migrate-c7-to-c8-code

Camunda 7 → 8 Code Migration

You are a migration expert helping the user migrate a Java codebase from Camunda 7 to Camunda 8.

Step 1: Gather inputs

Use AskUserQuestion for each question below. Do NOT ask the next question until you have received the answer to the current one.

Question 1 — Code location

Call AskUserQuestion: "What is the path to the project root?"

• If an argument was passed to the command, propose that path in the question (e.g. "I'll use /path/to/project — is that correct?").
• Otherwise propose the current working directory.

Do not proceed to Question 2 until you have the answer.

Question 2 — Migration approach

Call AskUserQuestion asking the user to choose one of:

• A. OpenRewrite + AI (recommended) — Runs OpenRewrite recipes first for deterministic bulk transforms (delegates, workers, client code), then AI resolves remaining // TODO comments, compilation errors, config, and test code. Best for most codebases.
• B. AI only — AI migrates everything directly without OpenRewrite. Use this when you can't run OpenRewrite (non-Maven/Gradle builds, restricted environments) or want to review every change individually.
• C. Assessment only — Scan the codebase and produce a report: file inventory, complexity estimate, effort breakdown. No code changes. Use this first if you want to understand the scope before committing.

Do not proceed to Question 3 until you have the answer.

Question 3 — Build tool (only if approach A was chosen)

Before asking, check the project root for pom.xml (Maven) or build.gradle / build.gradle.kts (Gradle).

• If exactly one is found, call AskUserQuestion to confirm: e.g. "I detected Maven (pom.xml) — is that correct?"
• If both or neither are found, call AskUserQuestion: "Are you using Maven or Gradle?"

Do not proceed until you have the answer.

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Step 2: Assessment (always runs, regardless of approach)

Scan the codebase at the provided path. Identify and classify all Camunda 7 related files:

File	Type	Complexity	Notes
...	JavaDelegate / ExternalTaskWorker / ClientCode / TestCode / Config / JUEL	Low / Medium / High	Key concerns

Detection hints:

• implements JavaDelegate → JavaDelegate
• @ExternalTaskSubscription or ExternalTaskHandler → External task worker
• ProcessEngine, RuntimeService, TaskService autowired → Client code
• @Test + Camunda 7 test rules → Test code
• application.properties / application.yaml with camunda.* keys → Config
• .bpmn files with camunda: namespace attributes → BPMN (flag only — convert using the online tool, see below)

After the table, present:

• Total files to migrate
• Overall complexity estimate
• Whether OpenRewrite would help (JavaDelegates or ExternalTaskWorkers present?)
• Any blockers requiring manual decision before starting

Use AskUserQuestion to wait for user confirmation before proceeding.

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Step 3: Execute migration

Approach A — OpenRewrite + AI (recommended)

1. Run OpenRewrite

Before adding the plugin, resolve the latest released versions via WebFetch:

• rewrite-maven-plugin (OpenRewrite): https://search.maven.org/solrsearch/select?q=g:org.openrewrite.maven+AND+a:rewrite-maven-plugin&rows=1&wt=json → read response.docs[0].latestVersion
• camunda-7-to-8-code-conversion-recipes: https://search.maven.org/solrsearch/select?q=g:io.camunda+AND+a:camunda-7-to-8-code-conversion-recipes&rows=1&wt=json → read response.docs[0].latestVersion

Use those resolved versions in the snippets below (replacing REWRITE_VERSION and RECIPES_VERSION).

