Trigger.dev

What is Trigger.dev?

Trigger.dev lets developers write background tasks in their own TypeScript codebase and run them with retries, queues, concurrency limits, schedules and full run logs in a dashboard. It suits long-running AI work such as agent loops, document processing and batch LLM calls that would time out in a normal web request. The self-hosted version runs as a webapp (dashboard, Postgres, Redis) plus one or more worker machines that execute runs in isolated containers.

Where it fits in a 10–200 person business

• Run nightly or scheduled AI jobs such as summarising tickets or enriching CRM records
• Move slow LLM, PDF or video processing out of a web app into retried background tasks
• Build multi-step AI agent workflows with waits, queues and per-customer concurrency limits

These use cases are our editorial suggestions, not claims made by the project.

Can a business use Trigger.dev? (license)

This is a plain-English summary of the license text, not legal advice. Third-party models you run with it have their own licenses.

Data & compliance: does Trigger.dev phone home?

Checked against the project's own docs and repository on Nov 4, 2026. "Not documented" means we could not find the answer in official sources; it does not mean the feature is missing or that no data is sent. Third-party services you connect (model APIs, vector databases, search engines) have their own data policies. Compare all apps.

What hardware does Trigger.dev need?

Stated minimums: webapp machine 3+ vCPU and 6+ GB RAM; worker machine 4+ vCPU and 8+ GB RAM. Both can run on one machine for testing. Worker capacity scales with concurrency, for example 10 runs on small-1x (0.5 vCPU, 0.5 GB RAM) need 5 vCPU and 5 GB RAM.

Source: trigger.dev/docs/self-hosting/docker

How much does it cost to host Trigger.dev per month?

How to deploy Trigger.dev

Method: Docker Compose

git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/triggerdotdev/trigger.dev
cd trigger.dev/hosting/docker
cp .env.example .env
./generate-secrets.sh
# webapp and worker on one machine:
docker compose -f webapp/docker-compose.yml -f worker/docker-compose.yml up -d

From the official instructions: trigger.dev/docs/self-hosting/docker. Always check the source for the current version before you run it.

Known gotchas when self-hosting Trigger.dev

• Any email address can sign up by default; set WHITELISTED_EMAILS to restrict magic-link and GitHub logins. source
• Without an EMAIL_TRANSPORT, magic login links are not emailed but printed in the webapp container logs. source
• The bundled container registry ships with a default .htpasswd; change the credentials, especially the password, before production. source
• Warm starts, auto-scaling and checkpoints (non-blocking waits) are Cloud-only; self-hosted workers are scaled by hand, and the docs warn the guide alone is not production-ready. source

Alternatives in Workflow automation with AI

• n8n Workflow automation with 1,500+ integrations and built-in AI agent nodes. Compare n8n vs Trigger.dev
• Activepieces Open-source Zapier alternative with AI agents, MCP and human-in-the-loop steps. Compare Activepieces vs Trigger.dev
• Skyvern Browser automation agent that uses LLMs and computer vision to fill forms and run workflows on websites. Compare Skyvern vs Trigger.dev
• Windmill Open-source developer platform for scripts, workflows, AI agents and internal apps, self-hostable. Compare Trigger.dev vs Windmill

Sources

• GitHub repository: github.com/triggerdotdev/trigger.dev
• Official documentation, Gotcha 4: trigger.dev/docs/self-hosting/overview
• License text: github.com/triggerdotdev/trigger.dev/blob/main/LICENSE
• Hardware requirements, Deploy instructions, Gotcha 1, Gotcha 2, Gotcha 3: trigger.dev/docs/self-hosting/docker
• Hetzner Cloud pricing (cost estimate): www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance
• GitHub stars, commits and releases: GitHub REST API, fetched Nov 4, 2026