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Trigger.dev

Open-source background jobs and AI workflows for TypeScript

freemiumopen sourceupdated Aug 16, 2026

Trigger.dev is an open-source platform for building and deploying background jobs, AI agents, and long-running workflows in TypeScript. It eliminates serverless timeouts with durable task execution, automatic retries, queue-based concurrency control, and elastic scaling. Used by 30,000+ developers at companies like MagicSchool and Icon.com, it processes hundreds of millions of agent runs monthly. Backed by a $16M Series A led by Dalton Caldwell's Standard Capital fund.

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Trigger.dev solves a fundamental problem in modern TypeScript applications: running reliable background tasks without managing infrastructure. Unlike AWS Lambda or Vercel serverless functions that impose strict timeouts, Trigger.dev lets tasks run indefinitely with built-in checkpointing. When a task waits for an external callback or timer, the process is suspended and resumed later — you only pay for active compute time. The platform supports human-in-the-loop workflows, making it ideal for AI agents that need approval steps.

The developer experience is remarkably smooth: write tasks as standard async TypeScript functions in a /trigger folder, deploy via CLI, and monitor everything through a visual dashboard with full trace views. Trigger.dev integrates with any Node.js SDK and supports custom runtimes including Python scripts, FFmpeg, and headless browsers. The v4 release added MCP server support, making it a natural fit for building AI agent infrastructure with tool calling and orchestration.

Pricing is usage-based with a free cloud allowance, paid managed plans, and self-hosting options documented for Docker and Kubernetes. With 15,000+ GitHub stars, Apache 2.0 license, and backing from Y Combinator, Trigger.dev has become a go-to TypeScript background jobs and AI workflow platform — teams like flick.social reported going from 87% to 100% task success rates after migrating from Temporal.

Pricing

Free cloud allowance; paid managed plans; Docker/Kubernetes self-hosting available

Platforms

Web, CLI, Docker, Kubernetes self-host

Categories

Tags

Use Cases

Temporal logo

Temporal

Durable execution for fault-tolerant workflows

Temporal is an open-source durable execution platform that ensures application code runs to completion regardless of failures or outages. It captures workflow state at every step, enabling seamless recovery without custom retry logic. With SDKs for Go, Java, Python, TypeScript, and .NET, Temporal powers mission-critical orchestration at Netflix, Nvidia, and other enterprises. Valued at $5B, it replaces fragile cron jobs, state machines, and saga patterns with resilient workflow-as-code.

freemiumOpen Source
Kestra logo

Kestra

Declarative orchestration for data, AI, and infra

Kestra is an open-source orchestration platform that uses declarative YAML to define event-driven and scheduled workflows for data pipelines, infrastructure automation, and AI workloads. With over 1,200 plugins, it connects to databases, cloud services, APIs, and SaaS tools without custom glue code. Kestra reached version 1.0 LTS with agentic AI capabilities, SDKs for Python, TypeScript, Java, and Go, and SOC 2 compliance. Clients include Leroy Merlin, Huawei, Tencent, and Decathlon.

freemiumOpen Source
Windmill logo

Windmill

Turn scripts into workflows, UIs, and APIs at scale

Windmill is an open-source workflow engine and developer platform built in Rust that turns scripts in Python, TypeScript, Go, Bash, SQL, and other languages into auto-generated UIs, API endpoints, workflows, data pipelines, AI agents, and scheduled jobs. The project publishes performance benchmarks against Airflow/Prefect/Temporal, supports Docker/Kubernetes self-hosting, and offers paid enterprise features.

freemiumOpen Source
n8n logo

n8n

Workflow automation with AI nodes

n8n is a source-available workflow automation platform for connecting apps, APIs, data, and AI models through visual workflows and code. It supports self-hosted deployments and n8n Cloud, with integrations across communication, databases, CRM, project management, and model providers. Teams can combine deterministic automation with AI-powered steps and agent workflows while retaining control over deployment and data.

freemium
Inngest logo

Inngest

Durable workflow orchestration for serverless and edge

Inngest is a workflow orchestration platform that replaces queues, state management, and scheduling with durable step functions. Write functions in TypeScript, Python, or Go that survive failures, sleep for days between steps, and retry only failed steps. SDKs integrate natively with Next.js, Vercel, and serverless platforms. Free tier includes 50,000 runs/month. Used by Resend, Mintlify, and Ocoya for background jobs, AI orchestration, and event-driven workflows.

freemium
Restate logo

Restate

Durable execution engine for workflows and AI agents

Restate is a durable execution engine that provides reliable workflow orchestration for AI agents and backend services. It runs as a single binary with no external dependencies, delivering sub-50ms latency and 94K+ actions per second. Supports TypeScript, Python, Go, Java, and Kotlin SDKs with built-in retries, sagas, and virtual object state. MIT licensed with 3,700+ GitHub stars.

freemiumOpen Source

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Comparisons

n8n vs Trigger.dev — Visual Workflow Automation vs Code-First Background Job Platform

n8n provides a visual workflow builder with over four hundred integrations for automating business processes and data pipelines. Trigger.dev offers a TypeScript-first background job platform with durable execution and built-in retry logic for developers. n8n wins for non-technical automation while Trigger.dev wins for production-grade background jobs in code.

n8nTrigger.dev

Trigger.dev vs Temporal — Modern TypeScript Platform vs Battle-Tested Workflow Engine

Trigger.dev and Temporal both provide durable task execution, but serve different scale and complexity tiers. Trigger.dev is an open-source TypeScript platform with managed cloud, $16M Series A, and AI-first features. Temporal is the industry's most powerful workflow engine at $1.72B valuation, used for mission-critical systems. This comparison helps teams choose between modern TypeScript-native tooling and enterprise-grade distributed workflows.

Trigger.devTemporal

Trigger.dev vs Inngest — Open-Source Background Jobs vs Managed Durable Workflows

Trigger.dev and Inngest are the two leading modern alternatives to traditional task queues for TypeScript applications. Trigger.dev is open-source (Apache 2.0) with full self-hosting support and $16M Series A backing. Inngest is a managed cloud platform with durable step functions and zero-infrastructure setup. Both eliminate serverless timeouts, but they differ in deployment model, pricing, and architectural philosophy.

Trigger.devInngest

FAQ

What is Trigger.dev?

Trigger.dev is an open-source platform for building and deploying background jobs, AI agents, and long-running workflows in TypeScript. It eliminates serverless timeouts with durable task execution, automatic retries, queue-based concurrency control, and elastic scaling. Used by 30,000+ developers at companies like MagicSchool and Icon.com, it processes hundreds of millions of agent runs monthly. Backed by a $16M Series A led by Dalton Caldwell's Standard Capital fund.

Is Trigger.dev free?

Trigger.dev offers a free tier alongside paid plans. Free cloud allowance; paid managed plans; Docker/Kubernetes self-hosting available

Is Trigger.dev open source?

Yes — Trigger.dev is open source.

What are the best Trigger.dev alternatives?

The top editor-verified Trigger.dev alternatives are Temporal, Kestra, Windmill, and more.

How does Trigger.dev score in our review?

Our hands-on review scores Trigger.dev 85/100 overall, based on speed, privacy, and developer-experience testing.