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Workmatic

A persistent job queue for Node.js using SQLite. Simple, reliable, and zero external dependencies beyond SQLite.

Why?

I love fastq - it’s fast, simple, and has a great API. But it’s in-memory only, which can be frustrating when you need jobs to survive process restarts or crashes.

Workmatic combines the simplicity of fastq with SQLite persistence. No Redis, no external services - just a single file that keeps your jobs safe. Perfect for small to medium workloads where you want durability without infrastructure complexity.

Features

• Persistent: Jobs survive restarts via SQLite storage
• Concurrent: Process multiple jobs simultaneously with fastq
• Priority: Process high-priority jobs first
• Delayed: Schedule jobs to run in the future
• Retries: Automatic retries with exponential backoff
• Lease-based: Prevents double processing with lease locks
• Dashboard: Built-in web UI for monitoring
• Type-safe: Full TypeScript support with Kysely

Installation

npm install workmatic

Quick Start

import { createDatabase, createClient, createWorker } from 'workmatic';

// Create database (use file path for persistence)
const db = createDatabase({ filename: './jobs.db' });

// Create a client to add jobs
const client = createClient({ db, queue: 'emails' });

// Add a job
const { id } = await client.add({
to: 'user@example.com',
subject: 'Hello!'
});
console.log(`Job created: ${id}`);

// Create a worker to process jobs
const worker = createWorker({
db,
queue: 'emails',
concurrency: 4,
});

// Define the processor
worker.process(async (job) => {
console.log(`Sending email to ${job.payload.to}`);
await sendEmail(job.payload);
});

// Start processing
worker.start();

API Reference

createDatabase(options)

Initialize the database connection and schema.

const db = createDatabase({
// Option 1: File path (creates or opens existing)
filename: './jobs.db',

// Option 2: In-memory (for testing)
filename: ':memory:',

// Option 3: Existing better-sqlite3 instance
db: existingSqliteInstance,
});

createClient(options)

Create a client for adding jobs to a queue.

const client = createClient({
db,                    // Required: Database instance
queue: 'default',      // Optional: Queue name (default: 'default')
});

client.add(payload, options?)

Add a job to the queue.

const { ok, id } = await client.add(
{ email: 'user@example.com' },  // Payload (must be JSON-serializable)
{
priority: 0,      // Lower = higher priority (default: 0)
delayMs: 5000,    // Delay before job becomes available (default: 0)
maxAttempts: 3,   // Max retry attempts (default: 3)
}
);

client.stats()

Get job statistics for the queue.

const stats = await client.stats();
// { ready: 5, running: 2, done: 100, failed: 0, dead: 1, total: 108 }

createWorker(options)

Create a worker to process jobs from a queue.

const worker = createWorker({
db,                     // Required: Database instance
queue: 'default',       // Optional: Queue name (default: 'default')
concurrency: 1,         // Optional: Parallel job count (default: 1)
leaseMs: 30000,         // Optional: Job lease duration in ms (default: 30000)
pollMs: 1000,           // Optional: Poll interval when idle (default: 1000)
timeoutMs: 60000,       // Optional: Job execution timeout in ms (default: none)
backoff: (n) => 1000 * Math.pow(2, n),  // Optional: Retry backoff function
});

worker.process(fn)

Set the job processor function.

worker.process(async (job) => {
console.log(`Processing job ${job.id}`);
console.log(`Payload:`, job.payload);
console.log(`Attempt ${job.attempts + 1} of ${job.maxAttempts}`);

// Do work here
// Throw an error to trigger retry
});

worker.start()

Start processing jobs.

worker.start();

worker.stop()

Stop processing and wait for current jobs to finish.

await worker.stop();

worker.pause() / worker.resume()

Pause and resume job processing.

worker.pause();   // Stop claiming new jobs
worker.resume();  // Resume claiming jobs

worker.stats()

Get job statistics for the queue.

const stats = await worker.stats();

Worker properties

worker.isRunning;  // boolean
worker.isPaused;   // boolean
worker.queue;      // string

createDashboard(options)

Create a standalone web dashboard server for monitoring and control.

