Trigger.dev Has a Free Background Jobs API for TypeScript

Trigger.dev lets you run long-running background jobs in TypeScript with automatic retries, scheduling, and observability. No infrastructure to manage.

Define a Job

import { task } from '@trigger.dev/sdk/v3';

export const processVideo = task({
  id: 'process-video',
  retry: { maxAttempts: 3 },
  run: async (payload: { videoUrl: string; userId: string }) => {
    // Step 1: Download
    const video = await downloadVideo(payload.videoUrl);

    // Step 2: Transcode (can take minutes)
    const transcoded = await transcodeVideo(video, '1080p');

    // Step 3: Upload to S3
    const url = await uploadToS3(transcoded);

    // Step 4: Notify user
    await sendNotification(payload.userId, `Video ready: ${url}`);

    return { url };
  }
});

Trigger from Your App

import { tasks } from '@trigger.dev/sdk/v3';

// From an API endpoint
app.post('/api/upload-video', async (req, res) => {
  const handle = await tasks.trigger('process-video', {
    videoUrl: req.body.url,
    userId: req.user.id
  });

  res.json({ jobId: handle.id });
});

// Scheduled (cron)
export const dailyReport = task({
  id: 'daily-report',
  run: async () => {
    const data = await generateReport();
    await sendEmail('[e-mail]', data);
  }
});

Wait for External Events

export const onboardUser = task({
  id: 'onboard-user',
  run: async (payload: { userId: string }) => {
    await sendWelcomeEmail(payload.userId);

    // Wait up to 24h for email verification
    const verified = await wait.for({ seconds: 86400 });

    if (verified) {
      await activateAccount(payload.userId);
    } else {
      await sendReminder(payload.userId);
    }
  }
});

Why This Matters

• TypeScript native: Write jobs in the same language as your app
• Automatic retries: With exponential backoff
• Real-time logs: See exactly what your job is doing
• No infrastructure: Managed execution environment

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