To kick off the recently announced partnership between Liferay and Camunda, we produced connectors for bringing Liferay into your Camunda business processes. By combining Liferay's digital experience platform with Camunda's advanced process automation capabilities, you can create powerful automated processes for Liferay.

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We'll use an Onboarding Demo process to demonstrate using the inbound and outbound connectors that integrate Liferay DXP with Camunda 8 processes. Liferay events can trigger Camunda processes (from inbound webhook payloads), and Camunda workflows can interact with Liferay's APIs (using outbound API calls) to create and manage users and accounts.

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The Onboarding Demo process demonstrates how to automate user onboarding in Liferay DXP using Camunda 8. Here's the process overview:

1. Starts when a webhook event is received from Liferay
2. Checks if an account exists for the user
3. Routes the request to appropriate reviewers based on account status
4. Creates an account if needed
5. Creates a user account
6. Associates the user with the account

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Onboarding Demo Process

 

 

The process begins with a Liferay Webhook Start Event connector that receives events from Liferay DXP. We call this an *inbound* connector because it processes an incoming webhook payload generated by an object action.

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To begin configuring it, first, we added a start event to the BPMN process, then we set the template to be a Liferay Webhook Start Event. The connector does these things:

1. Listens for incoming HTTP requests from Liferay
2. Extracts data from the request payload
3. Initiates a new process instance with the extracted data

The very next step in the process uses the outbound Liferay Connector to interact with Liferay's REST APIs; then it's used multiple additional times in the process. We call this an *outbound* connector because it sends an API request to Liferay. 

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To begin configuring it, we added a task in the BMN diagram and set the template to Liferay Connector.

The process makes several outbound API calls to Liferay:

1. Checks account existence to verify if an account already exists
2. Creates a new account if needed
3. Create a new user account
4. Associates the user with the account

 

Step-by-Step Guide: Setting Up the Onboarding Demo

 

Pre-Requisites

Before setting up the connectors, there is some initial setup in Liferay Camunda to take care of:

Liferay: Create the Object

1. Create the Application Form custom object:  

  Steps:

  1. Go to Control Panel > Objects
  2. Create a custom object folder called "Onboarding Demo"
  3. In the folder, create a custom object called _ApplicationForm_ with the following fields:

   firstName (Text field)
   secondName (Text field)
   email (Text field)
   accountNumber (Text field)

 

 

 

2. Publish the object:

 

 

3. To access the form, set the Panel Link to Users:

 

4. Access the form:

 

 

 

5. To expose a local Liferay instance so that Camunda can access its APIs, set up ngrok. You can download ngrok from ngrok.com and run it with the following command:

 ngrok http 8080

 

Camunda Cloud: Import the Connectors

To connect Liferay to Camunda, install the Liferay connector templates into Camunda Modeler:

1. Import the following connector templates from the liferay-portal repository:
   - liferay-connector.json (for outbound API calls to Liferay)
   - liferay-webhook-connector-start-event.json (for inbound webhook events from Liferay)

  Steps:

  1. For each template you want, click Download Raw File.
  2. In Camunda Modeler, open your project and click Create New → Upload File; then select the file you downloaded.
  3. Open the new connector and publish it.

The Liferay connector templates are currently available by manual upload only.

2. Import the New Account.form file for creating new accounts in the process.
     
    Steps:

    1. In Camunda Modeler, open your project and click Create New → Upload File; then select the New Account Form.form  file.

 

 

Configuring the Connectors

Inbound Connector: Liferay Inbound Connector: Webhook Start Event

In our Onboarding Demo, the start event is configured with these properties:

 

This configuration:
- Uses the Liferay webhook connector
- Accepts any HTTP method
- Defines a unique context ID for this webhook
- Doesn't require authentication
- Extracts specific fields from the request body using a result expression

Steps to configure the Liferay Inbound Connector

1. Add a Start Event: In your BPMN diagram, add a start event where the process will begin.
2. Apply the Liferay Webhook Start Event Connector: Select the start event and apply the "Liferay Webhook Start Event Connector" template.
3. Configure Output Mapping: Set the result expression:

