Trigger Dev

Trigger.dev Integration

Trigger.dev provides durable, retryable background jobs with a TypeScript-first API. Tasks are independently retryable, runs survive crashes, and built-in integrations wrap external SDKs with automatic retries and rate-limit handling.

When to Use

Activate this skill when the user mentions or implies any of the following:

• trigger.dev or trigger dev (SDK, CLI, dashboard, deployment)
• Background tasks or background jobs in a TypeScript/Node project
• AI background jobs (OpenAI, Anthropic processing off the request cycle)
• Long-running tasks that exceed serverless timeouts
• Integration tasks (Stripe, Slack, Resend, Supabase wrappers)
• Scheduled tasks / cron-style jobs without external cron
• Webhook handling with deduplication / idempotency
• Batch processing with concurrency control and rate limiting
• Task queues managed by Trigger.dev

Scope Boundaries — Delegate Instead

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ and a TypeScript project (Next.js, Remix, Express, or Hono)
• Trigger.dev account (Trigger Cloud or self-hosted) with a project created
• TRIGGER_SECRET_KEY environment variable set — never hardcode the key
• SDK and CLI on compatible versions — always update together
• Windows host (PowerShell) is the primary development environment; use npx trigger.dev@latest commands as shown below

Install SDK and CLI

npm install @trigger.dev/sdk@latest
# CLI is invoked via npx; no global install required
npx trigger.dev@latest --version

Verify versions match

npx trigger.dev@latest --version
npm list @trigger.dev/sdk

If versions diverge, pin both to the same version:

npm install @trigger.dev/sdk@3.3.0
npx trigger.dev@3.3.0 dev

Procedure

1. Create trigger.config.ts at the Package Root

The CLI looks for trigger.config.ts in the current working directory. In a monorepo, place it at the package root, not the monorepo root.

my-app/
├── trigger.config.ts      <- HERE
├── package.json
├── src/
│   └── trigger/
│       └── tasks.ts

// trigger.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from '@trigger.dev/sdk/v3';

export default defineConfig({
  project: 'my-project',
  runtime: 'node',
  logLevel: 'log',
  retries: {
    enabledInDev: true,
    default: {
      maxAttempts: 3,
      minTimeoutInMs: 1000,
      maxTimeoutInMs: 10000,
      factor: 2,
    },
  },
});

Monorepo override — specify config path explicitly:

npx trigger.dev dev --config ./apps/web/trigger.config.ts

2. Define Tasks

// src/trigger/tasks.ts
import { task, logger } from '@trigger.dev/sdk/v3';

export const helloWorld = task({
  id: 'hello-world',
  run: async (payload: { name: string }) => {
    logger.log('Processing hello world', { payload });
    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 1000));
    return { message: `Hello, ${payload.name}!` };
  },
});

HARD RULE: Every task MUST have an explicit id property. Tasks without an id will not register.

HARD RULE: Every task SHOULD include logger.log() calls. Without logging, production failures are undebuggable.

HARD RULE: Every task that calls an external API or database SHOULD set a queue.concurrencyLimit to protect downstream services.

3. Trigger Tasks From Your App

import { helloWorld } from '@/trigger/tasks';

// Fire and forget
await helloWorld.trigger({ name: 'World' });

// Wait for result
const handle = await helloWorld.trigger({ name: 'World' });
const result = await handle.wait();

HARD RULE: Payloads are JSON-serialized. Never pass Date objects, class instances, functions, or circular references. Use ISO strings and plain objects.

// WRONG
await myTask.trigger({ createdAt: new Date() });
await myTask.trigger({ user: new User(data) });

// RIGHT
await myTask.trigger({ createdAt: new Date().toISOString() });
await myTask.trigger({ user: { id: data.id, email: data.email } });

4. Run the Dev Server

In development, tasks execute through the local dev server. If it is not running, triggers queue silently or fail without errors.

