Trigger.dev
Open-source background jobs for TypeScript — now with first-class AI agent primitives.
About
Trigger.dev is an open-source (Apache 2.0) platform for running background jobs and workflows in plain async TypeScript — no workflow DSL, just functions. Tasks run on dedicated compute with no execution timeouts, plus retries, scheduling, queuing, and a real-time observability dashboard.
The v3 relaunch in September 2025 pivoted toward AI agents: first-class primitives including waitpoints, a built-in MCP server, realtime LLM token streaming, structured inputs/outputs with Zod, and integrations with Mastra, LangChain, and the Vercel AI SDK. Agent runs are durable and survive refreshes, redeploys, and crashes. It is SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliant.
Worth knowing: it is TypeScript-only — Python runs as an extension rather than native tasks. Usage-based compute pricing can add up on resource-heavy workloads, and the free tier's $5/month in credits is a ceiling for anything beyond experiments. Self-hosting is possible but means running webapp, Redis, Postgres, and workers yourself.
What it can do
- No-timeout background tasks in plain TypeScript
- AI agent primitives: waitpoints, MCP server, token streaming
- Automatic retries with exponential backoff
- Cron scheduling and queue management
- Real-time dashboard with logs, traces, and run history
Setup
npx trigger.dev@latest init, then npx trigger.dev@latest dev. Deploy to Trigger.dev Cloud or self-host via Docker.
Prerequisites
Node.js; a Trigger.dev account for cloud or Docker for self-hosting.
Use cases
Works with
Trust score — 8/10
Scored 8/10 (verified tier, metrics-v1). Evidence: Verified via vendor site/docs/GitHub and reputable coverage, wave 45; Trending score 76/100 from researcher assessment.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these sources. Where a claim comes from the provider and couldn't be independently verified, the text says so.