{
  "accountExternalReferenceCode": request.body.objectEntryDTOApplicationForm.properties.accountNumber,
  "userFirstName": request.body.objectEntryDTOApplicationForm.properties.firstName,
  "userLastName": request.body.objectEntryDTOApplicationForm.properties.lastName,
  "userEmailAddress": request.body.objectEntryDTOApplicationForm.properties.email
}

Steps to configure the Liferay Outbound Connector

1. Obtain OAuth Credentials from Liferay:
   - Go to Control Panel > OAuth2 Administration
   - Create an OAuth 2.0 application in Liferay
   - Note the client ID and client secret
   - Configure the OAuth2 Properties: Set the following properties:

     CallbackURIs: @protocol@://localhost:@port-with-colon@/o/oauth2/redirect
     Client Authentication Method: Client Secret Basic or Post
     Client Profile: Headless Server
     Allowed Authorization Types: Client Credentials, JWT_BEARER
     Trusted Application: Check this box to allow the application to access Liferay APIs without user interaction.

   - Click Save, then open the Scopes tab. Configure the following scopes:

 

2. Add Get Account in Liferay using Liferay Account API Connector:
- Add an Outgoing Connector**: In your BPMN diagram, add a service task where you want to make the API call.
- Apply the Liferay Connector: Select the service task and apply the "Liferay Connector" template.
- Configure the Connector Properties: Set the following properties:
  - Name: Get Account in Liferay using Liferay Account API
  - Authentication:
    - Type: OAuth 2.0
    - OAuth 2.0 token endpoint**: https://liferay.ngrok.dev/o/oauth2/token
    - Client ID**: <Provided by Liferay OAuth application>
    - Client Secret**: <Provided by Liferay OAuth application>
  - HTTP Endpoint
    - Model Type: Other
    - Base URL: https://liferay.ngrok.dev/o/headless-admin-user
    - Path: "/v1.0/accounts/by-external-reference-code/" + accountExternalReferenceCode
    - Method: GET
  - Output Mapping
    - Result Expression: 
    
      {
        "accountStatus": response.status
      }
    
  - Error Handling
    - Error Expression: 
    
       if error.code = "404" 
       then bpmnError("404", "The acount does not exist", {accountStatus: 404})
       else null
    

 

 

3. Add Error Boundary Event:
- Configure the Error Boundary Event Properties: Set the following properties:
  - Outputs: 
    - accountStatus:
      - Process variable name: accountStatus
      - Variable assignment value: accountStatus

 

4. Add Exclusive Gateway:

 

5. Add Sequence Flow:
- Configure the Error Boundary Event Properties: Set the following properties:
  - Condition: 
    - Condition Expression: accountStatus = 200

 

6. Add Sequence Flow:
- Configure the Error Boundary Event Properties: Set the following properties:
  - Condition:
    - Condition Expression: accountStatus != 200

 

7. Add Account Manager Review Task:
- Add a User Task: In your BPMN diagram, add a user task where you want to execute the user task.
- Apply the User Task: Select the user task.
- Configure the User Task Properties: Set the following properties:
  - Name: Account Manager Review
  - Candidate groups: ["Account Managers"]

 

 

8. Add Onboarding Manager Review Task:
- Add a User Task: In your BPMN diagram, add a user task where you want to execute the user task.
- Apply the User Task: Select the user task.
- Configure the User Task Properties: Set the following properties:
  - Name: Onboarding Manager Review
  - Candidate groups: ["Onboarding Managers"]

 

9. Add Create new Account in Liferay using Liferay Account API Connector:
- Add an Outgoing Connector: In your BPMN diagram, add a service task where you want to make the API call.
- Apply the Liferay Connector: Select the service task and apply the "Liferay Connector" template.
- Configure the Connector Properties: Set the following properties:
  - Name: Create a new Account in Liferay using the Liferay Account API
  - Authentication:
    - Type: OAuth 2.0
    - OAuth 2.0 token endpoint: https://liferay.ngrok.dev/o/oauth2/token
    - Client ID: <Provided by Liferay OAuth application>
    - Client Secret: <Provided by Liferay OAuth application>
  - HTTP Endpoint
    - Model Type: Other
      - Base URL: https://liferay.ngrok.dev/o/headless-admin-user
      - Path: /v1.0/accounts
      - Method: POST
      - Payload:
        - Request Body: 
          
