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https://github.com/agenda/agenda

Lightweight job scheduling for Node.js
https://github.com/agenda/agenda

automated cron cronjob crontab frequency interval job job-processor job-scheduler mongodb nodejs queue recurring runner schedule scheduler task

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Lightweight job scheduling for Node.js

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# Agenda





  Agenda






  A light-weight job scheduling library for Node.js




This was originally a fork of agenda.js,

it differs from the original version in following points:



- Complete rewrite in Typescript (fully typed!)

- mongodb4 driver (supports mongodb 5.x)

- Supports mongoDB sharding by name

- touch() can have an optional progress parameter (0-100)

- Bugfixes and improvements for locking & job processing (concurrency, lockLimit,..)

- Breaking change: define() config paramter moved from 2nd position to 3rd

- getRunningStats()

- automatically waits for agenda to be connected before calling any database operations

- uses a database abstraction layer behind the scene

- does not create a database index by default, you can set `ensureIndex: true` when initializing Agenda

  or run manually:



```

db.agendaJobs.ensureIndex({

    "name" : 1,

    "nextRunAt" : 1,

    "priority" : -1,

    "lockedAt" : 1,

    "disabled" : 1

}, "findAndLockNextJobIndex")

```



# Agenda offers



- Minimal overhead. Agenda aims to keep its code base small.

- Mongo backed persistence layer.

- Promises based API.

- Scheduling with configurable priority, concurrency, repeating and persistence of job results.

- Scheduling via cron or human readable syntax.

- Event backed job queue that you can hook into.

- [Agenda-rest](https://github.com/agenda/agenda-rest): optional standalone REST API.

- [Inversify-agenda](https://github.com/lautarobock/inversify-agenda) - Some utilities for the development of agenda workers with Inversify.

- [Agendash](https://github.com/agenda/agendash): optional standalone web-interface.



### Feature Comparison



Since there are a few job queue solutions, here a table comparing them to help you use the one that

better suits your needs.



| Feature                    |      Bull       |   Bee    | Agenda |

| :------------------------- | :-------------: | :------: | :----: |

| Backend                    |      redis      |  redis   | mongo  |

| Priorities                 |        ✓        |          |   ✓    |

| Concurrency                |        ✓        |    ✓     |   ✓    |

| Delayed jobs               |        ✓        |          |   ✓    |

| Global events              |        ✓        |          |   ✓    |

| Rate Limiter               |        ✓        |          |        |

| Pause/Resume               |        ✓        |          |   ✓    |

| Sandboxed worker           |        ✓        |          |   ✓    |

| Repeatable jobs            |        ✓        |          |   ✓    |

| Atomic ops                 |        ✓        |    ✓     |   ~    |

| Persistence                |        ✓        |    ✓     |   ✓    |

| UI                         |        ✓        |          |   ✓    |

| REST API                   |                 |          |   ✓    |

| Central (Scalable) Queue   |                 |          |   ✓    |

| Supports long running jobs |                 |          |   ✓    |

| Optimized for              | Jobs / Messages | Messages |  Jobs  |



_Kudos for making the comparison chart goes to [Bull](https://www.npmjs.com/package/bull#feature-comparison) maintainers._



# Installation



Install via NPM



    npm install @hokify/agenda



You will also need a working [Mongo](https://www.mongodb.com/) database (v4+) to point it to.



# Example Usage



```js

const mongoConnectionString = 'mongodb://127.0.0.1/agenda';



const agenda = new Agenda({ db: { address: mongoConnectionString } });



// Or override the default collection name:

// const agenda = new Agenda({db: {address: mongoConnectionString, collection: 'jobCollectionName'}});



// or pass additional connection options:

// const agenda = new Agenda({db: {address: mongoConnectionString, collection: 'jobCollectionName', options: {ssl: true}}});



// or pass in an existing mongodb-native MongoClient instance

// const agenda = new Agenda({mongo: myMongoClient});



agenda.define('delete old users', async job => {

	await User.remove({ lastLogIn: { $lt: twoDaysAgo } });

});



(async function () {

	// IIFE to give access to async/await

	await agenda.start();



	await agenda.every('3 minutes', 'delete old users');



	// Alternatively, you could also do:

	await agenda.every('*/3 * * * *', 'delete old users');

})();