# Terminal 1: Your app
npm run dev

# Terminal 2: Trigger.dev dev server
npx trigger.dev dev

Add a convenience script to package.json:

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "next dev",
    "trigger:dev": "trigger.dev dev",
    "dev:all": "concurrently \"npm run dev\" \"npm run trigger:dev\""
  }
}

Confirm the dev server is connected: the console should show "Connected to Trigger.dev" and task registrations should appear.

5. Sync Environment Variables to Trigger Cloud

Trigger.dev runs tasks in its own cloud, separate from Vercel/Railway. Environment variables must be configured in both places — they do not auto-sync.

# Create .env.trigger file (example placeholders only — never commit real secrets)
# DATABASE_URL=postgres://YOUR_DB_HOST/YOUR_DB
# OPENAI_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY
# STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=YOUR_KEY

# Push to Trigger.dev
npx trigger.dev@latest env push

Alternatively, add variables manually via the Trigger.dev dashboard: Project Settings > Environment Variables.

Common missing variables: DATABASE_URL, OPENAI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, STRIPE_SECRET_KEY, service API keys, internal service URLs.

HARD RULE: Configure staging environment variables separately — Trigger.dev has separate environments.

6. Use Built-in Integrations (Not Raw SDKs)

Trigger.dev integrations wrap external SDKs with automatic retries, rate-limit handling, and structured logging. Using raw SDKs means you lose these features.

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

const openaiClient = openai.configure({
  id: 'openai',
  apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY,
});

export const generateContent = task({
  id: 'generate-content',
  retry: { maxAttempts: 3 },
  run: async (payload: { topic: string; style: string }) => {
    logger.log('Generating content', { topic: payload.topic });
    const completion = await openaiClient.chat.completions.create({
      model: 'gpt-4-turbo-preview',
      messages: [
        { role: 'system', content: `You are a ${payload.style} writer.` },
        { role: 'user', content: `Write about: ${payload.topic}` },
      ],
    });
    const content = completion.choices[0].message.content;
    logger.log('Generated content', { length: content?.length });
    return { content, tokens: completion.usage?.total_tokens };
  },
});

Available integrations: @trigger.dev/openai, @trigger.dev/anthropic, @trigger.dev/resend, @trigger.dev/slack, @trigger.dev/stripe.

7. Scheduled Tasks (Cron)

No external cron needed — Trigger.dev handles scheduling natively.

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

export const dailyCleanup = schedules.task({
  id: 'daily-cleanup',
  cron: '0 2 * * *',  // 2 AM daily
  run: async () => {
    logger.log('Starting daily cleanup');
    const deleted = await db.logs.deleteMany({
      where: {
        createdAt: { lt: new Date(Date.now() - 30 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000) },
      },
    });
    logger.log('Cleanup complete', { deletedCount: deleted.count });
    return { deleted: deleted.count };
  },
});

export const weeklyReport = schedules.task({
  id: 'weekly-report',
  cron: '0 9 * * 1',  // Monday 9 AM
  run: async () => {
    const stats = await generateWeeklyStats();
    await sendReportEmail(stats);
    return stats;
  },
});

8. Batch Processing with Concurrency Control

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

export const processBatch = task({
  id: 'process-batch',
  queue: {
    concurrencyLimit: 5,  // Only 5 running at once
  },
  run: async (payload: { items: string[] }) => {
    const results = [];
    for (const item of payload.items) {
      logger.log('Processing item', { item });
      const result = await processItem(item);
      results.push(result);
      await wait.for({ seconds: 1 });
    }
    return { processed: results.length, results };
  },
});

export const startBatchJob = task({
  id: 'start-batch',
  run: async (payload: { datasetId: string }) => {
    const items = await fetchDataset(payload.datasetId);
    const chunks = chunkArray(items, 100);
    const handles = await Promise.all(
      chunks.map(chunk => processBatch.trigger({ items: chunk }))
    );
    logger.log('Started batch processing', {
      totalItems: items.length,
      batches: chunks.length,
    });
    return { batches: handles.length };
  },
});

