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Events in Trigger.dev

Events are the primary way to trigger jobs in the Trigger.dev integration. This guide explains how to send events, handle them, and implement best practices for event-driven architecture.

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Event Structure

Events in Trigger.dev have two main components:
  1. Event Name: A string identifier for the event (e.g., user.created)
  2. Payload: The data associated with the event (e.g., user information)

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Sending Events

The @repo/trigger package provides a helper function for sending events: 
import { sendEvent } from "@repo/trigger";

// Send an event with a payload
await sendEvent("user.created", {
  email: "user@example.com",
  name: "John Doe",
  userId: "123456"
});

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Error Handling

The sendEvent function includes built-in error handling: 
try {
  await sendEvent("payment.processed", { 
    amount: 100, 
    currency: "USD" 
  });
  console.log("Payment event sent successfully");
} catch (error) {
  console.error("Failed to send payment event:", error);
  // Handle the error appropriately
}

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API Integration

The API app includes a route handler that allows external systems to send events: 
// POST /trigger
export async function POST(req: NextRequest) {
  try {
    const body = await req.json();
    
    if (!body || !body.event) {
      return new Response(JSON.stringify({ error: "Missing required fields" }), { 
        status: 400,
        headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" }
      });
    }

    const { event, payload } = body;
    const result = await sendEvent(event, payload);

    return new Response(JSON.stringify({ 
      success: true, 
      message: `Event ${event} sent to Trigger.dev`,
      result
    }), { 
      status: 200,
      headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" }
    });
  } catch (error) {
    // Error handling
  }
}

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Event Naming Conventions

It’s recommended to use a consistent naming convention for events:
  • Use dot notation to organize events hierarchically
  • Start with the entity, followed by the action
  • Use lowercase letters and avoid special characters
Examples:
  • user.created
  • user.updated
  • payment.succeeded
  • email.sent
  • document.shared

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Type Safety

For better type safety, define interfaces for your event payloads: 
// Define event payload types
interface UserCreatedPayload {
  email: string;
  name?: string;
  userId: string;
}

interface PaymentProcessedPayload {
  amount: number;
  currency: string;
  customerId: string;
}

// Use with sendEvent
await sendEvent<UserCreatedPayload>("user.created", {
  email: "user@example.com",
  name: "John Doe",
  userId: "123456"
});

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Event Patterns

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Event Broadcasting

Send the same event to multiple consumers: 
// This event can trigger multiple jobs
await sendEvent("user.created", userData);

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Event Chaining

One job can trigger another job by sending an event: 
export const processUploadJob = client.defineJob({
  id: "process-upload",
  name: "Process Upload",
  version: "1.0.0",
  trigger: eventTrigger({
    name: "file.uploaded",
  }),
  run: async (payload, io) => {
    // Process the file
    await io.logger.info(`Processing file: ${payload.filename}`);
    
    // Trigger the next job in the chain
    await sendEvent("file.processed", {
      fileId: payload.fileId,
      processingResult: "success"
    });
    
    return { success: true };
  },
});

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Delayed Events

You can schedule events to be sent in the future: 
import { client } from "@repo/trigger";

// Schedule an event for the future
await client.sendEvent({
  name: "reminder.send",
  payload: {
    userId: "123",
    message: "Don't forget your appointment"
  },
  delay: {
    hours: 24 // Send this event 24 hours from now
  }
});

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Testing Events

For testing, you can send events directly to the API endpoint: 
curl -X POST http://localhost:3002/trigger \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "event": "test.event",
    "payload": {
      "message": "This is a test event"
    }
  }'

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Monitoring Events

The Trigger.dev dashboard provides tools for monitoring events:
  • Event history
  • Success and failure rates
  • Event payloads
  • Related job runs
For more information, visit the Trigger.dev documentation.