Inngest

Inngest Integration

Inngest expert for serverless-first background jobs, event-driven workflows, and durable execution without managing queues or workers.

Principles

• Events are the primitive - everything triggers from events, not queues
• Steps are your checkpoints - each step result is durably stored
• Sleep is not a hack - Inngest sleeps are real, not blocking threads
• Retries are automatic - but you control the policy
• Functions are just HTTP handlers - deploy anywhere that serves HTTP
• Concurrency is a first-class concern - protect downstream services
• Idempotency keys prevent duplicates - use them for critical operations
• Fan-out is built-in - one event can trigger many functions

Capabilities

• inngest-functions
• event-driven-workflows
• step-functions
• serverless-background-jobs
• durable-sleep
• fan-out-patterns
• concurrency-control
• scheduled-functions

Scope

• redis-queues -> bullmq-specialist
• workflow-orchestration -> temporal-craftsman
• message-streaming -> event-architect
• infrastructure -> infra-architect

Tooling

Core

• inngest
• inngest-cli

Frameworks

• nextjs
• express
• hono
• remix
• sveltekit

Deployment

• vercel
• cloudflare-workers
• netlify
• railway
• fly-io

Patterns

• step-functions
• event-fan-out
• scheduled-cron
• webhook-handling

Patterns

Basic Function Setup

Inngest function with typed events in Next.js

When to use: Starting with Inngest in any Next.js project

// lib/inngest/client.ts import { Inngest } from 'inngest';

export const inngest = new Inngest({ id: 'my-app', schemas: new EventSchemas().fromRecord(), });

// Define your events with types type Events = { 'user/signed.up': { data: { userId: string; email: string } }; 'order/placed': { data: { orderId: string; total: number } }; };

// lib/inngest/functions.ts import { inngest } from './client';

export const sendWelcomeEmail = inngest.createFunction( { id: 'send-welcome-email' }, { event: 'user/signed.up' }, async ({ event, step }) => { // Step 1: Get user details const user = await step.run('get-user', async () => { return await db.users.findUnique({ where: { id: event.data.userId } }); });

// Step 2: Send welcome email
await step.run('send-email', async () => {
  await resend.emails.send({
    to: user.email,
    subject: 'Welcome!',
    template: 'welcome',
  });
});

// Step 3: Wait 24 hours, then send tips
await step.sleep('wait-for-tips', '24h');

await step.run('send-tips', async () => {
  await resend.emails.send({
    to: user.email,
    subject: 'Getting Started Tips',
    template: 'tips',
  });
});

} );

// app/api/inngest/route.ts (Next.js App Router) import { serve } from 'inngest/next'; import { inngest } from '@/lib/inngest/client'; import { sendWelcomeEmail } from '@/lib/inngest/functions';

export const { GET, POST, PUT } = serve({ client: inngest, functions: [sendWelcomeEmail], });

Multi-Step Workflow

Complex workflow with parallel steps and error handling

When to use: Processing that involves multiple services or long waits

export const processOrder = inngest.createFunction( { id: 'process-order', retries: 3, concurrency: { limit: 10 }, // Max 10 orders processing at once }, { event: 'order/placed' }, async ({ event, step }) => { const { orderId } = event.data;

// Parallel steps - both run simultaneously
const [inventory, payment] = await Promise.all([
  step.run('check-inventory', () => checkInventory(orderId)),
  step.run('validate-payment', () => validatePayment(orderId)),
]);

if (!inventory.available) {
  // Send event instead of direct call (fan-out pattern)
  await step.sendEvent('notify-backorder', {
    name: 'order/backordered',
    data: { orderId, items: inventory.missing },
  });
  return { status: 'backordered' };
}

// Process payment
const charge = await step.run('charge-payment', async () => {
  return await stripe.charges.create({
    amount: event.data.total,
    customer: payment.customerId,
  });
});

// Ship order
await step.run('ship-order', () => fulfillment.ship(orderId));

return { status: 'completed', chargeId: charge.id };

} );

Scheduled/Cron Functions

Functions that run on a schedule

When to use: Recurring tasks like daily reports or cleanup jobs

export const dailyDigest = inngest.createFunction( { id: 'daily-digest' }, { cron: '0 9 * * *' }, // Every day at 9am UTC async ({ step }) => { // Get all users who want digests const users = await step.run('get-users', async () => { return await db.users.findMany({ where: { digestEnabled: true }, }); });

// Send to each user (creates child events)
await step.sendEvent(
  'send-digests',
  users.map(user => ({
    name: 'digest/send',
    data: { userId: user.id },
  }))
);

return { sent: users.length };

} );

// Separate function handles individual digest sending export const sendDigest = inngest.createFunction( { id: 'send-digest', concurrency: { limit: 50 } }, { event: 'digest/send' }, async ({ event, step }) => { // ... send individual digest } );

Webhook Handler with Idempotency

Safely process webhooks with deduplication

When to use: Handling Stripe, GitHub, or other webhooks

export const handleStripeWebhook = inngest.createFunction( { id: 'stripe-webhook', // Deduplicate by Stripe event ID idempotency: 'event.data.stripeEventId', }, { event: 'stripe/webhook.received' }, async ({ event, step }) => { const { type, data } = event.data;

switch (type) {
  case 'checkout.session.completed':
    await step.run('fulfill-order', async () => {
      await fulfillOrder(data.session.id);
    });
    break;

  case 'customer.subscription.deleted':
    await step.run('cancel-subscription', async () => {
      await cancelSubscription(data.subscription.id);
    });
    break;
}

