| Product | Trigger.dev |
| Website | trigger.dev |
| Category | Developer Infrastructure / Background Jobs |
| Key Feature | Long-running background jobs with TypeScript SDK |
| Pricing | Free tier (30K runs/month), Pro from $25/month |
| Open Source | Yes (Apache 2.0) |
What Is Trigger.dev?
Trigger.dev lets you write background jobs in TypeScript and run them in serverless environments without hitting timeout limits. Vercel functions time out after 60 seconds, Cloudflare Workers after 30. But many real-world tasks — processing uploads, syncing data, generating reports, calling AI APIs — take longer. Trigger.dev runs these jobs on its own infrastructure with no timeout, while your code stays in your repository and deploys with your application.
The traditional solution is to run a separate worker process (a Bull queue on Redis, a Celery worker, a Temporal cluster). Trigger.dev eliminates the infrastructure: you define jobs as TypeScript functions, and they execute on managed compute with built-in retry, monitoring, and error handling.
Key Features
No Timeout Limits
Jobs can run for hours. Process a 500MB CSV upload, generate 1,000 AI responses, or sync an entire CRM. The job runs on Trigger.dev’s infrastructure with no time limit, and your serverless application triggers it via a simple function call.
TypeScript-First SDK
Define jobs as TypeScript functions in your codebase. Full type safety, IDE autocomplete, and the same language as your application. No YAML configuration, no separate job definition files. The SDK provides task(), schedules, and trigger() primitives that compose into complex workflows.
Built-in Monitoring
Every job run is logged with timing, input/output, and error traces. The dashboard shows active, completed, and failed runs in real time. Set up alerts for failures. Replay failed runs with the same input for debugging.
Retry and Error Handling
Configure retry strategies per job: immediate retry, exponential backoff, or custom logic. When an API rate-limits you, Trigger.dev waits and retries automatically. When a job fails after all retries, you see the full error chain in the dashboard.
Who Is This For?
- Next.js / Vercel developers who need background processing beyond serverless timeouts
- SaaS applications that process uploads, sync data, or call external APIs
- AI applications that need to make many LLM calls or process batches
- Teams that want background jobs without managing Redis/Bull/worker infrastructure
Pros
- No timeout limits for background jobs
- TypeScript-first with full type safety
- Built-in monitoring and error replay
- Configurable retry strategies
- Open source (self-hostable)
- Deploys with your application code
Cons
- TypeScript/JavaScript only (no Python, Go, etc.)
- Managed service adds a dependency to your stack
- Self-hosting is more complex than using the cloud service
- Pricing based on compute time can be unpredictable for long jobs
- Relatively new (v3 launched 2024)
Verdict
Trigger.dev solves a real gap in the serverless ecosystem. Serverless platforms are great for request-response workflows but terrible for long-running tasks. The traditional answer — “run a worker server” — defeats the point of going serverless. Trigger.dev gives you long-running compute without the server.
The developer experience is what sells it. Writing a background job as a TypeScript function in your existing codebase, with type safety and IDE support, is dramatically simpler than configuring a Bull queue, deploying a worker process, and wiring up Redis. For TypeScript teams on serverless platforms, Trigger.dev removes a category of infrastructure complexity.
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