```



```js

agenda.define(

	'send email report',

	async job => {

		const { to } = job.attrs.data;

		await emailClient.send({

			to,

			from: '[email protected]',

			subject: 'Email Report',

			body: '...'

		});

	},

	{ priority: 'high', concurrency: 10 }

);



(async function () {

	await agenda.start();

	await agenda.schedule('in 20 minutes', 'send email report', { to: '[email protected]' });

})();

```



```js

(async function () {

	const weeklyReport = agenda.create('send email report', { to: '[email protected]' });

	await agenda.start();

	await weeklyReport.repeatEvery('1 week').save();

})();

```



# Full documentation



See also https://hokify.github.io/agenda/



Agenda's basic control structure is an instance of an agenda. Agenda's are

mapped to a database collection and load the jobs from within.



## Table of Contents



- [Configuring an agenda](#configuring-an-agenda)

- [Agenda Events](#agenda-events)

- [Defining job processors](#defining-job-processors)

- [Creating jobs](#creating-jobs)

- [Managing jobs](#managing-jobs)

- [Starting the job processor](#starting-the-job-processor)

- [Multiple job processors](#multiple-job-processors)

- [Manually working with jobs](#manually-working-with-a-job)

- [Job Queue Events](#job-queue-events)

- [Frequently asked questions](#frequently-asked-questions)

- [Example Project structure](#example-project-structure)

- [Known Issues](#known-issues)

- [Debugging Issues](#debugging-issues)

- [Acknowledgements](#acknowledgements)



## Configuring an agenda



All configuration methods are chainable, meaning you can do something like:



```js

const agenda = new Agenda();

agenda

  .database(...)

  .processEvery('3 minutes')

  ...;

```



Possible agenda config options:



```ts

{

	name: string;

	defaultConcurrency: number;

	processEvery: number;

	maxConcurrency: number;

	defaultLockLimit: number;

	lockLimit: number;

	defaultLockLifetime: number;

	ensureIndex: boolean;

	sort: SortOptionObject;

	db: {

		collection: string;

		address: string;

		options: MongoClientOptions;

	}

	mongo: Db;

}

```



Agenda uses [Human Interval](http://github.com/rschmukler/human-interval) for specifying the intervals. It supports the following units:



`seconds`, `minutes`, `hours`, `days`,`weeks`, `months` -- assumes 30 days, `years` -- assumes 365 days



More sophisticated examples



```js

agenda.processEvery('one minute');

agenda.processEvery('1.5 minutes');

agenda.processEvery('3 days and 4 hours');

agenda.processEvery('3 days, 4 hours and 36 seconds');

```



### database(url, [collectionName], [MongoClientOptions])



Specifies the database at the `url` specified. If no collection name is given,

`agendaJobs` is used.



By default `useNewUrlParser` and `useUnifiedTopology` is set to `true`,



```js

agenda.database('localhost:27017/agenda-test', 'agendaJobs');

```



You can also specify it during instantiation.



```js

const agenda = new Agenda({

	db: { address: 'localhost:27017/agenda-test', collection: 'agendaJobs' }

});

```



Agenda will emit a `ready` event (see [Agenda Events](#agenda-events)) when properly connected to the database.

It is safe to call `agenda.start()` without waiting for this event, as this is handled internally.

If you're using the `db` options, or call `database`, then you may still need to listen for `ready` before saving jobs.



### mongo(dbInstance, [collectionName])



Use an existing mongodb-native MongoClient/Db instance. This can help consolidate connections to a

database. You can instead use `.database` to have agenda handle connecting for you.



