BPMN XML Import & Export

yh-flow exposes a BPMN 2.0 XML bridge so you can export Flow canvas content for BPMN engines or import existing BPMN diagrams back into Flow for preview and validation.

When to Use

• When you need to deliver Flow diagrams to BPMN tooling such as Camunda, Flowable, or bpmn.io
• When you want to inspect or visualize BPMN XML created elsewhere inside Flow
• When you want to verify and sanitize XML before handing it to another system

Core APIs

API	Description
flowToBpmnXml(nodes, edges, options)	Converts nodes and edges into BPMN 2.0 XML; includeDi controls whether graphical coordinates are emitted
bpmnXmlToFlow(xml, options)	Parses BPMN XML and returns Flow-friendly nodes/edges with optional fallback layout
validateBpmnXml(xml)	Ensures the XML contains the required <definitions> and <process> sections
generateSampleBpmnXml()	Returns a built-in sample process that can be imported or featured in demos

Example

The demo below exports BPMN XML from the canvas, loads the built-in sample XML, and validates the serialized result.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <bpmn:definitions xmlns:bpmn="http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/20100524/MODEL" xmlns:bpmndi="http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/20100524/DI" xmlns:dc="http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/20100524/DC" xmlns:di="http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/20100524/DI" id="definitions_SampleProcess" targetNamespace="http://bpmn.io/schema/bpmn"> <bpmn:process id="SampleProcess" name="示例流程" isExecutable="false"> <bpmn:startEvent id="start" name="开始"/> <bpmn:userTask id="task1" name="审批任务" assignee="admin"/> <bpmn:exclusiveGateway id="gateway" name="是否通过" gatewayDirection="diverging"/> <bpmn:serviceTask id="task2" name="处理业务" implementation="delegateExpression" delegateExpression="${myService}"/> <bpmn:endEvent id="end" name="结束"/> <bpmn:sequenceFlow id="e1" sourceRef="start" targetRef="task1"/> <bpmn:sequenceFlow id="e2" sourceRef="task1" targetRef="gateway"/> <bpmn:sequenceFlow id="e3" sourceRef="gateway" targetRef="task2"> <bpmn:conditionExpression xsi:type="tFormalExpression" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">${approved == true}</bpmn:conditionExpression> </bpmn:sequenceFlow> <bpmn:sequenceFlow id="e4" sourceRef="gateway" targetRef="end"/> <bpmn:sequenceFlow id="e5" sourceRef="task2" targetRef="end" messageVisibleKind="signal"/> </bpmn:process> <bpmndi:BPMNDiagram id="BPMNDiagram_1"> <bpmndi:BPMNPlane id="BPMNPlane_1" bpmnElement="SampleProcess"> <bpmndi:BPMNShape id="start_gui" bpmnElement="start"> <dc:Bounds x="100" y="200" width="40" height="40"/> </bpmndi:BPMNShape> <bpmndi:BPMNShape id="task1_gui" bpmnElement="task1"> <dc:Bounds x="250" y="180" width="120" height="80"/> </bpmndi:BPMNShape> <bpmndi:BPMNShape id="gateway_gui" bpmnElement="gateway"> <dc:Bounds x="450" y="200" width="50" height="50"/> </bpmndi:BPMNShape> <bpmndi:BPMNShape id="task2_gui" bpmnElement="task2"> <dc:Bounds x="600" y="100" width="120" height="80"/> </bpmndi:BPMNShape> <bpmndi:BPMNShape id="end_gui" bpmnElement="end"> <dc:Bounds x="800" y="200" width="40" height="40"/> </bpmndi:BPMNShape> <bpmndi:BPMNEdge id="e1_di_di" bpmnElement="e1_di"/> <bpmndi:BPMNEdge id="e2_di_di" bpmnElement="e2_di"/> <bpmndi:BPMNEdge id="e3_di_di" bpmnElement="e3_di"/> <bpmndi:BPMNEdge id="e4_di_di" bpmnElement="e4_di"/> <bpmndi:BPMNEdge id="e5_di_di" bpmnElement="e5_di"/> </bpmndi:BPMNPlane> </bpmndi:BPMNDiagram> </bpmn:definitions>

Ready for export. Press a button to see the XML

BPMN XML Import Sample

Best Practices

1. Keep definitions in sync: Always call flowToBpmnXml before exporting so the XML reflects the latest canvas state.
2. Validate before import: Run validateBpmnXml before feeding XML into another system to catch structural issues early.
3. Control DI output: Use the includeDi option to decide whether the export contains layout information.
4. Leverage the sample: generateSampleBpmnXml is great for smoke tests, onboarding demos, or generating mock data.