Spring Boot + Camunda External Task Pattern (Complete Guide)

 In enterprise workflows, long-running business logic should not execute inside the workflow engine.

Instead, Camunda uses the External Task Pattern — where workers fetch tasks and process them independently.

This is the most scalable way to integrate microservices with BPM.

In this guide you will learn:

• What External Tasks are

• Why they are important

• How to implement using Spring Boot

• Best practices for production

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📌 What is the External Task Pattern?

In Camunda Platform, a Service Task can be executed outside the engine.

Instead of pushing work → the worker pulls the job.

So the engine never blocks.

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🖼️ External Task Architecture

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🧠 Why External Tasks?

Traditional Service Task:

Engine calls service directly
→ Tight coupling
→ Failures block workflow

External Task:

Worker fetches job
→ Loose coupling
→ Retry possible
→ Highly scalable

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🛠 Step 1: Create External Service Task in BPMN

In Modeler:

Service Task → Type = External

Topic name example:

payment-service

Now Camunda waits for a worker.

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🛠 Step 2: Add Dependencies in Spring Boot

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.camunda.bpm.springboot</groupId>
  <artifactId>camunda-bpm-spring-boot-starter-external-task-client</artifactId>
</dependency>

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🛠 Step 3: Configure Worker

camunda:
  bpm:
    client:
      base-url: http://localhost:8080/engine-rest
      async-response-timeout: 10000

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🛠 Step 4: Implement External Task Worker

@Component
@ExternalTaskSubscription("payment-service")
public class PaymentWorker implements ExternalTaskHandler {

    @Override
    public void execute(ExternalTask task, ExternalTaskService service) {

        String orderId = task.getVariable("orderId");

        System.out.println("Processing payment for " + orderId);

        service.complete(task);
    }
}

Worker automatically polls tasks.

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🖼️ Worker Execution Flow

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🔁 Retry & Failure Handling

If service fails:

service.handleFailure(
    task,
    "Payment failed",
    "Gateway timeout",
    3,
    60000
);

Camunda retries automatically.

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🔐 Lock Duration

Worker locks job while processing.

Prevents multiple workers executing same task.

Example:

lockDuration = 10000 ms

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🧪 Complete Flow

1. Process reaches service task

2. Engine creates external task

3. Worker fetches task

4. Worker executes logic

5. Worker completes task

6. Process continues

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⚠️ Common Mistakes

❌ Short lock duration
❌ No retries configured
❌ Business logic inside engine
❌ Blocking API calls

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🏆 Production Best Practices

✔ Use multiple workers
✔ Idempotent services
✔ Configure retries
✔ Separate microservices
✔ Monitor failures

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🎯 When to Use External Tasks

Use for:

• Microservices

• Remote APIs

• Long processing

• Payment gateways

• Third-party integrations

Avoid for:

• Simple Java logic

• Short execution

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🎯 Conclusion

External Task Pattern makes Camunda:

• Scalable

• Resilient

• Microservice-friendly

It is the recommended approach for enterprise integration.

Recommended Reading

• Liferay Microservices Communication Guide
  https://shikhanirankari.blogspot.com/2026/02/liferay-microservices-communication.html

• BPMN Event Subprocess Explained
  https://shikhanirankari.blogspot.com/2026/02/bpmn-event-subprocess-explained-with.html

• Kafka Integration with Liferay
  https://shikhanirankari.blogspot.com/2026/02/kafka-integration-with-liferay-complete.html

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

📧 Contact: ishikhanirankari@gmail.com | info@realtechnologiesindia.com

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