You can also specify it during instantiation:



```js

const agenda = new Agenda({ mongo: mongoClientInstance.db('agenda-test') });

```



Note that MongoClient.connect() returns a mongoClientInstance since [node-mongodb-native 3.0.0](https://github.com/mongodb/node-mongodb-native/blob/master/CHANGES_3.0.0.md), while it used to return a dbInstance that could then be directly passed to agenda.



### name(name)



Sets the `lastModifiedBy` field to `name` in the jobs collection.

Useful if you have multiple job processors (agendas) and want to see which

job queue last ran the job.



```js

agenda.name(os.hostname + '-' + process.pid);

```



You can also specify it during instantiation



```js

const agenda = new Agenda({ name: 'test queue' });

```



### processEvery(interval)



Takes a string `interval` which can be either a traditional javascript number,

or a string such as `3 minutes`



Specifies the frequency at which agenda will query the database looking for jobs

that need to be processed. Agenda internally uses `setTimeout` to guarantee that

jobs run at (close to ~3ms) the right time.



Decreasing the frequency will result in fewer database queries, but more jobs

being stored in memory.



Also worth noting is that if the job queue is shutdown, any jobs stored in memory

that haven't run will still be locked, meaning that you may have to wait for the

lock to expire. By default it is `'5 seconds'`.



```js

agenda.processEvery('1 minute');

```



You can also specify it during instantiation



```js

const agenda = new Agenda({ processEvery: '30 seconds' });

```



### maxConcurrency(number)



Takes a `number` which specifies the max number of jobs that can be running at

any given moment. By default it is `20`.



```js

agenda.maxConcurrency(20);

```



You can also specify it during instantiation



```js

const agenda = new Agenda({ maxConcurrency: 20 });

```



### defaultConcurrency(number)



Takes a `number` which specifies the default number of a specific job that can be running at

any given moment. By default it is `5`.



```js

agenda.defaultConcurrency(5);

```



You can also specify it during instantiation



```js

const agenda = new Agenda({ defaultConcurrency: 5 });

```



### lockLimit(number)



Takes a `number` which specifies the max number jobs that can be locked at any given moment. By default it is `0` for no max.



```js

agenda.lockLimit(0);

```



You can also specify it during instantiation



```js

const agenda = new Agenda({ lockLimit: 0 });

```



### defaultLockLimit(number)



Takes a `number` which specifies the default number of a specific job that can be locked at any given moment. By default it is `0` for no max.



```js

agenda.defaultLockLimit(0);

```



You can also specify it during instantiation



```js

const agenda = new Agenda({ defaultLockLimit: 0 });

```



### defaultLockLifetime(number)



Takes a `number` which specifies the default lock lifetime in milliseconds. By

default it is 10 minutes. This can be overridden by specifying the

`lockLifetime` option to a defined job.



A job will unlock if it is finished (ie. the returned Promise resolves/rejects

or `done` is specified in the params and `done()` is called) before the

`lockLifetime`. The lock is useful if the job crashes or times out.



```js

agenda.defaultLockLifetime(10000);

```



You can also specify it during instantiation



```js

const agenda = new Agenda({ defaultLockLifetime: 10000 });

```



### sort(query)



Takes a `query` which specifies the sort query to be used for finding and locking the next job.



By default it is `{ nextRunAt: 1, priority: -1 }`, which obeys a first in first out approach, with respect to priority.



### disableAutoIndex(boolean)



Optional. Disables the automatic creation of the default index on the jobs table.

By default, Agenda creates an index to optimize its queries against Mongo while processing jobs.



This is useful if you want to use your own index in specific use-cases.



## Agenda Events



An instance of an agenda will emit the following events:



- `ready` - called when Agenda mongo connection is successfully opened and indices created.

  If you're passing agenda an existing connection, you shouldn't need to listen for this, as `agenda.start()` will not resolve until indices have been created.

  If you're using the `db` options, or call `database`, then you may still need to listen for the `ready` event before saving jobs. `agenda.start()` will still wait for the connection to be opened.

