Running a simple connector

A runnable connector consists of a Runtime and a build file, in our case this is a build.gradle.kts.

The first thing we need is the Runtime which is the main entry point to the connector application, same as with any other Java program. In this sample we use the BaseRuntime, but this can be extended (take a look at the custom-runtime sample for more information)

The second thing we need is a gradle build file that contains the essential dependencies. We'll need at least the following things:

dependencies {
    implementation(libs.edc.boot)
    implementation(libs.edc.runtime.core)
    implementation(libs.edc.connector.core)
}

However, the connector would directly shut down after the successful boot due to no extension is loaded and nothing happens. To avoid this behavior the gradle build file includes already another dependency that we will re-use in the next samples:

dependencies {
    implementation(libs.edc.http)
}

Additional dependencies will be added to this list in the future, so be sure to check back regularly!

With that we can build and run the connector from the root directory:

./gradlew clean basic:basic-01-basic-connector:build
java -jar basic/basic-01-basic-connector/build/libs/basic-connector.jar

Note: the above snippet assumes that you did not alter the build file, i.e. the shadow plugin is used and the build artifact resides at the path mentioned above. Also, we assume usage of the Gradle Wrapper, as opposed to a local Gradle installation.

If everything works as intended you should see command-line output similar to this:

INFO 2025-09-22T09:28:34.533664939 Booting EDC runtime
WARNING 2025-09-22T09:28:34.557375883 The runtime is configured as an anonymous participant. DO NOT DO THIS IN PRODUCTION.
INFO 2025-09-22T09:28:34.6675347 HTTPS enforcement it not enabled, please enable it in a production environment
WARNING 2025-09-22T09:28:34.774747827 Config value: no setting found for 'edc.hostname', falling back to default value 'localhost'
WARNING 2025-09-22T09:28:34.88495366 Using the InMemoryVault is not suitable for production scenarios and should be replaced with an actual Vault!
INFO 2025-09-22T09:28:35.031852619 9 service extensions started
INFO 2025-09-22T09:28:35.032885401 Runtime e1fb90ce-63a0-4d6b-bcdf-8c998b67f41b ready

This basic connector - while perfectly fine - does not offer any outward-facing API, nor does it provide any connector-to-connector communication protocols. However, it will serve us as platform to build out more complex scenarios.

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