Why do Camel throw so many NoClassDefFoundException on startup?

Camel uses a runtime strategy to discover features while it starts up. This is used to register components, languages, type converters, etc.

If you are using the uber .jar (the big camel.jar) with all the Camel components in a single .jar filen, the this problem can typically occur. Especially the type converters is know to cause NoClassDefFoundException in the log during startup. The reasons is that some of these type converters rely on 3rd. party .jar files.

To remedy this either add the missing .jars to the classpath, or stop using the big .jar and use the fine grained jars.

See also How do I use a big (uber) JAR?