- `error` - called when Agenda mongo connection process has thrown an error



```js

await agenda.start();

```



## Defining Job Processors



Before you can use a job, you must define its processing behavior.



### define(jobName, fn, [options])



Defines a job with the name of `jobName`. When a job of `jobName` gets run, it

will be passed to `fn(job, done)`. To maintain asynchronous behavior, you may

either provide a Promise-returning function in `fn` _or_ provide `done` as a

second parameter to `fn`. If `done` is specified in the function signature, you

must call `done()` when you are processing the job. If your function is

synchronous or returns a Promise, you may omit `done` from the signature.



`options` is an optional argument which can overwrite the defaults. It can take

the following:



- `concurrency`: `number` maximum number of that job that can be running at once (per instance of agenda)

- `lockLimit`: `number` maximum number of that job that can be locked at once (per instance of agenda)

- `lockLifetime`: `number` interval in ms of how long the job stays locked for (see [multiple job processors](#multiple-job-processors) for more info).

  A job will automatically unlock once a returned promise resolves/rejects (or if `done` is specified in the signature and `done()` is called).

- `priority`: `(lowest|low|normal|high|highest|number)` specifies the priority

  of the job. Higher priority jobs will run first. See the priority mapping

  below

- `shouldSaveResult`: `boolean` flag that specifies whether the result of the job should also be stored in the database. Defaults to false



Priority mapping:



```

{

  highest: 20,

  high: 10,

  normal: 0,

  low: -10,

  lowest: -20

}

```



Async Job:



```js

agenda.define('some long running job', async job => {

	const data = await doSomelengthyTask();

	await formatThatData(data);

	await sendThatData(data);

});

```



Async Job (using `done`):



```js

agenda.define('some long running job', (job, done) => {

	doSomelengthyTask(data => {

		formatThatData(data);

		sendThatData(data);

		done();

	});

});

```



Sync Job:



```js

agenda.define('say hello', job => {

	console.log('Hello!');

});

```



`define()` acts like an assignment: if `define(jobName, ...)` is called multiple times (e.g. every time your script starts), the definition in the last call will overwrite the previous one. Thus, if you `define` the `jobName` only once in your code, it's safe for that call to execute multiple times.



## Creating Jobs



### every(interval, name, [data], [options])



Runs job `name` at the given `interval`. Optionally, data and options can be passed in.

Every creates a job of type `single`, which means that it will only create one

job in the database, even if that line is run multiple times. This lets you put

it in a file that may get run multiple times, such as `webserver.js` which may

reboot from time to time.



`interval` can be a human-readable format `String`, a [cron format](https://www.npmjs.com/package/cron-parser) `String`, or a `Number`.



`data` is an optional argument that will be passed to the processing function

under `job.attrs.data`.



`options` is an optional argument that will be passed to [`job.repeatEvery`](#repeateveryinterval-options).

In order to use this argument, `data` must also be specified.



Returns the `job`.



```js

agenda.define('printAnalyticsReport', async job => {

	const users = await User.doSomethingReallyIntensive();

	processUserData(users);

	console.log('I print a report!');

});



agenda.every('15 minutes', 'printAnalyticsReport');

```



Optionally, `name` could be array of job names, which is convenient for scheduling

different jobs for same `interval`.



```js

agenda.every('15 minutes', ['printAnalyticsReport', 'sendNotifications', 'updateUserRecords']);

```



In this case, `every` returns array of `jobs`.



### schedule(when, name, [data])



Schedules a job to run `name` once at a given time. `when` can be a `Date` or a

`String` such as `tomorrow at 5pm`.



`data` is an optional argument that will be passed to the processing function

under `job.attrs.data`.



Returns the `job`.



```js

agenda.schedule('tomorrow at noon', 'printAnalyticsReport', { userCount: 100 });

```



Optionally, `name` could be array of job names, similar to the `every` method.



```js

agenda.schedule('tomorrow at noon', [

	'printAnalyticsReport',

	'sendNotifications',

	'updateUserRecords'

]);

```



In this case, `schedule` returns array of `jobs`.



