[[GettingStarted-GettingStarted]]
Getting Started
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First you need to link:download.html[Download] the Camel distribution;
or you could grab the link:source.html[Source] and try
link:building.html[Building] it yourself.

Then come back here and you might want to read the following
documentation before continuing:

* link:book-getting-started.html[Longer Getting Started Guide]
* Find out about link:enterprise-integration-patterns.html[Enterprise
Integration Patterns] and how to implement them with Camel
* Review the link:architecture.html[Architecture] guide to see how to
build link:routes.html[Routes] using the Java link:dsl.html[DSL] or
link:spring.html[Spring] based link:xml-configuration.html[Xml
Configuration]

[[GettingStarted-WorkingwithCamelContextsandRouteBuilders]]
Working with CamelContexts and RouteBuilders
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

To get started with Camel:

1.  Create a link:camelcontext.html[CamelContext].
2.  Optionally, link:configuring-camel.html[configure components or
endpoints].
3.  Add whatever routing rules you wish using the link:dsl.html[DSL] and
link:routebuilder.html[RouteBuilder] or using
link:xml-configuration.html[Xml Configuration].
4.  link:lifecycle.html[Start the context].

When your application is closing you may wish to
link:lifecycle.html[stop the context]

When you are ready, why not link:walk-through-an-example.html[Walk
through an Example]? +
 And then continue the walk link:walk-through-another-example.html[Walk
through another example] +
 And after the walks head over to the link:tutorials.html[tutorials].

[[GettingStarted-WorkingwithSpring]]
Working with Spring
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

If you use Spring as a Dependency Injection container then please refer
to the link:spring.html[Camel Spring documentation].

[[GettingStarted-OtherResources]]
Other Resources
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

We strongly suggest that you brew a cup of coffee or tea and take the 30
minutes to read one or more of the following resources:

* http://manning.com/ibsen/chapter1sample.pdf[Camel in Action, Chapter 1
(direct link)] free chapter 1 of the http://www.manning.com/ibsen[Camel
in Action] book. Highly recommended to read to learn what Camel is and
the basic Camel concepts. This is a free chapter you can download
directly as a pdf (about 20 pages) and introduces you to Camel. We have
been told by experience Camel end users they wished this chapter was
available to them when they started learning Camel.

* http://java.dzone.com/articles/open-source-integration-apache[Open
Source Integration with Apache Camel and How Fuse IDE Can Help] by
Jonathan Anstey. Updated article of the
http://architects.dzone.com/articles/apache-camel-integration[Apache
Camel: Integration Nirvana]. Great article to learn what Camel is and
has a good use case example.

* Several of the vendors on the
link:commercial-camel-offerings.html[Commercial Camel Offerings] page
also offer various tutorials, webinars, examples, etc.... that may be
useful.

* link:articles.html[Articles] is a link collection with articles,
blogs, podcasts, presentations and the likes about Camel done by people
from the community.