HARD RULE: Avoid wait.for inside loops with thousands of iterations — each wait.for creates checkpoint state and the state blob grows until it hits memory limits. Batch items instead:

// WRONG — 1000 waits = bloated state
for (const item of items) {
  await processItem(item);
  await wait.for({ milliseconds: 100 });
}

// RIGHT — batch and wait once per batch
const chunks = chunkArray(items, 50);
for (const chunk of chunks) {
  await Promise.all(chunk.map(processItem));
  await wait.for({ milliseconds: 500 });
}

For very large datasets, split into subtasks using triggerAndWait so each chunk is a separate task with its own timeout and state.

9. Webhook Handling with Idempotency

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

export const handleStripeEvent = task({
  id: 'handle-stripe-event',
  run: async (payload: { eventId: string; type: string; data: any }) => {
    const idempotencyKey = await idempotencyKeys.create(payload.eventId);

    if (idempotencyKey.isNew === false) {
      logger.log('Duplicate event, skipping', { eventId: payload.eventId });
      return { skipped: true };
    }

    logger.log('Processing Stripe event', {
      type: payload.type,
      eventId: payload.eventId,
    });

    switch (payload.type) {
      case 'checkout.session.completed':
        await handleCheckoutComplete(payload.data);
        break;
      case 'customer.subscription.updated':
        await handleSubscriptionUpdate(payload.data);
        break;
    }

    return { processed: true, type: payload.type };
  },
});

HARD RULE: Trigger.dev retries failed tasks from the beginning. If your task has side effects (emails, charges, Slack messages) before the failure point, those execute again on retry. Always use idempotencyKeys or database tracking for side-effect tasks.

10. Configure Timeouts for Long-Running Tasks

Trigger.dev has execution timeouts (defaults vary by plan). When exceeded, the task is killed mid-execution, often without a clear error in logs.

export const processDocument = task({
  id: 'process-document',
  machine: {
    preset: 'large-2x',  // More resources = longer allowed time
  },
  run: async (payload) => {
    logger.log('Starting document processing', { docId: payload.id });
    logger.log('Step 1: Extracting text');
    const text = await extractText(payload.fileUrl);
    logger.log('Step 2: Generating embeddings', { textLength: text.length });
    const embeddings = await generateEmbeddings(text);
    logger.log('Step 3: Storing vectors', { count: embeddings.length });
    await storeVectors(embeddings);
    logger.log('Completed successfully');
    return { processed: true };
  },
});

For very long tasks, break into subtasks using triggerAndWait — each subtask has its own timeout and progress is visible in the dashboard.

11. Deploy

npx trigger.dev@latest deploy

In CI/CD, pin the version:

- run: npm install @trigger.dev/sdk@${{ env.TRIGGER_VERSION }}
- run: npx trigger.dev@${{ env.TRIGGER_VERSION }} deploy

Pitfalls

CRITICAL: Task timeout kills execution without clear error

Symptoms: Task fails with no error message; partial data processing; works locally but fails in production; "Task timed out" in dashboard.

Cause: Execution timeout exceeded. Especially common with AI tasks that take minutes.

Fix: Set machine.preset for more resources, log progress at each step, and break very long tasks into subtasks with triggerAndWait.

CRITICAL: Non-serializable payload causes silent task failure

Symptoms: Payload values are undefined in task; Date objects become strings; class methods unavailable; "Converting circular structure to JSON" error.

Cause: Trigger.dev serializes payloads to JSON. Dates → strings, class instances → plain objects (methods lost), functions → disappear, circular refs → throw.

Fix: Always pass plain objects with ISO string dates. Reconstitute Date objects inside the task body.

CRITICAL: Environment variables not synced to Trigger Cloud

Symptoms: "Environment variable not found"; API calls return 401 in production; database connection errors in tasks; works in dev, fails in production.

Cause: Trigger.dev runs tasks in its own cloud. Env vars must be configured in both your app host and Trigger.dev.

