
inngest-durable-functions
Use when building functions that must survive process crashes, retry automatically on failure, run on a schedule, react to events, or maintain state across infrastructure failures — e.g., webhook handlers that drop events, flaky cron jobs, background jobs that fail mid-execution, or workflows that need to resume where they left off. Covers Inngest function configuration, triggers (events, cron, invoke), step execution and memoization, idempotency, cancellation, error handling, retries, logging, and observability.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/inngest/inngest-skills --skill inngest-durable-functions- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads inngest-durable-functions automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Inngest Durable Functions
Master Inngest's durable execution model for building fault-tolerant, long-running workflows. This skill covers the complete lifecycle from triggers to error handling.
These skills are focused on TypeScript. For Python or Go, refer to the Inngest documentation for language-specific guidance. Core concepts apply across all languages.
Core Concepts You Need to Know
Durable Execution Model
- Each step should encapsulate side-effects and non-deterministic code
- Memoization prevents re-execution of completed steps
- State persistence survives infrastructure failures
- Automatic retries with configurable retry count
Step Execution Flow
// ❌ BAD: Non-deterministic logic outside steps
async ({ event, step }) => {
const timestamp = Date.now(); // This runs multiple times!
const result = await step.run("process-data", () => {
return processData(event.data);
});
};
// ✅ GOOD: All non-deterministic logic in steps
async ({ event, step }) => {
const result = await step.run("process-with-timestamp", () => {
const timestamp = Date.now(); // Only runs once
return processData(event.data, timestamp);
});
};
Function Limits
Every Inngest function has these hard limits:
- Maximum 1,000 steps per function run
- Maximum 4MB returned data for each step
- Maximum 32MB combined function run state including, event data, step output, and function output
- Each step = separate HTTP request (~50-100ms overhead)
If you're hitting these limits, break your function into smaller functions connected via step.invoke() or step.sendEvent().
When to Use Steps
Always wrap in step.run():
- API calls and network requests
- Database reads and writes
- File I/O operations
- Any non-deterministic operation
- Anything you want retried independently on failure
Never wrap in step.run():
- Pure calculations and data transformations
- Simple validation logic
- Deterministic operations with no side effects
- Logging (use outside steps)
Function Creation
Basic Function Structure
const processOrder = inngest.createFunction(
{
id: "process-order", // Unique, never change this
triggers: [{ event: "order/created" }],
retries: 4, // Default: 4 retries per step
concurrency: 10 // Max concurrent executions
},
async ({ event, step }) => {
// Your durable workflow
}
);
Step IDs and Memoization
// Step IDs can be reused - Inngest handles counters automatically
const data = await step.run("fetch-data", () => fetchUserData());
const more = await step.run("fetch-data", () => fetchOrderData()); // Different execution
// Use descriptive IDs for clarity
await step.run("validate-payment", () => validatePayment(event.data.paymentId));
await step.run("charge-customer", () => chargeCustomer(event.data));
await step.run("send-confirmation", () => sendEmail(event.data.email));
Triggers and Events
Event Triggers
Triggers are defined in the triggers array in the first argument of createFunction:
// Single event trigger
inngest.createFunction(
{ id: "my-fn", triggers: [{ event: "user/signup" }] },
async ({ event }) => { /* ... */ }
);
// Event with conditional filter
inngest.createFunction(
{ id: "my-fn", triggers: [{ event: "user/action", if: 'event.data.action == "purchase" && event.data.amount > 100' }] },
async ({ event }) => { /* ... */ }
);
// Multiple triggers (up to 10)
inngest.createFunction(
{
id: "my-fn",
triggers: [
{ event: "user/signup" },
{ event: "user/login", if: 'event.data.firstLogin == true' },
{ cron: "0 9 * * *" } // Daily at 9 AM
]
},
async ({ event }) => { /* ... */ }
);
Cron Triggers
// Basic cron
inngest.createFunction(
{ id: "my-fn", triggers: [{ cron: "0 */6 * * *" }] }, // Every 6 hours
async ({ step }) => { /* ... */ }
);
// With timezone
inngest.createFunction(
{ id: "my-fn", triggers: [{ cron: "TZ=Europe/Paris 0 12 * * 5" }] }, // Fridays at noon Paris time
async ({ step }) => { /* ... */ }
);
// Combine with events
inngest.createFunction(
{
id: "my-fn",
triggers: [
{ event: "manual/report.requested" },
{ cron: "0 0 * * 0" } // Weekly on Sunday
]
},
async ({ event, step }) => { /* ... */ }
);
Function Invocation
