Setup | ShipSaaS Documentation | ShipSaaS - Launch your SaaS with AI in days

Configure Inngest in your SaaS application for reliable background task processing.

Installation

Inngest is already included in the boilerplate dependencies:

{
  "dependencies": {
    "inngest": "^3.x.x"
  }
}

Configuration

Inngest Client

The client is configured in src/lib/inngest/inngest.ts:

import {Inngest} from 'inngest'
import {APP_NAME} from '../constants'

export const inngest = new Inngest({id: APP_NAME})

API Route

The Inngest API endpoint is set up in src/app/api/inngest/route.ts:

import {serve} from 'inngest/next'
import {helloWorld, sendWelcomeFollowUpEmail} from '@/lib/inngest/functions'
import {inngest} from '@/lib/inngest/inngest'

export const {GET, POST, PUT} = serve({
  client: inngest,
  functions: [
    helloWorld,
    sendWelcomeFollowUpEmail,
    // Add your functions here
  ],
})

Development Setup

Start Next.js Server

Start your development server:

pnpm dev

Start Inngest Dev Server

In a separate terminal, start the Inngest development server:

pnpm dlx inngest-cli@latest dev

This starts the Inngest dashboard at http://localhost:8288

Verify Connection

Check that Inngest detects your functions:

Open http://localhost:8288
Verify your functions are listed
Test trigger a function manually

Inngest Dashboard Interface: Inngest dashboard for function management and monitoring

Project Structure

src/
├── lib/inngest/
│   ├── inngest.ts        # Inngest client configuration
│   ├── events.ts         # Event constants and helpers
│   └── functions.ts      # Function definitions
└── app/api/inngest/
    └── route.ts          # API endpoint for Inngest

Event System

Event Constants

Events are centralized in src/lib/inngest/events.ts:

export const INNGEST_EVENTS = {
  USER_REGISTERED: 'user/registered',
  TEST_HELLO_WORLD: 'test/hello.world',
} as const

export type InngestEventName =
  (typeof INNGEST_EVENTS)[keyof typeof INNGEST_EVENTS]

Event Helpers

Helper functions for triggering events:

export const triggerInngestWelcomeFollowUpEmail = async ({
  userId,
  userName,
  userEmail,
  language = 'fr',
}: {
  userId: string
  userName: string
  userEmail: string
  language?: 'fr' | 'en' | 'es'
}) => {
  return await inngest.send({
    name: INNGEST_EVENTS.USER_REGISTERED,
    data: {
      userId,
      userName,
      userEmail,
      language,
    },
  })
}

Environment Variables

No additional environment variables are required for local development. Inngest uses your API endpoint for communication.

Dashboard Access

The Inngest development dashboard provides:

Function Overview: See all registered functions
Execution History: View past runs and their status
Manual Testing: Trigger functions with custom data
Debug Logs: Inspect step-by-step execution
Error Details: Analyze failed runs

Access at: http://localhost:8288

Next Steps

Review the Email Workflows guide for practical examples
Learn about Payment Processing with async tasks
Set up Maintenance Jobs for data cleanup

The development server automatically detects function changes and updates the dashboard without restart.