          {
            "description": accountDescription,
            "externalReferenceCode": accountExternalReferenceCode,
            "name": accountName
          }
          
      - Output Mapping
        - Result Expression: 
          
          {
            "accountExternalReferenceCode": response.body.externalReferenceCode
          }
          

 

 

10. Add Create new User in Liferay using Liferay User API Connector:
- Add an Outgoing Connector: In your BPMN diagram, add a service task where you want to make the API call.
- Apply the Liferay Connector: Select the service task and apply the "Liferay Connector" template.
  - Configure the Connector Properties: Set the following properties:
    - Name: Create new User in Liferay using Liferay User API
    - Authentication:
      - Type: OAuth 2.0
      - OAuth 2.0 token endpoint: https://liferay.ngrok.dev/o/oauth2/token
      - Client ID: <Provided by Liferay OAuth application>
      - Client Secret: <Provided by Liferay OAuth application>
    - HTTP Endpoint
      - Model Type: Other
        - Base UR*: https://liferay.ngrok.dev/o/headless-admin-user
        - Path: /v1.0/user-accounts
        - Method: POST
        - Payload:
          - Request Body:
            
            {
              "alternateName": userFirstName,
              "emailAddress": userEmailAddress,
              "familyName": userLastName,
              "givenName": userFirstName
            }
            
        - Output Mapping
        - Result Expression:
            
            {
              "userExternalReferenceCode" : response.body.externalReferenceCode
            }
            

 

 

11. Add Associate new User with Account in Liferay using Liferay User API Connector:
- Add an Outgoing Connector: In your BPMN diagram, add a service task where you want to make the API call.
- Apply the Liferay Connector: Select the service task and apply the "Liferay Connector" template.
- Configure the Connector Properties: Set the following properties:
    - Name: Associate new User with Account in Liferay using Liferay User API
    - Authentication:
      - Type: OAuth 2.0
        - OAuth 2.0 token endpoint: https://liferay.ngrok.dev/o/oauth2/token
        - Client ID: <Provided by Liferay OAuth application>
        - Client Secret: <Provided by Liferay OAuth application>
    - HTTP Endpoint
      - Model Type: Other
        - Base URL: https://liferay.ngrok.dev/o/headless-admin-user
        - Path: "/v1.0/accounts/by-external-reference-code/" + accountExternalReferenceCode + "/user-accounts/by-external-reference-code/" + userExternalReferenceCode
        - Method: POST

 

 

Setting Up the Webhook in Liferay

1. Go to Control Panel > Objects > ApplicationForm
2. Click on "Actions" tab
3. Click on "Add Object Action"
4. Click on "Action Builder"
5. Under "Trigger -> When" select "On After Add"
6. Under "Action -> Then" select "Webhook"
7. Under URL insert the Webhook URL provided by Camunda (e.g., `https://<your-camunda-instance>/inbound/<webhook-id>`).

 

 

 

Deploy the workflow to the Camunda cluster

1. Inside the Camunda workflow editor, click on the "Deploy & run" button:

2. Click "View Processes instance" to see the deployed process:

3. Inside Camunda Operate, you can monitor the process instances:

4. Click on "Open Tasklist" to see the tasks, review, and approve them:

5. Assign, review, and approve the task:

6. The process will continue to the next task until it finishes, and you can see the process instance in the Operate:

7. On the Liferay side, you can check the created user and the associated account:

 

 

Complete Process File

You can download the complete BPMN process file here: Onboarding Demo.bpmn

 

Conclusion

Liferay's Camunda connectors provide a powerful way to integrate Liferay DXP with Camunda 8 processes. The inbound webhook connector enables Liferay to trigger processes in Camunda, while the outbound Liferay connector allows processes to interact with Liferay's APIs.

By following the patterns demonstrated in the Onboarding Demo process, you can implement sophisticated integration scenarios between Liferay and Camunda, enabling automated workflows that span both platforms.