Flowable

Flowable is an open-source workflow engine written in Java that can execute business processes described in BPMN 2.0.^[4] It is an actively maintained fork of Activiti (software).^[5]

Flowable

Example of editing a BPMN model in Flowable
Developer(s)	Community
Stable release	7.1.0,[1] 6.8.1,[2] 5.23.0[3] / 7 October 2024
Repository	github.com/flowable/flowable-engine
Written in	Java, JavaScript
Operating system	Linux, Windows
Type	Business process management, Workflow
Licence	Apache License 2.0
Website	www.flowable.com

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History

In October 2016, the lead developers of Activiti (software) left Alfresco (software) and started the Flowable Open Source project based on a fork of Activiti code.^[6][7]

The first version of Flowable was 5.22, based on a fork of Activiti 5.21, but added Transient Variables.^[8] The first release of Flowable version 6.0^[9] was based on a fork of Activiti version 6 beta 4. Version 6 of the Flowable engine includes a rewrite of the core process virtual machine.

Components

The project comprises a set of modules that can operate together:

• BPMN Engine, the core Business Process Model and Notation workflow processor
• CMMN Engine, a Case Management Model and Notation processor
• DMN Engine, an implementation of a subset of Decision Model and Notation based business rules
• Flowable Design, a cloud-based graphical authoring interface for editing BPMN, CMMN, and DMN ^[10][11]

Differences between Version 5 and Version 6

The key changes in Flowable 6 are:^[12][13]

• Abstract persistence layer, enabling use of relational or non-relational data sources^[14][15]
• 1-to-1 mapping of BPMN model to executable instruction set
• Simplified execution tree, enabling easier analysis and manipulation of in-flight processes
• Single agenda for process execution plans
• Queue-based job execution^[16]
• Ad hoc Sub Processes^[17]
• Dynamic process execution^[18]