Elmar.tax ELSTER Integration

Run locally via Docker

The fastest way to get started is Elmar REST as a Docker container.

Each running instance supports one certificate. In typical setups, you run one instance per organization or certificate.

Quick start

docker run --rm \
  -e ERIC_MANUFACTURER_ID=<YOUR_MANUFACTURER_ID> \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  --add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway \
  lingomesh/elster-rest-api:2026.0.0

Once running, open http://localhost:8080/docs/swagger-ui to explore the API interactively via the built-in OpenAPI docs.

Configuration

Elmar REST is configured via environment variables, injected into the Docker container:

Variable Description
ERIC_MANUFACTURER_ID Your ERiC manufacturer ID
ERIC_CERT_PATH Path to the ELSTER certificate file (.pfx) inside the container
ERIC_CERT_PIN Certificate PIN
ERIC_NATIVE_LIBS_DIR Path to ERiC native libraries (pre-configured in the Docker image)
ERIC_TESTMODE true for test submissions (default), false for production
ERIC_DATEN_LIEFERANT Data supplier identification string
ERIC_REGISTER_LOG_CALLBACK true to enable ERiC log callback

When using the Java SDK directly (without Docker), you have more flexibility — certificates can be loaded from the filesystem using the paths ERiC expects.

Verify it works

Check the service info endpoints:

# ERiC version
curl http://localhost:8080/api/info/eric-version

# Certificate properties
curl http://localhost:8080/api/info/eric-certificate-properties

# Test mode status
curl http://localhost:8080/api/info/testmode-enabled

What next?

Integration guide Architecture