Tooling

Apache Camel ships with a rich set of built-in developer tools and is supported by a growing ecosystem of third-party tooling. Whether you prefer the command line, an IDE, a visual editor, or AI-assisted development — there is tooling to help you build, test, debug, and manage your Camel integrations.

Camel CLI

The Camel CLI, powered by JBang, lets you get started with Camel instantly — no project setup, no build tool configuration. Install it once, then use the camel command to develop, run, test, and export your integrations.

Command Description

camel run Run Camel routes from source files (Java, YAML, XML, etc.) with automatic classpath management

camel dev Run in developer mode with hot-reload — changes are picked up automatically without restarting

camel trace Live message tracing, step by step through your routes to see how messages are processed

camel send Send test messages to running Camel routes for quick testing and debugging

camel test Run tests for your Camel routes

camel export Export your Camel project to Spring Boot, Quarkus, or standalone Java for production deployment

Command	Description
`camel run`	Run Camel routes from source files (Java, YAML, XML, etc.) with automatic classpath management
`camel dev`	Run in developer mode with hot-reload — changes are picked up automatically without restarting
`camel trace`	Live message tracing, step by step through your routes to see how messages are processed
`camel send`	Send test messages to running Camel routes for quick testing and debugging
`camel test`	Run tests for your Camel routes
`camel export`	Export your Camel project to Spring Boot, Quarkus, or standalone Java for production deployment

See the Camel CLI documentation for installation instructions and detailed usage.

Camel TUI

The camel tui command launches a full terminal-based UI that provides fast, real-time feedback during development — a natural fit for CLI-first and AI-assisted workflows. It gives you route status, message flow, and tracing all in a single terminal view, so you can stay in the flow without switching tools. Ideal for low-code and AI-assisted development where quick iteration matters.

Camel MCP Server

The Camel MCP Server connects Apache Camel to AI coding assistants through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It gives AI tools access to Camel’s component catalog, DSL documentation, and integration patterns — so they can help you write, debug, and optimize Camel routes with full context.

Supported AI tools include Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Windsurf, and any MCP-compatible assistant.

AI-Assisted Development

Tool	Description
Camel Kit	A set of structured slash commands for AI coding assistants that guide you through the complete integration lifecycle — from design and planning to implementation and verification. Supports Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and more.
Wanaku	The Wanaku MCP Router is a router for AI-enabled applications powered by the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Apache Camel.

Tool

Description

Camel Kit

A set of structured slash commands for AI coding assistants that guide you through the complete integration lifecycle — from design and planning to implementation and verification. Supports Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and more.

Wanaku

The Wanaku MCP Router is a router for AI-enabled applications powered by the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Apache Camel.

Maven Plugins

For production projects, Camel provides a set of Maven plugins that integrate with your existing build workflow:

Plugin Description

Camel Maven Plugin The main plugin for running and developing Camel applications from Maven. Goals: camel:run (run routes), camel:dev (developer mode with hot-reload), camel:debug (debug mode for textual route debugging), camel:prepare-fatjar (prepare for fat-jar packaging).

Camel Report Maven Plugin Validates source code for invalid Camel endpoint URIs, Simple expressions, duplicate route IDs, and generates route coverage reports after unit testing.

Camel YAML DSL Validator Maven Plugin Validates YAML DSL route files for syntax errors according to the spec, without needing to run Camel.

Camel Component Maven Plugin Assists third-party component developers in generating all necessary metadata and configuration Java classes for custom Camel components.

Camel REST DSL OpenAPI Plugin Generates REST DSL routes and DTOs from OpenAPI v3 specification files for a contract-first approach.

Plugin	Description
Camel Maven Plugin	The main plugin for running and developing Camel applications from Maven. Goals: `camel:run` (run routes), `camel:dev` (developer mode with hot-reload), `camel:debug` (debug mode for textual route debugging), `camel:prepare-fatjar` (prepare for fat-jar packaging).
Camel Report Maven Plugin	Validates source code for invalid Camel endpoint URIs, Simple expressions, duplicate route IDs, and generates route coverage reports after unit testing.
Camel YAML DSL Validator Maven Plugin	Validates YAML DSL route files for syntax errors according to the spec, without needing to run Camel.
Camel Component Maven Plugin	Assists third-party component developers in generating all necessary metadata and configuration Java classes for custom Camel components.
Camel REST DSL OpenAPI Plugin	Generates REST DSL routes and DTOs from OpenAPI v3 specification files for a contract-first approach.

