Install and start with Docker Compose

Use this page to install the Docker Compose distribution locally, start Camunda 8, and stop the environment cleanly.

Prerequisites

The following prerequisites are required to run Camunda 8 Self-Managed with Docker Compose:

Prerequisite	Description
Docker Compose	Version 2.24.0 or later, which supports the Compose attributes used by the distribution.
Docker	Version 20.10.16 or later.

tip

If Docker Compose reports errors such as unsupported attributes when loading the Camunda Compose files, confirm that you are using the Docker Compose v2 plugin:

docker compose version

Run the commands in this guide with docker compose, not docker-compose. Confirm the output reports version 2.24.0 or later. If needed, upgrade Docker Desktop or the Docker Engine Compose plugin, then retry.

Install and start Camunda 8 with Docker Compose

To start the default lightweight Camunda 8 Self-Managed environment locally:

1. Download the Camunda 8 Docker Compose archive, then extract it. Keep the complete directory, including .env, hidden configuration directories, and configuration/.

2. In the extracted directory, run:

   docker compose up -d

3. Wait for the environment to initialize. This can take several minutes. Run docker compose ps to check service health, or docker compose logs -f orchestration connectors to follow the lightweight startup.

Run Compose commands from the extracted directory. If Compose reports that image-version variables are unset or .env is missing, download and extract the complete distribution archive again instead of downloading an individual Compose file.

For available Compose files, component URLs, and authentication defaults, see configure Docker Compose environments.

Stop Camunda 8 with Docker Compose

To stop all containers and remove associated data, run:

docker compose down -v

# or for the full configuration:
docker compose -f docker-compose-full.yaml down -v

# or for standalone Web Modeler:
docker compose -f docker-compose-web-modeler.yaml down -v

caution

The -v flag deletes all volumes, including process data, users, and other persisted state. Omit -v if you want to keep your data.

Next steps

• Review configure Docker Compose environments.
• Review configure secondary storage with Docker Compose.
• Review use connectors and deploy processes with Docker Compose.