
  }
}

Example: Complete Task

{
  "taskId": "12345",
  "variables": {
    "approved": true,
    "comment": "Approved by manager"
  }
}

⭐ 5. Task Lifecycle in a Custom UI

1️⃣ Task is created by BPMN User Task
2️⃣ Task appears in UI (candidate group / assignee)
3️⃣ User claims task (optional)
4️⃣ User completes task with form data
5️⃣ Zeebe resumes workflow

✔ Always asynchronous
✔ Event-driven
✔ Scalable

⭐ 6. Handling Task Assignment & Authorization

Assignment Strategies

✔ candidateGroups (recommended)
✔ assignee (use sparingly)

Authorization

  • IAM (Keycloak, Azure AD, Okta)

  • Map IAM roles → Camunda groups

  • Enforce authorization in UI and API layer

⭐ 7. Forms in a Custom Tasklist UI

In a custom UI, you do NOT use Camunda Forms.

You build forms using:

  • React Forms

  • Angular Reactive Forms

  • View Forms

Your UI:
✔ Fetches task variables
✔ Renders form fields
✔ Validates input
✔ Sends output variables on completion

⭐ 8. Example: Custom Tasklist UI Flow (Loan Approval)

Flow:

  1. Loan officer logs in

  2. UI fetches tasks for grouploan_officers

  3. Officer opens task

  4. UI loads variables (amount, customer, risk)

  5. Officer approves/rejects

  6. Task is completed

  7. Workflow continues automatically

⭐ 9. Technology Stack Example

✔ Frontend: React / Angular / Vue
✔ Auth: OAuth2 / Keycloak / Azure AD
✔ API: Camunda 8 Tasklist API
✔ Backend-for-Frontend (optional): Spring Boot / Node.js
✔ Hosting: Kubernetes / Cloud

⭐ Art. 10. Best Practices

✔ Prefer candidateGroups
✔ Use input/output mappings in BPMN
✔ Keep UI stateless
✔ Validate data in UI + backend
✔ Log task completion events
✔ Implement retries for API calls
✔ Use pagination for task lists
✔ Monitor with Operate

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Trying to customize Camunda 8 default Tasklist
❌ Expecting synchronous behavior
❌ Hardcoding user IDs
❌ Mixing business logic into UI
❌ Ignoring security & authorization
❌ Treating Camunda 8 like Camunda 7

🎉 Conclusion

Building a Custom Tasklist UI for Camunda 8 gives you:

✔ Full control over UX
✔ Enterprise-grade security
✔ Seamless portal integration
✔ Better scalability
✔ Clean separation of concerns

In Camunda 8:
👉 Camunda orchestrates
👉 Your UI delivers the experience

This approach is modern, scalable, and future proof.

💼 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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