Maven Archetypes

Camel provides Maven Archetypes to quickly scaffold new projects:

Archetype	Description
camel-archetype-java	Creates a new Camel project using Java DSL
camel-archetype-main	Creates a new Camel project using standalone Camel Main
camel-archetype-spring	Creates a new Camel project with Spring DSL support
camel-archetype-component	Creates a new Camel component
camel-archetype-dataformat	Creates a new Camel data format
camel-archetype-api-component	Creates a new Camel component that wraps one or more API proxies

Archetype

Description

camel-archetype-java

Creates a new Camel project using Java DSL

camel-archetype-main

Creates a new Camel project using standalone Camel Main

camel-archetype-spring

Creates a new Camel project with Spring DSL support

camel-archetype-component

Creates a new Camel component

camel-archetype-dataformat

Creates a new Camel data format

camel-archetype-api-component

Creates a new Camel component that wraps one or more API proxies

IDE Plugins and Extensions

Tool	Description
Apache Camel IDEA Plugin	Plugin for IntelliJ IDEA to provide a set of Apache Camel related editing capabilities to the code editor. It also provides Camel textual route debugging capabilities.
VS Code Extension Pack for Camel	A set of VS Code extensions for developing Camel applications — includes language support, debugging, and more.
Camel Language Server	A Language Server Protocol implementation that provides Camel DSL smartness (completion, validation, hover, outline). Packaged for VS Code and Eclipse Desktop.
Camel Debug Adapter	A Debug Adapter Protocol implementation that provides Camel textual route debugging capabilities. Packaged for VS Code and Eclipse Desktop.

Tool

Description

Apache Camel IDEA Plugin

Plugin for IntelliJ IDEA to provide a set of Apache Camel related editing capabilities to the code editor. It also provides Camel textual route debugging capabilities.

VS Code Extension Pack for Camel

A set of VS Code extensions for developing Camel applications — includes language support, debugging, and more.

Camel Language Server

A Language Server Protocol implementation that provides Camel DSL smartness (completion, validation, hover, outline). Packaged for VS Code and Eclipse Desktop.

Camel Debug Adapter

A Debug Adapter Protocol implementation that provides Camel textual route debugging capabilities. Packaged for VS Code and Eclipse Desktop.

Visual Editing

Tool	Description
Camel Karavan	Camel Karavan is a visual development tool for Apache Camel that provides a rich graphical editor for designing and deploying integration routes.
Kaoto	Kaoto is an integration editor to create and deploy workflows in a visual, low-code way; with developer-friendly features like a code editor and deployments to the cloud.

Tool

Description

Camel Karavan

Camel Karavan is a visual development tool for Apache Camel that provides a rich graphical editor for designing and deploying integration routes.

Kaoto

Kaoto is an integration editor to create and deploy workflows in a visual, low-code way; with developer-friendly features like a code editor and deployments to the cloud.

Monitoring and Management

Tool	Description
Camel Monitor Operator	A Kubernetes operator that discovers and monitors Camel applications running in the cloud. Provides a lightweight monitoring layer with a GUI dashboard and integrates with advanced monitoring systems like Prometheus.
hawt.io	hawt.io is an open source HTML5 web application for visualizing, managing and tracing Camel routes & endpoints, ActiveMQ brokers, JMX, and much more.

Tool

Description

Camel Monitor Operator

A Kubernetes operator that discovers and monitors Camel applications running in the cloud. Provides a lightweight monitoring layer with a GUI dashboard and integrates with advanced monitoring systems like Prometheus.

hawt.io

hawt.io is an open source HTML5 web application for visualizing, managing and tracing Camel routes & endpoints, ActiveMQ brokers, JMX, and much more.

Libraries

Tool	Description
Forage	Opinionated bean factories for Apache Camel — configure data sources, connection factories, AI models, transaction managers, and more via properties instead of Java code. Works with Camel JBang, Spring Boot, and Quarkus.

Tool

Description

Forage

Opinionated bean factories for Apache Camel — configure data sources, connection factories, AI models, transaction managers, and more via properties instead of Java code. Works with Camel JBang, Spring Boot, and Quarkus.

If you are using or have developed tooling for Apache Camel please add an entry via a pull request; or post to the mailing list.