Camel CLI - Installation Options

Alternative ways to install the Camel CLI — pinning a specific version, offline-safe setups, and running from a container image.

For the standard installation, see Getting Started.

Installing a specific version

By default, jbang app install installs the latest Camel release. To pin a specific version (for example 4.14.1):

jbang app install --force --fresh -Dcamel.jbang.version=4.14.1 -Dcamel-kamelets.version=4.14.1 camel@apache/camel

The --force and --fresh flags ensure JBang bypasses its download cache.

From Camel 4.17, Kamelets are optional and downloaded on demand. Set the version with --kamelets-version on camel run, or pre-configure it: camel config set kamelets-version=4.17.0.

Preventing automatic upgrades

JBang occasionally checks upstream sources and may auto-update the installed CLI. If you need a stable, repeatable installation, use one of the options below.

Option 1: Pin from a local CamelJBang.java

This is the most deterministic approach — best for fully offline environments.

  1. Download CamelJBang.java to your local machine.

  2. Edit the file and set the Camel version you want.

  3. Install from the local file:

    jbang app install CamelJBang.java

The file can be deleted after installation.

Option 2: Pin from a version-tagged catalog

Simpler than Option 1, but still prevents surprise upgrades:

CAMEL_VERSION="4.18.0"
CAMEL_TAG="camel-${CAMEL_VERSION}"
CAMEL_JBANG_CATALOG_URL="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/apache/camel/${CAMEL_TAG}/jbang-catalog.json"

jbang app install --force --fresh \
  -Dcamel.jbang.version="${CAMEL_VERSION}" \
  -Dcamel-kamelets.version="${CAMEL_VERSION}" \
  camel@"${CAMEL_JBANG_CATALOG_URL}"

The catalog URL points to a specific release tag, so JBang will not pull a newer version.

Option 3: Use the Camel Wrapper

Similar to the Maven Wrapper, the Camel Wrapper creates version-pinning scripts in your project directory:

camel wrapper

This creates a .camel/camel-wrapper.properties file and launcher scripts so anyone working on the project uses the same Camel CLI version — no manual install needed.

Pin a specific version:

camel wrapper --camel-version=4.18.0

Option 4: Use the Camel Launcher

The Camel CLI Launcher is a self-contained executable JAR that runs without JBang entirely.

Container image

The Camel CLI is also available as a container image on Docker Hub.

All examples below use docker. Replace with podman if you prefer — the commands are identical.

Pull the image:

docker pull apache/camel-jbang:4.21.0

Verify it works:

docker run apache/camel-jbang:4.21.0 version
Camel CLI version: 4.21.0

Run a route by mounting your local directory:

docker run -v .:/integrations apache/camel-jbang:4.21.0 run /integrations/example.yaml
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