// Invoke another function as a step
const result = await step.invoke("generate-report", {
function: generateReportFunction,
data: { userId: event.data.userId }
});
// Use returned data
await step.run("process-report", () => {
return processReport(result);
});
Idempotency Strategies
Event-Level Idempotency (Producer Side)
// Prevent duplicate events with custom ID
await inngest.send({
id: `checkout-completed-${cartId}`, // 24-hour deduplication
name: "cart/checkout.completed",
data: { cartId, email: "user@example.com" }
});
Function-Level Idempotency (Consumer Side)
const sendEmail = inngest.createFunction(
{
id: "send-checkout-email",
triggers: [{ event: "cart/checkout.completed" }],
// Only run once per cartId per 24 hours
idempotency: "event.data.cartId"
},
async ({ event, step }) => {
// This function won't run twice for same cartId
}
);
// Complex idempotency keys
const processUserAction = inngest.createFunction(
{
id: "process-user-action",
triggers: [{ event: "user/action.performed" }],
// Unique per user + organization combination
idempotency: 'event.data.userId + "-" + event.data.organizationId'
},
async ({ event, step }) => {
/* ... */
}
);
Cancellation Patterns
Event-Based Cancellation
In expressions, event = the original triggering event, async = the new event being matched. See Expression Syntax Reference for full details.
const processOrder = inngest.createFunction(
{
id: "process-order",
triggers: [{ event: "order/created" }],
cancelOn: [
{
event: "order/cancelled",
if: "event.data.orderId == async.data.orderId"
}
]
},
async ({ event, step }) => {
await step.sleepUntil("wait-for-payment", event.data.paymentDue);
// Will be cancelled if order/cancelled event received
await step.run("charge-payment", () => processPayment(event.data));
}
);
Timeout Cancellation
const processWithTimeout = inngest.createFunction(
{
id: "process-with-timeout",
triggers: [{ event: "long/process.requested" }],
timeouts: {
start: "5m", // Cancel if not started within 5 minutes
finish: "30m" // Cancel if not finished within 30 minutes
}
},
async ({ event, step }) => {
/* ... */
}
);
Handling Cancellation Cleanup
// Listen for cancellation events
const cleanupCancelled = inngest.createFunction(
{ id: "cleanup-cancelled-process", triggers: [{ event: "inngest/function.cancelled" }] },
async ({ event, step }) => {
if (event.data.function_id === "process-order") {
await step.run("cleanup-resources", () => {
return cleanupOrderResources(event.data.run_id);
});
}
}
);
Error Handling and Retries
Default Retry Behavior
- 5 total attempts (1 initial + 4 retries) per step
- Exponential backoff with jitter
- Independent retry counters per step
Custom Retry Configuration
const reliableFunction = inngest.createFunction(
{
id: "reliable-function",
triggers: [{ event: "critical/task" }],
retries: 10 // Up to 10 retries per step
},
async ({ event, step, attempt }) => {
// `attempt` is the function-level attempt counter (0-indexed)
// It tracks retries for the currently executing step, not the overall function
if (attempt > 5) {
// Different logic for later attempts of the current step
}
}
);
Non-Retriable Errors
Prevent retries for code that won't succeed upon retry.
import { NonRetriableError } from "inngest";
const processUser = inngest.createFunction(
{ id: "process-user", triggers: [{ event: "user/process.requested" }] },
async ({ event, step }) => {
const user = await step.run("fetch-user", async () => {
const user = await db.users.findOne(event.data.userId);
if (!user) {
// Don't retry - user doesn't exist
throw new NonRetriableError("User not found, stopping execution");
}
return user;
});
// Continue processing...
}
);
Custom Retry Timing
import { RetryAfterError } from "inngest";
const respectRateLimit = inngest.createFunction(
{ id: "api-call", triggers: [{ event: "api/call.requested" }] },
async ({ event, step }) => {
await step.run("call-api", async () => {
const response = await externalAPI.call(event.data);
if (response.status === 429) {
// Retry after specific time from API
const retryAfter = response.headers["retry-after"];
throw new RetryAfterError("Rate limited", `${retryAfter}s`);
}
return response.data;
});
}
);
Logging Best Practices
Proper Logging Setup
import winston from "winston";
// Configure logger
const logger = winston.createLogger({
level: "info",
format: winston.format.json(),
transports: [new winston.transports.Console()]
});
const inngest = new Inngest({
id: "my-app",
logger // Pass logger to client
});
// Or use the built-in ConsoleLogger for simple log level control
import { ConsoleLogger, Inngest } from "inngest";
const inngest = new Inngest({
id: "my-app",
logger: new ConsoleLogger({ level: "debug" }) // "debug" | "info" | "warn" | "error"
});
⚠️ v4 Breaking Change: The logLevel option has been removed. Use the logger option with ConsoleLogger or a custom logger instead.