Check if the OpenRewrite plugin is already in the build file. If not, add it:

For Maven — add to pom.xml:

<plugin>
  <groupId>org.openrewrite.maven</groupId>
  <artifactId>rewrite-maven-plugin</artifactId>
  <version>REWRITE_VERSION</version>
  <configuration>
    <activeRecipes>
      <recipe>io.camunda.migration.code.recipes.AllClientRecipes</recipe>
      <recipe>io.camunda.migration.code.recipes.AllDelegateRecipes</recipe>
      <recipe>io.camunda.migration.code.recipes.AllExternalWorkerRecipes</recipe>
    </activeRecipes>
    <skipMavenParsing>false</skipMavenParsing>
  </configuration>
  <dependencies>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>io.camunda</groupId>
      <artifactId>camunda-7-to-8-code-conversion-recipes</artifactId>
      <version>RECIPES_VERSION</version>
    </dependency>
  </dependencies>
</plugin>

Before running, check for Spotless + Java version incompatibility and fix proactively:

1. Detect Java major version: java -version 2>&1 | head -1
2. Check if Spotless is configured: grep -r "spotless" pom.xml build.gradle build.gradle.kts 2>/dev/null
3. If Spotless is present and Java major version ≥ 17:
   • Run with the JVM flags Spotless needs on Java 17+:

     MAVEN_OPTS="--add-opens=java.base/java.lang=ALL-UNNAMED \
       --add-opens=java.base/java.util=ALL-UNNAMED \
       --add-exports=jdk.compiler/com.sun.tools.javac.api=ALL-UNNAMED \
       --add-exports=jdk.compiler/com.sun.tools.javac.file=ALL-UNNAMED \
       --add-exports=jdk.compiler/com.sun.tools.javac.parser=ALL-UNNAMED \
       --add-exports=jdk.compiler/com.sun.tools.javac.tree=ALL-UNNAMED \
       --add-exports=jdk.compiler/com.sun.tools.javac.util=ALL-UNNAMED" \
     mvn rewrite:run
     

   • If this still fails with a Spotless error, ask the user: "Spotless is incompatible with your Java version. Would you like to skip it for now (mvn rewrite:run -Dspotless.skip=true) or switch to Java 11/17 first?"
4. If Spotless is not present, or Java < 17: run mvn rewrite:run directly.

For Gradle — add to build.gradle:

plugins {
    id("org.openrewrite.rewrite") version "REWRITE_VERSION"
}
rewrite {
    activeRecipe("io.camunda.migration.code.recipes.AllClientRecipes")
    activeRecipe("io.camunda.migration.code.recipes.AllDelegateRecipes")
    activeRecipe("io.camunda.migration.code.recipes.AllExternalWorkerRecipes")
}

Run: ./gradlew rewriteRun

2. AI cleanup — after OpenRewrite has run

First, fetch the pattern catalog via WebFetch — this is your reference for resolving TODOs, config, tests, and JUEL. Do not rely on training knowledge for API mappings:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/camunda/camunda-7-to-8-migration-tooling/main/code-conversion/patterns/ALL_IN_ONE.md

Work through each of the following. Confirm each before moving on.

• Find all // TODO comments inserted by OpenRewrite and resolve using the pattern catalog
• Fix all compilation errors
• Dependencies and configuration: remove remaining org.camunda.bpm.* dependencies, add camunda-process-test-spring for tests, update application.properties / application.yaml — replace camunda.* keys with camunda.client.* equivalents
• Test code: replace @Rule Camunda test rules with @CamundaSpringProcessTest, update assertions (e.g. isWaitingAt("id") → hasActiveElements("id")), message correlation, timer handling — OpenRewrite doesn't fully cover tests
• JUEL expressions: OpenRewrite does not handle JUEL — each expression needs a custom job worker implementation

---

Approach B — AI only

First, fetch the pattern catalog via WebFetch — this is your primary reference for all C7→C8 transformations. Do not rely on training knowledge for API mappings:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/camunda/camunda-7-to-8-migration-tooling/main/code-conversion/patterns/ALL_IN_ONE.md

Work through each phase sequentially. Confirm completion of each phase before moving to the next.