### now(name, [data])



Schedules a job to run `name` once immediately.



`data` is an optional argument that will be passed to the processing function

under `job.attrs.data`.



Returns the `job`.



```js

agenda.now('do the hokey pokey');

```



### create(jobName, data)



Returns an instance of a `jobName` with `data`. This does _NOT_ save the job in

the database. See below to learn how to manually work with jobs.



```js

const job = agenda.create('printAnalyticsReport', { userCount: 100 });

await job.save();

console.log('Job successfully saved');

```



## Managing Jobs



### jobs(mongodb-native query, mongodb-native sort, mongodb-native limit, mongodb-native skip)



Lets you query (then sort, limit and skip the result) all of the jobs in the agenda job's database. These are full [mongodb-native](https://github.com/mongodb/node-mongodb-native) `find`, `sort`, `limit` and `skip` commands. See mongodb-native's documentation for details.



```js

const jobs = await agenda.jobs({ name: 'printAnalyticsReport' }, { data: -1 }, 3, 1);

// Work with jobs (see below)

```



### cancel(mongodb-native query)



Cancels any jobs matching the passed mongodb-native query, and removes them from the database. Returns a Promise resolving to the number of cancelled jobs, or rejecting on error.



```js

const numRemoved = await agenda.cancel({ name: 'printAnalyticsReport' });

```



This functionality can also be achieved by first retrieving all the jobs from the database using `agenda.jobs()`, looping through the resulting array and calling `job.remove()` on each. It is however preferable to use `agenda.cancel()` for this use case, as this ensures the operation is atomic.



### disable(mongodb-native query)



Disables any jobs matching the passed mongodb-native query, preventing any matching jobs from being run by the Job Processor.



```js

const numDisabled = await agenda.disable({ name: 'pollExternalService' });

```



Similar to `agenda.cancel()`, this functionality can be acheived with a combination of `agenda.jobs()` and `job.disable()`



### enable(mongodb-native query)



Enables any jobs matching the passed mongodb-native query, allowing any matching jobs to be run by the Job Processor.



```js

const numEnabled = await agenda.enable({ name: 'pollExternalService' });

```



Similar to `agenda.cancel()`, this functionality can be acheived with a combination of `agenda.jobs()` and `job.enable()`



### purge()



Removes all jobs in the database without defined behaviors. Useful if you change a definition name and want to remove old jobs. Returns a Promise resolving to the number of removed jobs, or rejecting on error.



_IMPORTANT:_ Do not run this before you finish defining all of your jobs. If you do, you will nuke your database of jobs.



```js

const numRemoved = await agenda.purge();

```



## Starting the job processor



To get agenda to start processing jobs from the database you must start it. This

will schedule an interval (based on `processEvery`) to check for new jobs and

run them. You can also stop the queue.



### start



Starts the job queue processing, checking [`processEvery`](#processeveryinterval) time to see if there

are new jobs. Must be called _after_ `processEvery`, and _before_ any job scheduling (e.g. `every`).



### stop



Stops the job queue processing. Unlocks currently running jobs.



This can be very useful for graceful shutdowns so that currently running/grabbed jobs are abandoned so that other

job queues can grab them / they are unlocked should the job queue start again. Here is an example of how to do a graceful

shutdown.



```js

async function graceful() {

	await agenda.stop();

	process.exit(0);

}



process.on('SIGTERM', graceful);

process.on('SIGINT', graceful);

```



## Multiple job processors



Sometimes you may want to have multiple node instances / machines process from

the same queue. Agenda supports a locking mechanism to ensure that multiple

queues don't process the same job.



You can configure the locking mechanism by specifying `lockLifetime` as an

interval when defining the job.



```js

agenda.define(

	'someJob',

	(job, cb) => {

		// Do something in 10 seconds or less...

	},

	{ lockLifetime: 10000 }

);

```



This will ensure that no other job processor (this one included) attempts to run the job again

for the next 10 seconds. If you have a particularly long running job, you will want to

specify a longer lockLifetime.