Function Logging Patterns
const processData = inngest.createFunction(
{ id: "process-data", triggers: [{ event: "data/process.requested" }] },
async ({ event, step, logger }) => {
// ✅ GOOD: Log inside steps to avoid duplicates
const result = await step.run("fetch-data", async () => {
logger.info("Fetching data for user", { userId: event.data.userId });
return await fetchUserData(event.data.userId);
});
// ❌ AVOID: Logging outside steps can duplicate
// logger.info("Processing complete"); // This could run multiple times!
await step.run("log-completion", async () => {
logger.info("Processing complete", { resultCount: result.length });
});
}
);
Performance Optimization
Checkpointing
Checkpointing is enabled by default in v4. It allows functions to persist state periodically during execution, reducing latency between steps.
// Checkpointing is enabled by default in v4
// Configure maxRuntime for serverless platforms (set to 60-80% of platform timeout)
const realTimeFunction = inngest.createFunction(
{
id: "real-time-function",
triggers: [{ event: "realtime/process" }],
checkpointing: {
maxRuntime: "50s", // For serverless with 60s timeout
}
},
async ({ event, step }) => {
// Steps execute immediately with periodic checkpointing
const result1 = await step.run("step-1", () => process1(event.data));
const result2 = await step.run("step-2", () => process2(result1));
return { result2 };
}
);
// Disable checkpointing if needed
const legacyFunction = inngest.createFunction(
{
id: "legacy-function",
triggers: [{ event: "legacy/process" }],
checkpointing: false
},
async ({ event, step }) => { /* ... */ }
);
Advanced Patterns
Conditional Step Execution
const conditionalProcess = inngest.createFunction(
{ id: "conditional-process", triggers: [{ event: "process/conditional" }] },
async ({ event, step }) => {
const userData = await step.run("fetch-user", () => {
return getUserData(event.data.userId);
});
// Conditional step execution
if (userData.isPremium) {
await step.run("premium-processing", () => {
return processPremiumFeatures(userData);
});
}
// Always runs
await step.run("standard-processing", () => {
return processStandardFeatures(userData);
});
}
);
Error Recovery Patterns
const robustProcess = inngest.createFunction(
{ id: "robust-process", triggers: [{ event: "process/robust" }] },
async ({ event, step }) => {
let primaryResult;
try {
primaryResult = await step.run("primary-service", () => {
return callPrimaryService(event.data);
});
} catch (error) {
// Fallback to secondary service
primaryResult = await step.run("fallback-service", () => {
return callSecondaryService(event.data);
});
}
return { result: primaryResult };
}
);
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- ❌ Non-deterministic code outside steps
- ❌ Database calls outside steps
- ❌ Logging outside steps (causes duplicates)
- ❌ Changing step IDs after deployment
- ❌ Not handling NonRetriableError cases
- ❌ Ignoring idempotency for critical functions
Next Steps
- See inngest-steps for detailed step method reference
- See references/step-execution.md for detailed step patterns
- See references/error-handling.md for comprehensive error strategies
- See references/observability.md for monitoring and tracing setup
- See references/checkpointing.md for performance optimization details
This skill covers Inngest's durable function patterns. For event sending and webhook handling, see the inngest-events skill.
FAQ
What does the inngest-durable-functions skill do?
Use when building functions that must survive process crashes, retry automatically on failure, run on a schedule, react to events, or maintain state across infrastructure failures — e.g., webhook handlers that drop events, flaky cron jobs, background jobs that fail mid-execution, or workflows that need to resume where they left off. Covers Inngest function configuration, triggers (events, cron, invoke), step execution and memoization, idempotency, cancellation, error handling, retries, logging, and observability.
How do I install inngest-durable-functions?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/inngest/inngest-skills --skill inngest-durable-functions in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/inngest-durable-functions/ (personal) or .claude/skills/inngest-durable-functions/ (project).
Which AI agents can use inngest-durable-functions?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is inngest-durable-functions safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains inngest-durable-functions?
It is published by inngest in inngest/inngest-skills. It has 3,851 recorded installs.
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