Eric Allam
540e1c86a4
Input streams enable sending typed data to executing tasks from external
callers — backends, frontends, or other tasks. This unlocks interactive
use cases like approval UIs, cancel buttons, chat interfaces, and
human-in-the-loop AI workflows where the task needs to receive data
while running.
Three consumption patterns inside a task:
* `.wait()` — Suspend the task until data arrives (process freed, most
efficient)
* `.once()` — Wait for the next message (process stays alive)
* `.on()` — Subscribe to a continuous stream of messages
One send pattern from outside:
* `.send(runId, data)` — Send typed data to a specific run's input
stream
## User-facing API
### Define a typed input stream
```ts
import { streams, task } from "@trigger.dev/sdk";
const approval = streams.input<{ approved: boolean; reviewer: string }>({ id: "approval" });
```
### Consume inside a task
```ts
export const myTask = task({
id: "my-task",
run: async () => {
// Pattern 1: Suspend until data arrives (most efficient — frees the process)
const result = await approval.wait({ timeout: "5m" });
// Pattern 2: Wait for next message (process stays alive)
const data = await approval.once().unwrap();
// Pattern 3: Subscribe to multiple messages
approval.on((data) => { /* handle each message */ });
},
});
```
### Send from outside
```ts
// From a backend (using secret API key)
await approval.send(runId, { approved: true, reviewer: "alice" });
// From a frontend (using public JWT token from trigger response)
const { send } = useInputStreamSend("approval", runId, { accessToken });
send({ approved: true, reviewer: "alice" });
```
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Official TypeScript SDK for Trigger.dev
The Trigger.dev SDK is a TypeScript/JavaScript library that allows you to define and trigger tasks in your projects.
About Trigger.dev
Trigger.dev is an open source platform for building and deploying fully-managed AI agents and workflows. Write workflows in normal async TypeScript for everything from simple tasks to long-running AI agents, heavy media processing, complex real-time systems and more. Complete with full observability, managed queues, and elastic infrastructure which handles the horizontal scaling.
Core features
- Task creation and execution
- CLI for development and deployment
- Build system with extensions
- Management API for runs, schedules, and environment variables
Key Components:
- Tasks: Background jobs written in TypeScript/JavaScript
- CLI: Commands for login, init, dev, deploy
- Build Extensions: Customize builds (Prisma, Python, FFmpeg, etc.)
- Management API: Programmatic control over runs and resources
Getting started
There are two ways to get started:
- Create an account in our web app, create a new project and follow the instructions in the onboarding. Build and deploy your first task in minutes.
- Manual setup in your existing project.
SDK documentation
For more information on our SDK, refer to our docs.
Support
If you have any questions, please reach out to us on Discord and we'll be happy to help.