const dashboard = createDashboard({
db,                    // Required: Database instance
port: 3000,            // Optional: HTTP port (default: 3000)
workers: [worker1],    // Optional: Workers to control
});

console.log(`Dashboard at http://localhost:${dashboard.port}`);

// Later, close the server
await dashboard.close();

createDashboardMiddleware(options)

Create an Express-compatible middleware to mount the dashboard on an existing app.

import express from 'express';
import { createDashboardMiddleware } from 'workmatic';

const app = express();

// Mount dashboard at /workmatic
app.use(createDashboardMiddleware({
db,                        // Required: Database instance
basePath: '/workmatic',    // Optional: URL prefix (default: '')
workers: [worker],         // Optional: Workers to control
}));

app.listen(3000);
// Dashboard available at http://localhost:3000/workmatic

Works with any framework that supports Node.js (req, res, next) middleware:

// Fastify
import fastify from 'fastify';
import middie from '@fastify/middie';

const app = fastify();
await app.register(middie);
app.use(createDashboardMiddleware({ db, basePath: '/jobs' }));

// Hono
import { Hono } from 'hono';
import { handle } from 'hono/node-server';

const app = new Hono();
app.use('/workmatic/*', (c) => {
return new Promise((resolve) => {
const middleware = createDashboardMiddleware({ db, basePath: '/workmatic' });
middleware(c.env.incoming, c.env.outgoing, resolve);
});
});

Job Object

The job object passed to processors has these properties:

interface Job<TPayload> {
id: string;           // Unique public ID (nanoid)
queue: string;        // Queue name
payload: TPayload;    // Your job data
status: JobStatus;    // 'ready' | 'running' | 'done' | 'failed' | 'dead'
priority: number;     // Priority value
attempts: number;     // Current attempt count (starts at 0)
maxAttempts: number;  // Maximum attempts allowed
createdAt: number;    // Unix timestamp (ms)
lastError: string | null;  // Last error message
}

Durability Model

Workmatic provides at-least-once delivery:

• Jobs are persisted to SQLite before add() returns

• A job may be processed multiple times if:

• The worker crashes during processing

• The lease expires before completion

• Jobs are only marked done after successful processing

Idempotency Recommendation

Design your job handlers to be idempotent (safe to run multiple times):

worker.process(async (job) => {
// Check if already processed
const exists = await db.checkProcessed(job.id);
if (exists) return;

// Process the job
await processPayment(job.payload);

// Mark as processed
await db.markProcessed(job.id);
});

Job Lifecycle

┌─────────┐     add()      ┌─────────┐
│  NEW    │ ─────────────▶ │  READY  │
└─────────┘                └────┬────┘
│
claim  │
▼
┌─────────┐
│ RUNNING │
└────┬────┘
│
┌────────────────┼────────────────┐
│                │                │
success          failure          failure
│          (retries           (max
│           left)           attempts)
▼                │                │
┌─────────┐           │                ▼
│  DONE   │           │          ┌─────────┐
└─────────┘           │          │  DEAD   │
│          └─────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────┐
│  READY (retry)  │
│  with backoff   │
└─────────────────┘

Options Glossary

Option	Default	Description
queue	'default'	Queue name for job isolation
concurrency	1	Number of jobs to process in parallel
leaseMs	30000	How long a job is "locked" during processing
pollMs	1000	How often to check for new jobs when idle
timeoutMs	undefined	Job execution timeout (fails job if exceeded)
priority	0	Job priority (lower = processed first)
delayMs	0	Delay before job becomes available
maxAttempts	3	Maximum processing attempts
backoff	2^n * 1000	Function returning retry delay in ms

Dashboard

The built-in dashboard provides:

• Real-time job statistics
• Job list with filtering and pagination
• Worker status and control (pause/resume)
• Auto-refresh every 2 seconds

Examples

See the examples/ directory:

• basic.ts - Simple job processing
• advanced.ts - Priority, delays, retries
• with-dashboard.ts - Dashboard monitoring

Run examples:

npx tsx examples/basic.ts
npx tsx examples/with-dashboard.ts

Benchmarks

Run performance benchmarks:

# In-memory (fastest, for testing)
npm run bench

# File-based (realistic, persistent)
npm run bench -- --file

Results Comparison

Benchmark	In-Memory	File-based
Sequential Insert	27,000/s	13,000/s
Parallel Insert	23,000/s	12,000/s
Process (concurrency=1)	1,100/s	1,100/s
Process (concurrency=4)	4,800/s	4,800/s
Process (concurrency=8)	10,000/s	8,300/s
Process (concurrency=16)	18,000/s	5,700/s
Mixed Insert+Process	7,500/s	3,500/s
Claim + Process Batch	23,600/s	11,800/s

Note: File-based performance degrades at high concurrency due to disk I/O. For file-based databases, concurrency=8 is often optimal. Performance varies by hardware.

CLI

Workmatic includes a command-line tool for managing jobs directly from the database file.

# Show job statistics
npx workmatic stats ./jobs.db

# List queues with pause status
npx workmatic queues ./jobs.db

# Pause/resume a queue (workers stop/start claiming new jobs)
npx workmatic pause ./jobs.db emails
npx workmatic resume ./jobs.db emails

# List jobs (with filters)
npx workmatic list ./jobs.db --status=dead --limit=10

# Export jobs to CSV
npx workmatic export ./jobs.db backup.csv
npx workmatic export ./jobs.db --status=failed > failed.csv

# Import jobs from CSV
npx workmatic import ./jobs.db backup.csv

# Delete jobs by status
npx workmatic purge ./jobs.db --status=done

# Retry dead/failed jobs (reset to ready)
npx workmatic retry ./jobs.db --status=dead

CLI Commands

Command	Description
stats <db>	Show job counts by status and queue
queues <db>	List all queues with pause status
pause <db> <queue>	Pause a queue (workers stop claiming)
resume <db> <queue>	Resume a paused queue
list <db>	List jobs with optional filters
export <db> [file]	Export jobs to CSV (stdout if no file)
import <db> <file>	Import jobs from CSV
purge <db> --status=X	Delete jobs with specific status
retry <db> --status=X	Reset jobs to ready status

CLI Options

Option	Description
--status=<status>	Filter by status (ready/running/done/failed/dead)
--queue=<queue>	Filter by queue name
--limit=<n>	Limit results (default: 100)

Live Pause/Resume

The pause and resume commands work on running workers in real-time. When you pause a queue:

• Running workers immediately stop claiming new jobs
• Jobs currently being processed will complete
• The queue resumes when you run resume

This allows you to manage workers without restarting your application.

CSV Import for AI Workflows

The CSV import feature makes Workmatic particularly useful for AI-powered automation:

public_id,queue,payload,status,priority,run_at,attempts,max_attempts,lease_until,created_at,updated_at,last_error
job_001,emails,"{""to"":""user@example.com"",""template"":""welcome""}",ready,0,1704067200000,0,3,0,1704067200000,1704067200000,
job_002,emails,"{""to"":""other@example.com"",""template"":""reminder""}",ready,5,1704067200000,0,3,0,1704067200000,1704067200000,

Use cases:

• AI Agents: Tools like Claude, GPT, or custom agents can generate CSV files with batch jobs. Simply ask an AI to "create 100 email jobs for these users" and import the result.
• Spreadsheet workflows: Edit jobs in Excel/Google Sheets, export to CSV, and import into the queue.
• Migration: Move jobs between environments or recover from backups.
• Testing: Generate test datasets with specific job configurations.
• Bulk operations: Create thousands of jobs without writing code.

# AI generates jobs.csv, then:
npx workmatic import ./jobs.db jobs.csv

# Or pipe directly from another tool:
cat ai-generated-jobs.csv | npx workmatic import ./jobs.db /dev/stdin

The simple CSV format means any tool that can output text can create jobs for your queue.

Architecture

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        Your App                          │
├────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────┤
│      Client        │              Worker                 │
│  ┌─────────────┐   │   ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  │
│  │   add()     │   │   │   pump()    │  │   fastq     │  │
│  │   stats()   │   │   │   claim()   │  │   pool      │  │
│  └─────────────┘   │   └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘  │
├────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────┤
│                    Kysely (Query Builder)                │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                  better-sqlite3 (SQLite)                 │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                      jobs.db (File)                      │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

License

MIT