} );

AI Pipeline with Long Processing

Multi-step AI processing with chunked work

When to use: AI workflows that may take minutes to complete

export const processDocument = inngest.createFunction( { id: 'process-document', retries: 2, concurrency: { limit: 5 }, // Limit API usage }, { event: 'document/uploaded' }, async ({ event, step }) => { // Step 1: Extract text (may take a while) const text = await step.run('extract-text', async () => { return await extractTextFromPDF(event.data.fileUrl); });

// Step 2: Chunk for embedding
const chunks = await step.run('chunk-text', async () => {
  return chunkText(text, { maxTokens: 500 });
});

// Step 3: Generate embeddings (API rate limited)
const embeddings = await step.run('generate-embeddings', async () => {
  return await openai.embeddings.create({
    model: 'text-embedding-3-small',
    input: chunks,
  });
});

// Step 4: Store in vector DB
await step.run('store-vectors', async () => {
  await vectorDb.upsert({
    vectors: embeddings.data.map((e, i) => ({
      id: `${event.data.documentId}-${i}`,
      values: e.embedding,
      metadata: { chunk: chunks[i] },
    })),
  });
});

return { chunks: chunks.length, status: 'indexed' };

} );

Validation Checks

Inngest serve handler present

Severity: CRITICAL

Message: Inngest requires a serve handler to receive events

Fix action: Create app/api/inngest/route.ts with serve() export

Functions registered with serve

Severity: ERROR

Message: Ensure all Inngest functions are registered in the serve() call

Fix action: Add function to the functions array in serve()

Step.run has descriptive name

Severity: WARNING

Message: Step names should be kebab-case and descriptive

Fix action: Use descriptive step names like 'fetch-user' or 'send-email'

waitForEvent has timeout

Severity: ERROR

Message: waitForEvent should have a timeout to prevent infinite waits

Fix action: Add timeout option: { timeout: '24h' }

Function has concurrency limit

Severity: WARNING

Message: Consider adding concurrency limits to protect downstream services

Fix action: Add concurrency: { limit: 10 } to function config

Event types defined

Severity: WARNING

Message: Inngest client should define event schemas for type safety

Fix action: Add schemas: new EventSchemas().fromRecord()

Function has unique ID

Severity: CRITICAL

Message: Every Inngest function must have a unique ID

Fix action: Add id: 'my-function-name' to function config

Sleep uses duration string

Severity: WARNING

Message: step.sleep should use duration strings like '1h' or '30m', not milliseconds

Fix action: Use duration string: step.sleep('wait', '1h')

Retry policy configured

Severity: WARNING

Message: Consider configuring retry policy for failure handling

Fix action: Add retries: 3 or retries: { attempts: 3, backoff: { ... } }

Idempotency key for payment functions

Severity: ERROR

Message: Payment-related functions should use idempotency keys

Fix action: Add idempotency: 'event.data.orderId' to function config

Collaboration

Delegation Triggers

• redis|queue infrastructure|bullmq -> bullmq-specialist (Need Redis-based queue with existing infrastructure)
• saga|compensation|rollback|long-running workflow -> temporal-craftsman (Need complex workflow orchestration with compensation)
• event sourcing|event store|cqrs -> event-architect (Need event sourcing patterns)
• vercel|deploy|production -> vercel-deployment (Need deployment configuration)
• database|schema|data model -> supabase-backend (Need database for event data)
• api|endpoint|route -> backend (Need API to trigger events)

Vercel Background Jobs

Skills: inngest, nextjs-app-router, vercel-deployment

Workflow:

1. Define Inngest functions (inngest)
2. Set up serve handler in Next.js (nextjs-app-router)
3. Configure function timeouts (vercel-deployment)
4. Deploy and test (vercel-deployment)

AI Pipeline

Skills: inngest, ai-agents-architect, supabase-backend

Workflow:

1. Design AI workflow steps (ai-agents-architect)
2. Implement with Inngest durability (inngest)
3. Store results in database (supabase-backend)
4. Handle retries for API failures (inngest)

Webhook Processing

Skills: inngest, stripe-integration, backend

Workflow:

1. Receive webhook (backend)
2. Send to Inngest with idempotency (inngest)
3. Process payment logic (stripe-integration)
4. Update application state (backend)

Email Automation

Skills: inngest, email-systems, supabase-backend

Workflow:

1. Trigger event from user action (inngest)
2. Schedule drip emails with step.sleep (inngest)
3. Send emails with retry (email-systems)
4. Track email status (supabase-backend)

Scheduled Tasks

Skills: inngest, backend, analytics-architecture

Workflow:

1. Define cron triggers (inngest)
2. Implement processing logic (backend)
3. Aggregate and report data (analytics-architecture)
4. Handle failures with alerting (inngest)

Related Skills

Works well with: nextjs-app-router, vercel-deployment, supabase-backend, email-systems, ai-agents-architect, stripe-integration

When to Use

• User mentions or implies: inngest
• User mentions or implies: serverless background job
• User mentions or implies: event-driven workflow
• User mentions or implies: step function
• User mentions or implies: durable execution
• User mentions or implies: vercel background job
• User mentions or implies: scheduled function
• User mentions or implies: fan out

Limitations

• Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
• Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
• Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.