Endpoints

Camel supports the Message Endpoint pattern using the Endpoint interface.

Endpoints are created by a Component and these endpoints are referred to in the DSL via their endpoint URIs.

Example

The following example route demonstrates the use of a File consumer endpoint and a * JMS producer endpoint, by their URIs:

  • Java

  • XML

  • YAML

from("file:messages/foo")
    .to("jms:queue:foo");
<route>
    <from uri="file:messages/foo"/>
    <to uri="jms:queue:foo"/>
</route>
- route:
    from:
      uri: file:messages/foo
      steps:
        - to:
            uri: jms:queue:foo

Referring beans from endpoints

When configuring endpoints using the URI syntax you can refer to beans in the Registry using the #bean:id notation.

The older syntax with just #id has been deprecated due to ambiguity as Camel supports a number of additional functions that start with the # notation.

If the URI parameter value starts with #bean: then Camel will lookup in the Registry for a bean of the given type by id. For instance:

  • Java

  • XML

  • YAML

from("file:messages/foo?sorter=#bean:mySpecialFileSorter")
    .to("jms:queue:foo");
<route>
    <from uri="file:messages/foo?sorter=#bean:mySpecialFileSorter"/>
    <to uri="jms:queue:foo"/>
</route>
- route:
    from:
      uri: file:messages/foo?sorter=#bean:mySpecialFileSorter
      steps:
        - to:
            uri: jms:queue:foo

Will lookup a bean with the id mySpecialFileSorter in the Registry.

Referring beans by class

Camel also supports to refer to beans by their class type, such as #class:com.foo.MySpecialSorter, which then will create a new bean instance of the given class name.

If you need to provide parameters to the constructor, then this is also possible (limited to numbers, boolean, literal, and null values)

file://inbox?sorter=#class:com.foo.MySpecialSorter(10, 'Hello world', true)
Inlining constructor arguments is only recommended for beans with a few options so the code is easy to understand and maintain. Also beware that if the bean constructor is refactored then the string text would need to be updated accordingly.

Referring beans by type

When configuring endpoints using URI syntax you can now refer to bean by its type which are used to lookup the bean by the given type from the Registry.

If there is one bean found in the registry of the given type, then that bean instance will be used; otherwise an exception is thrown.

For example below we expect there is a single bean of the org.apache.camel.spi.IdempotentRepository type in the Registry that the file endpoint should use.

file://inbox?idempontentRepository=#type:org.apache.camel.spi.IdempotentRepository

Configuring parameter values using raw values, such as passwords

When configuring endpoint options using URI syntax, then the values is by default URI encoded. This can be a problem if you want to configure passwords and just use the value as is without any encoding. For example, you may have a plus sign in the password, which would be decimal encoded by default.

You can define parameter value to be raw using the following syntax RAW(value), e.g. the value starts with RAW( and then ends with the parenthesis ).

Here is a little example with the password: se+re?t&23:

  • Java

  • XML

  • YAML

  • YAML expanded

from("file:inbox")
  .to("ftp:joe@myftpserver.com?password=RAW(se+re?t&23)&binary=true");
<route>
    <from uri="file:inbox"/>
    <to uri="ftp:joe@myftpserver.com?password=RAW(se+re?t&amp;23)&amp;binary=true"/>
</route>
- route:
    from:
      uri: file:inbox
      steps:
        - to:
            uri: ftp:joe@myftpserver.com?password=RAW(se+re?t&23)&binary=true
- route:
    from:
      uri: file
      parameters:
        directoryName: inbox
      steps:
        - to:
            uri: ftp
            parameters:
              host: joe@myftpserver.com
              password: "RAW(se+re?t&23)"
              binary: true

In the above example, we have declared the password value as raw, and the actual password would be as typed, eg se+re?t&23.

you may find a corner case when you use both ) and & character as part of your password (ie, se+re)t&23). The parser will interpret the ) as closing the RAW function and having a parameter started by &. In such case, you can instead use the RAW{} notation to let you include the ) character and have it decoded as part of the password (ie, RAW{se+re)t&23}). As a safe alternative you can also use password=#property:myPass and then have myPass a property placeholder value.

Using ENV variables with raw values

If you need to use environment variables, for example as username or passwords then this is now possible by inlining the Simple language using $simple{xxx} syntax in RAW(…​) as shown below:

  • Java

  • XML

  • YAML

from("file:inbox")
  .to("ftp:joe@myftpserver.com?password=RAW($simple{env:MY_FTP_PASSWORD})&binary=true");
<route>
    <from uri="file:inbox"/>
    <to uri="ftp:joe@myftpserver.com?password=RAW($simple{env:MY_FTP_PASSWORD})&amp;binary=true"/>
</route>
- route:
    from:
      uri: file:inbox
      steps:
        - to:
            uri: "ftp:joe@myftpserver.com?password=RAW($simple{env:MY_FTP_PASSWORD})&binary=true"

Endpoint URIs with property placeholders

Camel has extensive support for using Property placeholders.

For example in the ftp example above we can externalize the password to the application.properties file.

myFtpPassword=RAW(se+re?t&23)

And the Camel routes can then refer to this placeholder using {{key}} style.

  • Java

  • XML

  • YAML

from("file:inbox")
  .to("ftp:joe@myftpserver.com?password={{myFtpPassword}}&binary=true");
<route>
    <from uri="file:inbox"/>
    <to uri="ftp:joe@myftpserver.com?password={{myFtpPassword}}&amp;binary=true"/>
</route>
- route:
    from:
      uri: file:inbox
      steps:
        - to:
            uri: "ftp:joe@myftpserver.com?password={{myFtpPassword}}&binary=true"

And have a application.properties file with password. Notice we still define the RAW(value) style to ensure the password is used as is:

myFtpPassword=RAW(se+re?t&23)

We could still have used the RAW(value) in the Camel route instead:

.to("ftp:joe@myftpserver.com?password=RAW({{myFtpPassword}})&binary=true")

And then we would need to remove the RAW from the properties file:

myFtpPassword=se+re?t&23

Configuring CamelContext default cache size

The CamelContext will by default cache the last 1000 used endpoints (based on a LRUCache).

This must be done on the CamelContext as a global option as shown in the following Java code:

getCamelContext().getGlobalOptions().put(Exchange.MAXIMUM_ENDPOINT_CACHE_SIZE, "500");

The default maximum cache size is 1000.

You need to configure this before CamelContext is started.

Java Endpoint API

You will almost never have the need for creating endpoints manually via Java API.

From an Endpoint you can use the following Java API methods to create producers or consumers to the endpoint:

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