By default it is 10 minutes. Typically you shouldn't have a job that runs for 10 minutes,

so this is really insurance should the job queue crash before the job is unlocked.



When a job is finished (i.e. the returned promise resolves/rejects or `done` is

specified in the signature and `done()` is called), it will automatically unlock.



## Manually working with a job



A job instance has many instance methods. All mutating methods must be followed

with a call to `await job.save()` in order to persist the changes to the database.



### repeatEvery(interval, [options])



Specifies an `interval` on which the job should repeat. The job runs at the time of defining as well in configured intervals, that is "run _now_ and in intervals".



`interval` can be a human-readable format `String`, a [cron format](https://www.npmjs.com/package/cron-parser) `String`, or a `Number`.



`options` is an optional argument containing:



`options.timezone`: should be a string as accepted by [moment-timezone](https://momentjs.com/timezone/) and is considered when using an interval in the cron string format.



`options.skipImmediate`: `true` | `false` (default) Setting this `true` will skip the immediate run. The first run will occur only in configured interval.



`options.startDate`: `Date` the first time the job runs, should be equal or after the start date.



`options.endDate`: `Date` the job should not repeat after the endDate. The job can run on the end-date itself, but not after that.



`options.skipDays`: `human readable string` ('2 days'). After each run, it will skip the duration of 'skipDays'



```js

job.repeatEvery('10 minutes');

await job.save();

```



```js

job.repeatEvery('3 minutes', {

	skipImmediate: true

});

await job.save();

```



```js

job.repeatEvery('0 6 * * *', {

	timezone: 'America/New_York'

});

await job.save();

```



### repeatAt(time)



Specifies a `time` when the job should repeat. [Possible values](https://github.com/matthewmueller/date#examples)



```js

job.repeatAt('3:30pm');

await job.save();

```



### schedule(time)



Specifies the next `time` at which the job should run.



```js

job.schedule('tomorrow at 6pm');

await job.save();

```



### priority(priority)



Specifies the `priority` weighting of the job. Can be a number or a string from

the above priority table.



```js

job.priority('low');

await job.save();

```



### setShouldSaveResult(setShouldSaveResult)



Specifies whether the result of the job should also be stored in the database. Defaults to false.



```js

job.setShouldSaveResult(true);

await job.save();

```



The data returned by the job will be available on the `result` attribute after it succeeded and got retrieved again from the database, e.g. via `agenda.jobs(...)` or through the [success job event](#agenda-events)).



### unique(properties, [options])



Ensure that only one instance of this job exists with the specified properties



`options` is an optional argument which can overwrite the defaults. It can take

the following:



- `insertOnly`: `boolean` will prevent any properties from persisting if the job already exists. Defaults to false.



```js

job.unique({ 'data.type': 'active', 'data.userId': '123', nextRunAt: date });

await job.save();

```



_IMPORTANT:_ To avoid high CPU usage by MongoDB, make sure to create an index on the used fields, like `data.type` and `data.userId` for the example above.



### fail(reason)



Sets `job.attrs.failedAt` to `now`, and sets `job.attrs.failReason` to `reason`.



Optionally, `reason` can be an error, in which case `job.attrs.failReason` will

be set to `error.message`



```js

job.fail('insufficient disk space');

// or

job.fail(new Error('insufficient disk space'));

await job.save();

```



### run(callback)



Runs the given `job` and calls `callback(err, job)` upon completion. Normally

you never need to call this manually.



```js

job.run((err, job) => {

	console.log("I don't know why you would need to do this...");

});

```



### save()



Saves the `job.attrs` into the database. Returns a Promise resolving to a Job instance, or rejecting on error.



```js

try {

	await job.save();

	cosole.log('Successfully saved job to collection');

} catch (e) {

	console.error('Error saving job to collection');

}

```



### remove()



Removes the `job` from the database. Returns a Promise resolving to the number of jobs removed, or rejecting on error.



```js

try {

	await job.remove();

	console.log('Successfully removed job from collection');

} catch (e) {

	console.error('Error removing job from collection');

}

```



### disable()



Disables the `job`. Upcoming runs won't execute.



