Camunda 7 is the generation of the Camunda platform that was distributed as Camunda Platform 7, before Camunda 8. The manual describes Camunda as a Java-based framework and separates two editions. In the Community Edition the entire software is provided under various open source licences, mainly Apache 2.0 and MIT, and the licensing header of each source file or a LICENSE file states which licence applies. In the Enterprise Edition the software also contains Enterprise components, which are protected by intellectual property laws and provided under a licence agreement that restricts use and disclosure. Unless the agreement or the law allows it, the customer may not use, copy, modify, license, distribute or publish them, and reverse engineering, disassembly or decompilation is prohibited unless the law requires otherwise for interoperability.[1] For the general concept, see open source software licensing.
Editions
| Edition | Licence | Support status |
|---|---|---|
| Camunda 7 Community Edition | Open source, mainly Apache 2.0 and MIT[1] | End of life: after 7.24 no further releases, including security patches[2] |
| Camunda 7 Enterprise Edition | Community components plus Enterprise components under a licence agreement[1] | Supported to April 2030, extended support by fee to April 2032[3] |
| Camunda 7 Trial | Camunda 7 Trial Terms[5] | Evaluation only |
The public documents do not state a licence metric for the Enterprise components. The Enterprise General Terms, which cover Camunda 8 subscriptions, are the only published Camunda subscription terms, and they define the Documentation for older Major Releases as the Camunda 7 manual at docs.camunda.org.[9] A Camunda 7 Enterprise customer should therefore read its own Order Form and licence agreement to determine the unit and scope, and should not assume the Camunda 8 process-instance and tenant metrics apply.
The Camunda 7 trial
The Camunda 7 Trial Terms grant a royalty-free, limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable and non-sublicensable right to access or use the software solely for internal and non-productive purposes during an evaluation period that Camunda and the customer agree separately and confirm by email. The restrictions bar use in a production environment or on any deployed system, including commercial, for-profit or publicly accessible systems, bar copying and reverse engineering, and bar allowing third parties to use the software.[5]
Lifecycle
Final release and Community Edition end of life
Camunda announced on 2025-02-28, and updated the post in July 2025, that Camunda 7.24 would be the final feature release and that it was scheduled for 2025-10-14. After that date the GitHub issue tracker would be made private, the repository archived, and no new feature requests accepted. The announcement states that after that date no further releases, including security patches, would be made for the Community Edition. A user who needs continued support for solutions on the Community Edition is told to contact Camunda about an Enterprise licence.[2] The Community Edition entry in the support announcements points to the Camunda Forum for details.[3]
Enterprise Edition
The same announcement extended the Enterprise Edition end of life from April 2027 to 2030-04-09. Customers receive two Environment Update Releases a year, in April and October, with security patches and bug fixes, and support is included in subscription fees until April 2030. Camunda 7.24 is a Long Term Support release. An extended support option is available for an additional fee from April 2030 through April 2032, previously through April 2030.[2] The support announcements describe the extended support as covering critical security and bug fixes and maintained supported environments, and tell customers to contact their assigned Customer Success Manager.[3]
The release policy for 7.24 LTS says patch releases on the enterprise branch backport the latest bug fixes, contain no new features and are available only to enterprise customers. Two environment update releases a year are performed while 7.24 is supported, and they are fully tested and meant for production. Where a new environment version is not compatible with the supported version, both are supported for a grace period.[4]
Dates for specific versions
The support announcements list the end-of-maintenance date for each minor version. These matter for audits of installed versions, because the Enterprise terms provide support for a version for 18 months from its Minor Release date.[9]
| Version | Announced release date | End of maintenance |
|---|---|---|
| 7.21 | 2024-04-09 | 2025-10-14 |
| 7.22 | 2024-10-08 | 2026-04-14 |
| 7.23 | 2025-04-08 | 2026-10-13 |
| 7.24 LTS | 2025-10-14 | 2030-04-13 (extended support until April 2032) |
All four rows are from the support announcements page.[3] Version 7.23 therefore leaves maintenance within days of the retrieval date of this article. The page lists environment update releases for 7.24: patch 7.24.6-ee on 2026-03-27, an October 2026 release planned to add support for Java 25 and end support for Java 11, and an April 2027 release.[3] The page also lists Cawemo On-Premises maintenance support from May 2024 to April 2027, and Camunda Optimize 3.15 LTS as the last minor release of Optimize for Camunda 7.[3]
Camunda’s general release policy sets a standard support period of 18 months for Enterprise customers and supports at least the last three minor versions with patch releases.[8] The 7.24 LTS terms are an exception to that period.
Counting and compliance
The sources reviewed do not describe a compliance mechanism for the Camunda 7 Enterprise Edition, such as a licence key check or a reporting duty. The manual says the Enterprise components may not be used or copied except as the licence agreement permits.[1] A software asset manager should treat any use of Enterprise components without a current subscription as a risk to resolve against the signed agreement, because the Community Edition no longer receives security patches and the Enterprise patches are only for enterprise customers.[2][4]
Camunda 7 libraries also include third-party components. The manual points to a third-party libraries page and to HTML and plain-text licence books that list the dependencies shipped with the Camunda 7 artifacts and their licences.[1] It also publishes a GPL Cooperation Commitment, under which Camunda commits to give a cure and reinstatement period, taken from GPL version 3, to anyone accused of violating a covered GPL or LGPL licence before it files a claim, other than a defensive action.
Migration to Camunda 8
Camunda recommends that new projects be built on Camunda 8, and states that Camunda 7 Enterprise Edition remains supported through April 2030.[7] Its migration guide says Camunda 8 is not a drop-in replacement: models may need adjusting, code refactored and the solution re-architected.[6] For licensing, a migration is a change of contract and metric, from the Camunda 7 agreement to Camunda 8 process instances and tenants. See Camunda 8 Self-Managed licensing and Camunda 8 SaaS plans and usage metrics.
Out of scope
This article does not describe the Camunda 7 Enterprise licence agreement, its pricing, or the technical differences between Camunda 7 and Camunda 8 beyond what the migration guide states. It does not cover Camunda Modeler, whose licence information the Camunda 7 manual refers to docs.camunda.io.