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new 16624b63 Add new What is Apache Camel page (#1625)
16624b63 is described below
commit 16624b6337cf1ceef63b29af33489a6a9eeeb3da
Author: Claus Ibsen <[email protected]>
AuthorDate: Wed Jun 10 21:42:25 2026 +0200
Add new What is Apache Camel page (#1625)
* Add new "What is Apache Camel?" page (#1624)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <[email protected]>
* Add keywords to What is Apache Camel page
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <[email protected]>
* chore: fix stats accuracy and table header
- 82,000+ commits (was 91,000+)
- "nearly two decades" instead of "19 years" (evergreen)
- median bug fix time: 1–2 days (was 1 day)
- add proper table header row (Metric | Value)
Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>
Signed-off-by: Claus Ibsen <[email protected]>
* chore: fix camel init CLI syntax — --runtime is on camel export
Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>
Signed-off-by: Claus Ibsen <[email protected]>
* chore: align stats with camel-by-the-numbers blog post
- 100,000+ commits (was 82,000+)
- 1,600+ contributors (was 1,100+)
Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>
Signed-off-by: Claus Ibsen <[email protected]>
---------
Signed-off-by: Claus Ibsen <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 <[email protected]>
---
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+---
+title: "What is Apache Camel?"
+description: "Apache Camel is an open-source integration framework with 350+
connectors, 65+ enterprise integration patterns, and multiple DSLs including
Java, YAML, and XML. It connects applications, services, APIs, and data —
whether they live in the cloud, on-premise, or both."
+keywords:
+- apache camel
+- integration framework
+- enterprise integration patterns
+- EIP
+- connectors
+- kafka
+- spring boot
+- quarkus
+- yaml dsl
+- open source integration
+- api integration
+- message routing
+- MCP server
+---
+
+## Apache Camel is an integration framework.
+
+It connects your applications, services, APIs, and data — whether they live in
the cloud, on-premise, or both.
+
+---
+
+## Why should I care?
+
+### You probably already have this problem
+
+Every application eventually needs to talk to other systems — databases,
message brokers, cloud services, SaaS APIs, legacy systems, files, emails. The
question is how.
+
+You can write custom integration code for each connection. Or you can use
Camel — which gives you **350+ ready-made connectors** and **65+ integration
patterns** so you write the *what*, not the plumbing.
+
+### What it looks like
+
+You write a **route** that says: *take data from here, transform it, and send
it there.* Camel handles the connectivity, the protocols, the formats, and the
error handling.
+
+**YAML:**
+
+```yaml
+- route:
+ from:
+ uri: kafka:incoming-orders
+ steps:
+ - log:
+ message: "Received order ${body}"
+ - to:
+ uri: sql:INSERT INTO orders(data) VALUES(:#${body})
+```
+
+**Java:**
+
+```java
+from("kafka:incoming-orders")
+ .log("Received order ${body}")
+ .to("sql:INSERT INTO orders(data) VALUES(:#${body})");
+```
+
+Read from Kafka, log each order, insert into a database. A few lines that
describe *what* should happen — not *how*. It reads like an architecture
diagram written as code. Camel handles the Kafka consumer, the JDBC connection,
and the error handling.
+
+This declarative style also means AI coding assistants generate reliable Camel
routes — the intent is clear, and the [Camel MCP
server](#works-with-ai-coding-assistants) provides first-class coding
assistance to the AI.
+
+### It runs where you already run
+
+Camel is a library, not a server. It embeds in your application:
+
+- **Spring Boot** — `camel-spring-boot-starter`, auto-configuration, Spring
beans, dependency injection. The most popular choice for running Camel in
production.
+- **Quarkus** — cloud-native, GraalVM-optimized, sub-second startup, low
memory footprint. Ideal for serverless, Kubernetes, and resource-constrained
environments.
+- **Standalone** — the Camel CLI for lightweight deployments and rapid
prototyping.
+
+You deploy Camel the same way you deploy any Java application — as a JAR, a
container image, on Kubernetes, or on bare metal. No separate server to manage.
+
+Start lightweight with the CLI, then run `camel export` to produce a standard
Spring Boot or Quarkus Maven project — ready for your CI/CD pipeline. No
rewrite, same routes, production-ready.
+
+### You don't need to be a Java developer
+
+Camel supports multiple ways to work:
+
+- **Java** — full IDE support, type safety, refactoring
+- **YAML** — write routes without writing Java code
+- **XML** — supported for compatibility and existing projects
+- **Visual** — [Kaoto](https://kaoto.io) and
[Karavan](https://github.com/apache/camel-karavan), open-source visual
designers for drag-and-drop route design
+- **CLI** — `camel run hello.yaml` to prototype in seconds
+
+Pick the style that fits your team. Mix them in the same project if you want.
