Migrating from Camel K

Lift-and-shift Apache Camel integrations to the IntegrationFlow lifecycle layer on OpenShift.

What this operator adds

Apache Camel K remains a valid runtime for Kamelets and Pipes. This operator adds a lifecycle layer: visual design in the console, GitOps (Tekton + Argo CD), ephemeral try-before-GitOps, multicluster ApplicationSets, and unified observability.

Compare platforms in the landing comparison table.

What you keep

  • Camel route YAML, Kamelet definitions, and Pipe bindings
  • Component URIs and Enterprise Integration Patterns (CBR, saga, multicast, etc.)
  • Camel Quarkus worker model (GitOps builds) or precompiled workers (ephemeral)
  • SonataFlow / Serverless Workflow definitions where applicable

What changes

  • CR model — Camel K Integration / Kamelet / Pipe → single IntegrationFlow CR with integrationType
  • GitOps pipeline — Scaffold → Git push → Tekton build → Argo CD sync (optional but recommended for production)
  • Targeting — Use spec.targeting.strategy + clusters or clusterSelector (not deprecated targetClusters)
  • Design storage — Prefer designRef; inline kaotoDesign is deprecated but supported for migration

Lift-and-shift path

  1. Export route YAML from Camel K or Fuse (or paste from existing Integration spec)
  2. Ephemeral try — Create IntegrationFlow with deploymentMode: EPHEMERAL and paste YAML into kaotoDesign (Track A)
  3. Validate — Console logs, telemetry, lifecycle controls
  4. Promote to GitOps — Console Promote to GitOps or REST API; operator scaffolds Git repo and runs Tekton + Argo CD
  5. Production — Configure targeting, resilience, and alerting per Architecture
apiVersion: platform.io/v1alpha1
kind: IntegrationFlow
metadata:
  name: migrated-route
  namespace: openshift-integration
spec:
  deploymentMode: EPHEMERAL
  integrationType: CAMEL_ROUTE
  engine: CAMEL
  targeting:
    strategy: explicit
    clusters: [local]
  kaotoDesign: |
    - route:
        id: migrated
        from:
          uri: "timer:tick?period=5000"
          steps:
            - log:
                message: "Migrated from Camel K"

Resource mapping

Camel K / FuseThis operator
Integration (route)IntegrationFlow with integrationType: CAMEL_ROUTE
KameletintegrationType: CAMEL_KAMELET
PipeintegrationType: CAMEL_PIPE
IntegrationPlatformOperator + Helm values; Camel K bootstrap for Kamelet/Pipe examples
Kit / image buildTekton pipeline integration-flow-build or ephemeral precompiled workers
trait: configurationspec.ephemeral.properties, resilience, worker resources via scaffold
Multiclusterspec.targeting → Argo CD ApplicationSet

For Red Hat Fuse users

Red Hat Fuse 7.x is end of life. Fuse Online provided a visual editor similar in spirit to this platform’s Kaoto + console plugin combination, but Fuse did not offer native GitOps or multicluster ApplicationSets.

  • Export Camel XML or YAML routes from Fuse applications
  • Convert to Kaoto-compatible YAML where needed (or paste into kaotoDesign)
  • Run ephemeral validation, then promote to GitOps for production parity

Red Hat migration guidance: Red Hat Fuse documentation (EOL notices and Camel migration paths).

Next steps