Camunda 8 Operate Incident Handling – Step by Step Guide

When a Camunda 8 workflow fails, Zeebe automatically creates an incident that stops process execution.
These incidents appear in Camunda Operate and must be resolved before the workflow can continue.

In this guide, you will learn:

• what an incident means in Camunda 8

• why incidents occur

• how to resolve them step by step using Operate

• best practices to prevent incidents in production

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🔍 What Is an Incident in Camunda 8?

An incident is created when:

• a job fails repeatedly

• all retries are exhausted

• a technical error occurs

Once retries reach 0, Zeebe pauses the workflow and raises an incident.

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📊 Diagram 1: How Incidents Are Created in Camunda 8

flowchart LR
    A[Service Task Executed] --> B[Job Activated by Worker]
    B --> C{Worker Succeeds?}
    C -->|Yes| D[Job Completed]
    C -->|No| E[Job Failed]
    E --> F[Retries Decreased]
    F --> G{Retries = 0?}
    G -->|No| B
    G -->|Yes| H[Incident Created]
    H --> I[Process Paused]

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🚨 Common Causes of Incidents

1️⃣ Job Worker Exceptions

• NullPointerException

• REST API failures

• Database errors

• JSON parsing errors

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2️⃣ Job Type Mismatch

• BPMN task type ≠ worker subscription type

• Worker never picks up the job

• Retries exhaust

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3️⃣ Timeout Errors

• Long-running service task

• Default timeout too low

• Worker finishes too late

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4️⃣ Invalid Variables

• Missing required variables

• Wrong data types

• Serialization errors

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5️⃣ External System Down

• API unreachable

• Authentication failure

• SMTP server down

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🧭 Step-by-Step: Handling Incidents in Camunda Operate

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📊 Diagram 2: Incident Handling Lifecycle

flowchart TD
    A[Incident Created] --> B[Open Incident in Operate]
    B --> C[Analyze Error Message]
    C --> D[Check Worker Logs]
    D --> E[Identify Root Cause]
    E --> F[Fix Underlying Issue]
    F --> G[Reset Retries in Operate]
    G --> H[Job Re-Executed]
    H --> I{Job Success?}
    I -->|Yes| J[Process Continues]
    I -->|No| A

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Step 1: Open the Incident in Operate

1. Open Camunda Operate

2. Go to Process Instances

3. Search the affected instance

4. Click the ⚠ incident icon

5. Open the incident details

You will see:

• error message

• stack trace

• job type

• retries

• BPMN element

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Step 2: Identify the Root Cause

Ask:

• Did the worker crash?

• Is the external system down?

• Are variables missing or invalid?

• Is the job type correct?

Check:

• worker logs

• Zeebe logs

• external service logs

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Step 3: Fix the Underlying Issue

Cause	Fix
Worker exception	Fix code + redeploy
Job type mismatch	Align BPMN + worker
Timeout	Increase timeout
Invalid variables	Inject correct values
External API down	Restore service

👉 Never retry without fixing the cause.

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Step 4: Reset Job Retries in Operate

1. Open the incident

2. Click Resolve

3. Set retries (e.g., 3)

4. Confirm

Zeebe will reactivate the job.

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Step 5: Monitor Execution

• Watch worker logs

• Confirm job completes

• Ensure incident disappears

• Verify process resumes

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❗ Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Retrying without fixing cause
❌ Repeated retry spam
❌ Ignoring logs
❌ Skipping tasks manually
❌ Deleting process instances

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✅ Incident Handling Best Practices

✔ Add proper try/catch in workers
✔ Use meaningful error messages
✔ Increase timeouts for long jobs
✔ Validate variables early
✔ Add monitoring and alerts
✔ Track incident metrics

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📊 Diagram 3: Production-Grade Error Handling Pattern

flowchart LR
    A[Service Task] --> B[Job Worker]
    B --> C{Try Logic}
    C -->|Success| D[Complete Job]
    C -->|Exception| E[Fail Job with Message]
    E --> F[Retries Left?]
    F -->|Yes| B
    F -->|No| G[Incident Created]

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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR)

Problem: Camunda 8 incident created
Reason: Job failed & retries exhausted
Solution:

1. Inspect incident

2. Find root cause

3. Fix the issue

4. Reset retries

5. Monitor execution

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

❓ Why does Camunda 8 create incidents?

Because a job failed repeatedly or retries reached zero.

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❓ Can I skip a failed job?

No. You must fix the cause and retry.

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❓ How do I resolve incidents programmatically?

Using Zeebe API or Operate UI.

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❓ What happens if I ignore incidents?

The workflow remains stuck forever.

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🔗 Related Articles

• Camunda 8 Job Worker Debugging Guide

• Zeebe Architecture Explained

• Camunda 8 vs Camunda 7

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👩‍💻 Final Tip

Never treat incidents as UI errors.
They are workflow failure signals.

Fix the cause → retry → continue.

💼 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, CMS, Azure, and workflow automation (jBPM, Camunda BPM, RHPAM).

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