Trigger.devOpen-source background jobs and AI-workflow orchestration for TypeScript teams, self-hostable under Apache-2.0 with a managed cloud if you would rather skip the ops.
Repo
Trigger.dev
Open-source background jobs and AI-workflow orchestration for TypeScript teams, self-hostable under Apache-2.0 with a managed cloud if you would rather skip the ops.
The code-first answer to background jobs and AI workflows: write the task in TypeScript, get retries, queues, scheduling, and full observability built in, either self-hosted under Apache-2.0 or on the managed cloud. The catch for GTM teams is that this is real developer infrastructure, so someone has to write and deploy the code.
Great for
GTM engineering teams that build their own enrichment, personalization, and outreach orchestration in TypeScript and want retries, scheduling, and step-by-step observability without wiring up a queue by hand.
The catch
There is no visual builder. Every workflow is TypeScript you write and deploy, so a marketer without a developer gets further with n8n or Zapier. Cloud billing is credit-based, and self-hosting is a genuine Postgres, Redis, and Docker project.
Bottom line
Alive and well funded, YC W23 with a $3M seed, shipping weekly and running hundreds of millions of executions a month. The permissive Apache-2.0 license means self-hosting carries no copyleft strings, uncommon for a tool this capable.
Self-hostYes (Docker Compose or Kubernetes Helm chart)
Managed cloudYes (trigger.dev; free tier, then $10-$50/mo plus usage)
LicenseApache-2.0 (permissive, no copyleft obligations)
LanguageTypeScript / JavaScript SDK
Maintained byTrigger.dev (YC W23, VC-backed company)
Watch out forCode-first TS only, credit-based cloud pricing, self-host is real ops
Long-running jobs (no timeouts)Yes
Scheduled & cron tasksYes
Automatic retries & queuesYes
Concurrency controlsYes
Observability & run dashboardYes
Human-in-the-loop (waitpoints)Yes
Realtime streaming & React hooksYes
TypeScript / JavaScript SDKYes
Self-host (Docker / Kubernetes)v4 rebuilt self-hosting: Docker Compose or a Helm chart, with a built-in registry and object storage
Managed cloudFree tier, then Hobby $10 and Pro $50/mo plus usage credits
Run Python / FFmpeg inside a taskSystem packages run inside a task, but the SDK itself is TypeScript and JavaScript only
No-code visual builderEvery workflow is code you write and deploy
What it does
- Runs long-running background jobs and AI-agent workflows with no serverless timeout, so a multi-step enrichment or outreach sequence finishes even when it takes minutes or hours
- Puts automatic retries, queues, and concurrency controls on every task, so a flaky API or a rate limit resumes the run instead of dropping it
- Schedules recurring GTM jobs with cron-style tasks, for nightly list refreshes, data syncs, and digest sends
- Gives full observability with per-step logs, traces, and a run dashboard, so you see exactly where a workflow failed and can replay it
- Pauses workflows at human-in-the-loop waitpoints for approval or input, then resumes from where it left off
- Streams job status in realtime and exposes React hooks, so progress shows up inside your own app UI
What it can’t do
- Give a non-developer a no-code canvas; every workflow is TypeScript you write, test, and deploy, so it needs an engineer on the team
- Offer native SDKs beyond TypeScript and JavaScript; you can shell out to Python or FFmpeg inside a task, but there is no first-class Python or Go SDK
- Hide its cloud cost behind a flat seat fee; billing is credit and usage based, compute per second plus a per-run charge, so heavy workloads need cost modeling
- Install and run itself when self-hosted; you provision Postgres, Redis, object storage, and worker containers, then own upgrades, monitoring, and scaling
- Replace a marketing automation or CRM tool; it is the engine under your automations, not the campaign builder, the email sender, or the contact database
Pros & cons
Pros
- Permissive Apache-2.0 license, so self-hosting triggers no copyleft or network-use obligations, uncommon for a tool this capable
- Code-first TypeScript model keeps workflows in your repo under version control and CI, next to the app they serve
- Retries, queues, scheduling, and observability come built in, so you skip building and babysitting your own job infrastructure
- Full self-host path and a managed cloud both exist, so you can start hosted and move in-house later, or the reverse
- Active company behind it, YC W23 with a $3M seed and weekly releases, and founders who answer on Discord within hours by several accounts
Cons
- No visual or no-code builder, so it stays out of reach for GTM people who do not write code
- TypeScript and JavaScript only for the SDK, a wall for teams whose stack is Python or Go
- Cloud pricing is credit and usage based, harder to predict than a flat per-seat plan and it climbs with heavy compute
- Self-hosting is genuine ops, Postgres plus Redis plus object storage plus worker scaling, so the free version is free as in puppy
- Younger and narrower than general workflow tools, so some backend gaps remain and integrations are code you write, not a marketplace of connectors
4 positive2 mixed
What the community says
Super happy customer here. We've been using trigger.dev on various projects for over a year now. It's been a great experience and awesome to see them grow. I don't know how long it will last, but I regularly get answers to questions from the founders on Discord, often within hours.
Big fan of Trigger.dev here. We've been using it for a while and I'm a super happy customer. The scheduled task feature has been a lifesaver, super simple and just works exactly as expected. Also want to call out the Dev mode: it's an absolute gem, makes testing and iterating so much smoother than anything else I've tried.
I also see a new AI agent workflow framework/platform/library every week and to me the differentiation of this project is clear in the logging, orchestration and auto-scaling. Of course, I don't need trigger.dev to win the market, I was just looking for exactly this for my own project and haven't found anything else like it.
Another happy customer here. Since day one Trigger.dev is powering our AI Automation platform. It helped us to scale effortlessly and stay on TypeScript stack, easily integrates with tools we use. And the pricing is even cheaper than self-hosting on VPS.
Congrats on the launch, CRIU snapshot/restore is very cool, especially for data-heavy pipelines like video processing. Question: is a first-class Supabase/Postgres integration on the roadmap so we can start Trigger jobs from SQL functions and read job status via a foreign data wrapper?
This is amazing although I would really like for them to explore filling the backend gaps. An acquisition of Trigger.dev or Inngest would be the obvious move and nobody would be surprised. Thoughts?
7 sourcesWhere this page’s facts came from. Open the receipts.
- 1GitHub - triggerdotdev/trigger.dev repo
- 2GitHub API - repo metadata (stars, language, license, activity)
- 3Trigger.dev LICENSE (Apache-2.0)
- 4Trigger.dev pricing (Free, Hobby $10, Pro $50, Enterprise)
- 5Trigger.dev self-hosting overview (Docker / Kubernetes)
- 6Launch HN: Trigger.dev (YC W23) - open-source platform for reliable AI apps
- 7Trigger.dev raises $3M seed round
Watch it work
Real tutorials and reviews from YouTube, not ours.