+
+### 350+ connectors — included, not extra
+
+Kafka, AWS (S3, SQS, Lambda, DynamoDB), Azure, GCP, Salesforce, ServiceNow,
Slack, databases (JDBC, MongoDB, Cassandra), messaging (JMS, AMQP, MQTT), file
protocols (FTP, SFTP), AI services, and hundreds more.
+
+All open source. All included. No premium tiers, no per-connector fees.
+
+[Browse the full catalog →](/components/next/)
+
+### Integration patterns built in
+
+Camel implements the [Enterprise Integration
Patterns](https://www.enterpriseintegrationpatterns.com/) — a proven vocabulary
for solving integration problems:
+
+- **Content-Based Router** — route messages to different systems based on
content
+- **Splitter** — break a batch into individual items and process each one
+- **Aggregator** — collect related messages and combine them
+- **Circuit Breaker** — protect against failing downstream services
+- **Saga** — coordinate distributed transactions across services
+- **Dead Letter Channel** — handle failures gracefully
+
+These aren't theoretical — they're production-tested patterns used by
thousands of companies.
+
+[See all patterns
→](/components/next/eips/enterprise-integration-patterns.html)
+
+---
+
+## Trusted in production
+
+Apache Camel has been running in production for nearly two decades. Thousands
of companies worldwide rely on it — from startups to governments, across
financial services, healthcare, aviation, energy, logistics, telecom, and every
industry in between. Processing billions of messages daily.
+
+[See who uses Apache Camel →](/community/user-stories/)
+
+---
+
+## Works with AI coding assistants
+
+Apache Camel's entire source code, documentation, tests, examples, and two
decades of commit history are open source on apache.org — making it
well-represented in AI training data. AI coding assistants can generate routes,
explain components, troubleshoot errors, and suggest patterns.
+
+Camel also provides an **MCP server** (Model Context Protocol) that connects
AI assistants directly to Camel's component catalog — giving tools like Claude
Code, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor full context awareness when helping you build
integrations.
+
+---
+
+## The numbers
+
+| Metric | Value |
+|---|---|
+| **Connectors** | 350+ |
+| **Integration patterns** | 65+ |
+| **Contributors** | 1,600+ |
+| **Commits** | 100,000+ |
+| **Years in production** | Nearly two decades |
+| **Median bug fix time** | 1–2 days |
+| **Open bugs** | Typically 10 or fewer (across 350+ connectors) |
+| **License** | Apache License 2.0 — free, no cost, forever |
+
+---
+
+## Try it in 60 seconds
+
+```bash
+# Create a route
+camel init hello.yaml
+
+# Run it
+camel run hello.yaml
+
+# Monitor it — live route visualization, tracing, and diagnostics
+camel tui
+```
+
+Or export to Spring Boot:
+
+```bash
+camel init hello.yaml
+camel export --runtime=spring-boot --gav=com.example:myproject:1.0-SNAPSHOT
+cd myproject
+mvn spring-boot:run
+```
+
+Or design visually: [Kaoto](https://kaoto.io) |
[Karavan](https://github.com/apache/camel-karavan)
+
+[Install the Camel CLI →](/manual/camel-jbang.html)
+
+---
+
+## Go deeper
+
+- [Getting Started Guide](/manual/getting-started.html) — build your first
integration
+- [Component Catalog](/components/next/) — browse 350+ connectors
+- [Enterprise Integration
Patterns](/components/next/eips/enterprise-integration-patterns.html) — the
pattern library
+- [Camel on Spring Boot](/camel-spring-boot/latest/) — the most popular runtime
+- [Camel on Quarkus](/camel-quarkus/latest/) — cloud-native, fast startup
+- [Camel CLI](/manual/camel-jbang.html) — rapid prototyping from the command
line
+- [Kaoto Visual Designer](https://kaoto.io) — drag-and-drop route design
+- [Karavan Visual Designer](https://github.com/apache/camel-karavan) —
drag-and-drop route design
+
+**Examples:**
+- [CLI Examples](https://github.com/apache/camel-jbang-examples) —
ready-to-run YAML and script examples
+- [Standalone Examples](https://github.com/apache/camel-examples) — Camel
Standalone integration examples
+- [Spring Boot Examples](https://github.com/apache/camel-spring-boot-examples)
— Spring Boot integration examples
+- [Quarkus Examples](https://github.com/apache/camel-quarkus-examples) —
Quarkus integration examples
+
+---
+
+## Commercial support
+
+Apache Camel is free and open source. Commercial support with SLAs is
available from multiple vendors — you choose your vendor, you're never locked
in.
+
+[See companies offering commercial Camel support
→](/manual/commercial-camel-offerings.html)
+
+---
+
+*Apache Camel is a project of the Apache Software Foundation.*
