Dispatched: The Background Queue/Task Runner for Your Serverless Apps

Serverless platforms like Vercel, Netlify, AWS Amplify, and Cloudflare Functions make it incredibly easy to spin up modern web apps. However, one missing piece has always been how to handle background tasks efficiently. As a developer working on multiple projects, I’ve encountered this problem time and again—and after trying several solutions, I decided to create my own: Dispatched.dev.

Why Background Tasks Are Important

In serverless environments, handling tasks that require long processing times (e.g., sending emails, resizing images, or calling external APIs) directly in your app can lead to timeouts and a poor user experience. Offloading these tasks to a background worker is often the best solution.

However, implementing background workers in serverless platforms can be challenging. Popular options like AWS SQS or Google Cloud Tasks require significant setup, and you’re often responsible for:

• Writing custom integration code.
• Setting up retry mechanisms.
• Monitoring for failures.
• Managing infrastructure scaling.

Introducing Dispatched

Dispatched is a lightweight, developer-friendly background task runner specifically designed for serverless apps. Here’s how it works:

1. Simple HTTP-Based Integration:

   • Dispatch jobs via a simple HTTP POST request.
   • Receive a webhook when the task is ready to execute.

2. Works with Any Framework:

   • Compatible with Next.js, Node.js, Flask, Laravel and virtually any other language or framework.

3. Automatic Retries:

   • Failed jobs are retried automatically, so you don’t need to worry about building custom logic for it. If you don't want any retries for a particular job, you can configure it per job.

4. Flexible Scheduling:

   • You can schedule tasks for the future, making it great for delayed jobs like reminders or periodic updates.

Pros and Cons of Using Dispatched

Pros:

• Ease of Use: No need to manage queues or complex infrastructure—just use HTTP.
• Scalable: Built for serverless platforms, so it scales automatically with your app.
• Time-Saving: Eliminates the need to set up and maintain custom task runners.

Cons:

• Webhook Dependency: Your app needs to handle incoming webhooks reliably. The maximum duration of the task depends on your application's maximum timeout (e.g. Vercel Pro plans have a limit of 5 minutes per request).
• Hosted Solution: If you prefer fully self-hosted solutions, Dispatched might not fit your needs right now.

Why I Built It

After dealing with the same pain points repeatedly across different projects, I realized there had to be a simpler way to handle background tasks in serverless environments. Dispatched is the result of those lessons, and I’m continuously improving it based on feedback from developers like you.

Try It Out

If you’re struggling with background tasks in your serverless apps, feel free to give Dispatched a try. There’s a free tier available to help you get started quickly. I’d also love to hear your feedback—whether it’s feature requests or ideas for improvement.

Serverless development doesn’t have to mean sacrificing simplicity for scalability. With tools like Dispatched, handling background tasks can be seamless and hassle-free.

Feel free to leave comments if you have any questions, and thanks for reading!