Flex Runtime
Boomi Flex Runtime is part of Boomi's Early Access program, which offers beta versions of Boomi innovations on an "as is" basis, with no warranties. These features are not final production releases, are unsupported under Boomi's service agreements and support services, and are not intended for production use. While Boomi will work to address issues encountered during the preview and welcomes participant feedback, any feedback provided — whether ideas, suggestions, code, or recommendations, oral or written — is irrevocably assigned to Boomi, LP. By participating, you confirm you have the authority to provide that feedback, will not assert any intellectual property claims against Boomi, and that Boomi may freely implement it without violating any party's rights. If a beta feature doesn't meet Boomi's standards or raises significant concerns, it may never reach general availability, and Boomi cannot guarantee any particular innovation will be released in a supported form. Note that some innovations may only be available as open source or for specific runtime configurations. Documentation may be provided as PDFs, online, or on Community forums.
Refer to the Early Access page to view current programs and request Early Access for a specific feature.
Account requirements
To use Flex Runtime, your account needs:
- Account feature flags: One Platform Runtime Management and Common Runtime features enabled.
- User privilege: One Platform Runtime Management - Manage or Read Only.
These are the same account features and privileges required for Runtime Management UI — Flex Runtime has no additional privilege of its own.
What is Flex Runtime?
A new, containerized runtime designed to provide a consistent install and management experience for one or more Boomi service runtimes or "workloads" within a single cluster. Currently available as Early Access, with Agentstudio agents as the first supported workload.
How it works
Flex Runtime is built in two parts:
- In the Boomi Platform, where you can configure and manage your runtime and its workloads.
- Inside your own Kubernetes cluster. Your Flex Runtime receives commands and carries them out — installing, scaling, monitoring, and updating your workloads automatically.
Communication between your Flex Runtime and Boomi Platform is always initiated by the runtime. You don't need to open inbound firewall access for this — the only exception is if a workload you build needs to accept direct inbound requests itself, such as a custom API.
When you install a Flex Runtime, Boomi automatically provisions a small set of core system services that keep the runtime itself running. You don't install or manage these directly, but the runtime isn't considered operational unless they're healthy.
Supported workloads
A workload is the unit of work that runs on your Flex Runtime. Agentstudio agents, invoked by the Agent step, are the first workload type available, with additional workload types planned.
Key concepts
Workload
The fundamental unit of work on a Flex Runtime. A workload represents a logical application — such as an integration execution engine, an AI agent executor, or a knowledge hub — that Flex Runtime installs and manages for you. A workload can be made up of one or more underlying services that work together. For instance, the Flex workloads will be present in the respective Boomi service's runtime management screens, such as Agentstudio when you install an Agent workload.
A single Flex Runtime can run one or more workloads in the same cluster installation — this is one of the key advantages of Flex Runtime, letting you mix and match workloads on the same cluster. Workloads can be added, updated, and removed at any time.
Workloads are one of two types: application workloads, which you add yourself, and system workloads.
System workload
Every Flex Runtime has a Core workload, which includes the services necessary for the runtime to function.
Environment assignment
Environment assignment determines which environment(s) a workload on your Flex Runtime can receive deployments from.
- Environment assignment enables asset deployment, such as agents or integration processes.
- For Flex Runtimes, environment assignment is performed in Runtime Management UI, not in the respective Boomi service.
- Environment is assigned at the Flex Runtime level. All workloads added to that runtime inherit that same environment — you cannot mix environments (for example, agents in "My Prod" while integration runs in "My Test").
- You still create and manage environments themselves within Integration > Runtime Management.
Relationship to Runtime Management UI
Runtime Management UI is where you manage runtimes across Boomi services, more specifically where you create and manage the Flex Runtime. This topic covers Flex Runtime concepts; for how to view, create, and navigate to your Flex Runtime in the UI, refer to Runtime Management UI.
Flex workloads also appear within the respective Boomi service's own runtime management screens. For example, when you install an Agent workload, that runtime appears in Agentstudio's Environments screen.
Command-line interface (CLI)
Flex Runtime includes a command-line tool, runtimectl, for installing and managing your runtime. Run runtimectl --help for the full list of available commands and options.
Data & communication security
- Your business data is processed and stored only within your Flex Runtime — it is not sent through or persisted in the Boomi platform.
- Communication between your Flex Runtime and Boomi Platform is always initiated by the runtime — inbound firewall access is not required unless a workload you build needs to accept direct inbound requests itself.
- Make sure your network allows outbound requests from your Flex Runtime to Boomi Platform. Since the runtime initiates this connection itself, your firewall or network policies need to permit it — if outbound access is blocked, your runtime won't be able to reach the platform.
These principles are consistent with runtime security across the Boomi platform generally. Refer to Data communication security for more information.
Important considerations
- Flex Runtime is available on the North America Boomi Platform only during Early Access.