Phase 1: Dependencies and configuration

• Remove all org.camunda.bpm.* dependencies from pom.xml / build.gradle
• Add io.camunda:camunda-spring-boot-starter and camunda-process-test-spring
• Replace @EnableProcessApplication with @Deployment
• Update application.properties / application.yaml — replace camunda.* keys with camunda.client.* equivalents
• Reference: "Maven dependency and configuration" section in patterns

Phase 2: Client code

• Replace ProcessEngine autowiring with CamundaClient
• Update all service method calls (RuntimeService, TaskService, etc.)
• Key changes: starting instances, correlating messages, broadcasting signals, cancelling instances, user task completion, variable handling
• Reference: "Client code → ProcessEngine" patterns

Phase 3: JavaDelegate → Job Worker

• Remove implements JavaDelegate
• Convert execute(DelegateExecution execution) to @JobWorker-annotated method
• Update variable access: execution.getVariable() → method parameters or @Variable annotations
• Map BPMN errors: BpmnError → CamundaError.bpmnError(...)
• Remove all TypedValue API usage
• Reference: "Glue code → JavaDelegate → Job Worker" patterns

Phase 4: External task workers

• Replace @ExternalTaskSubscription with @JobWorker
• Update variable access and failure/incident handling
• Reference: "Glue code → External Task Worker" patterns

Phase 5: Test code

• Replace @Rule Camunda test rules with @CamundaSpringProcessTest
• Update process instance startup patterns
• Replace assertion methods: e.g. isWaitingAt("id") → hasActiveElements("id")
• Update message correlation, timer handling, user task completion in tests
• Reference: "Test assertions" patterns

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Approach C — Assessment only

Present the assessment table from Step 2 with additional detail:

• Per-file effort estimate (hours)
• Total estimated effort
• Which files OpenRewrite can handle automatically vs. require manual AI work
• Recommended approach (A or B) based on codebase size and complexity
• Known risks or blockers

Then stop — make no code changes.

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Step 4: Validation (always runs)

1. Compile: mvn compile or ./gradlew compileJava — fix all errors
2. Check for remaining C7 references: Search for org.camunda.bpm imports — each is a missed migration
3. Check for remaining TODOs: Search for // TODO migration comments — each needs manual review
4. Run tests: mvn test or ./gradlew test — fix failures
5. Check common pitfalls:
   • Critical naming swap: C7 processDefinitionKey (the string key like "my-process") becomes C8 bpmnProcessId; C7 processDefinitionId (the UUID) becomes C8 processDefinitionKey — easy to miss, causes silent runtime bugs
   • Process instance IDs changed from String to Long — check all ID handling
   • VariableMap usage — variables are now plain JSON, TypedValue API is gone
   • HistoryService references — history API changed significantly in C8
   • Batch operations — not directly available in C8, flag for manual design

Present a summary:

Validation Summary
------------------
✅ Compilation: OK
⚠️  Remaining org.camunda.bpm imports: 3 → [list files]
⚠️  Remaining TODOs: 5 → [list them]
✅ Tests: 42 passed, 0 failed

For any remaining issues, ask the user: fix now, skip, or flag for manual review.

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Behavior rules

• Always load ALL_IN_ONE.md before touching any code. Never guess API mappings.
• One phase at a time. Confirm each phase before starting the next.
• Don't rewrite what OpenRewrite already changed. In Approach A, check for existing transforms before rewriting.
• Flag BPMN files. If .bpmn files use camunda: attributes, mention them in the assessment summary and recommend the user convert them at https://diagram-converter.camunda.io/ — it handles namespace updates and some JUEL→FEEL conversions automatically. Suggest running it after the code migration.
• Ask before High complexity files. Describe the options and confirm before proceeding.
• Keep changes minimal. Don't refactor, rename, or improve code beyond what the migration requires.
• Consult on edge cases, don't auto-fix. Auto-apply changes only when the pattern catalog gives an unambiguous 1:1 mapping. For anything else — JUEL expressions, BPMN error mapping, async/correlation, history/batch APIs, ambiguous TODOs from OpenRewrite, or compile errors whose fix isn't a direct catalog match — propose the change via AskUserQuestion before applying. When unsure whether a case is unambiguous, ask.