Fix: Run npx trigger.dev@latest env push or add manually via dashboard. Configure staging separately.

CRITICAL: Hardcoded API key

Symptoms: Secret exposed in source control.

Fix: Never hardcode TRIGGER_SECRET_KEY or any integration API key. Always use process.env.TRIGGER_SECRET_KEY / process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY etc.

HIGH: SDK version mismatch between CLI and package

Symptoms: Tasks not appearing in dashboard; type errors in trigger.config.ts; "Failed to register task"; dev server crashes on start.

Fix: Always update SDK and CLI together. Pin to the same version in CI/CD.

HIGH: Task retries cause duplicate side effects

Symptoms: Duplicate emails, multiple charges, duplicate webhook deliveries, data inserted multiple times.

Fix: Use idempotencyKeys.create() or database tracking (e.g., emailLogs table with unique constraint on orderId + type).

HIGH: High concurrency overwhelms downstream services

Symptoms: 429 rate limit errors; database connection pool exhausted; mass task failures; retry storms.

Fix: Set queue.concurrencyLimit. Start conservative: 5–10 for external APIs, 20–50 for databases. Add wait.for between calls and use exponential backoff on retries.

HIGH: trigger.config.ts not at project root

Symptoms: "Could not find trigger.config.ts"; tasks not discovered; empty task list in dashboard.

Fix: Place config at the package root. In monorepos, run npx trigger.dev dev from the package directory or use --config flag.

MEDIUM: wait.for in loops causes memory issues

Symptoms: Task killed for memory; "State blob too large" error; works for small batches, fails for large.

Fix: Batch items and use fewer wait.for calls, or split into subtasks.

MEDIUM: Using raw SDK instead of Trigger.dev integrations

Symptoms: Manual retry logic needed; rate limit errors not handled; no automatic logging of API calls.

Fix: Use @trigger.dev/openai, @trigger.dev/anthropic, @trigger.dev/slack, etc. instead of raw SDKs.

MEDIUM: Triggering tasks without dev server running

Symptoms: Triggers don't run; no task in dashboard; no errors, just silence.

Fix: Always run npx trigger.dev dev during development alongside your app dev server.

Verification

Run these checks to confirm a healthy Trigger.dev setup:

Check 1: Dev server is connected

npx trigger.dev dev

Expected: Console shows "Connected to Trigger.dev" and lists registered task IDs. Dashboard at https://cloud.trigger.dev shows tasks under your project.

Check 2: SDK and CLI versions match

npx trigger.dev@latest --version
npm list @trigger.dev/sdk

Expected: Both report the same (or compatible) version number.

Check 3: Config file is discoverable

npx trigger.dev dev --config ./trigger.config.ts

Expected: No "Could not find trigger.config.ts" error. Tasks appear in the dashboard task list.

Check 4: Environment variables are synced

npx trigger.dev@latest env push

Expected: CLI reports successful push. Verify in dashboard under Project Settings > Environment Variables that all required keys are present for both production and staging.

Check 5: Task triggers successfully

Trigger a test task from your app or the dashboard:

const handle = await helloWorld.trigger({ name: 'World' });
const result = await handle.wait();
console.log(result); // { message: 'Hello, World!' }

Expected: Task appears in dashboard with status COMPLETED. Logs are visible. Return value matches expectation.

Check 6: Retry behavior is correct

Intentionally throw an error inside a task and verify:

• The task retries up to maxAttempts
• Logs show each attempt
• Idempotency keys prevent duplicate side effects on retry

Check 7: Concurrency limits are enforced

Trigger a burst of tasks exceeding concurrencyLimit and verify in the dashboard that only the configured number run simultaneously; the rest queue.

Related Skills

Works well with: nextjs-app-router, vercel-deployment, ai-agents-architect, llm-architect, email-systems, stripe-integration, supabase-backend, bullmq-specialist, inngest, temporal-craftsman.