### enable()



Enables the `job` if it got disabled before. Upcoming runs will execute.



### touch()



Resets the lock on the job. Useful to indicate that the job hasn't timed out

when you have very long running jobs. The call returns a promise that resolves

when the job's lock has been renewed.



```js

agenda.define('super long job', async job => {

	await doSomeLongTask();

	await job.touch();

	await doAnotherLongTask();

	await job.touch();

	await finishOurLongTasks();

});

```



## Job Queue Events



An instance of an agenda will emit the following events:



- `start` - called just before a job starts

- `start:job name` - called just before the specified job starts



```js

agenda.on('start', job => {

	console.log('Job %s starting', job.attrs.name);

});

```



- `complete` - called when a job finishes, regardless of if it succeeds or fails

- `complete:job name` - called when a job finishes, regardless of if it succeeds or fails



```js

agenda.on('complete', job => {

	console.log(`Job ${job.attrs.name} finished`);

});

```



- `success` - called when a job finishes successfully

- `success:job name` - called when a job finishes successfully



```js

agenda.on('success:send email', job => {

	console.log(`Sent Email Successfully to ${job.attrs.data.to}`);

});

```



- `fail` - called when a job throws an error

- `fail:job name` - called when a job throws an error



```js

agenda.on('fail:send email', (err, job) => {

	console.log(`Job failed with error: ${err.message}`);

});

```



## Frequently Asked Questions



### What is the order in which jobs run?



Jobs are run with priority in a first in first out order (so they will be run in the order they were scheduled AND with respect to highest priority).



For example, if we have two jobs named "send-email" queued (both with the same priority), and the first job is queued at 3:00 PM and second job is queued at 3:05 PM with the same `priority` value, then the first job will run first if we start to send "send-email" jobs at 3:10 PM. However if the first job has a priority of `5` and the second job has a priority of `10`, then the second will run first (priority takes precedence) at 3:10 PM.



The default [MongoDB sort object](https://docs.mongodb.com/manual/reference/method/cursor.sort/) is `{ nextRunAt: 1, priority: -1 }` and can be changed through the option `sort` when configuring Agenda.



### What is the difference between `lockLimit` and `maxConcurrency`?



Agenda will lock jobs 1 by one, setting the `lockedAt` property in mongoDB, and creating an instance of the `Job` class which it caches into the `_lockedJobs` array. This defaults to having no limit, but can be managed using lockLimit. If all jobs will need to be run before agenda's next interval (set via `agenda.processEvery`), then agenda will attempt to lock all jobs.



Agenda will also pull jobs from `_lockedJobs` and into `_runningJobs`. These jobs are actively being worked on by user code, and this is limited by `maxConcurrency` (defaults to 20).



If you have multiple instances of agenda processing the same job definition with a fast repeat time you may find they get unevenly loaded. This is because they will compete to lock as many jobs as possible, even if they don't have enough concurrency to process them. This can be resolved by tweaking the `maxConcurrency` and `lockLimit` properties.



### Sample Project Structure?



Agenda doesn't have a preferred project structure and leaves it to the user to

choose how they would like to use it. That being said, you can check out the

[example project structure](#example-project-structure) below.



### Can I Donate?



Thanks! I'm flattered, but it's really not necessary. If you really want to, you can find my [gittip here](https://www.gittip.com/rschmukler/).



### Web Interface?



Agenda itself does not have a web interface built in but we do offer stand-alone web interface [Agendash](https://github.com/agenda/agendash):



Agendash interface



### Mongo vs Redis



The decision to use Mongo instead of Redis is intentional. Redis is often used for

non-essential data (such as sessions) and without configuration doesn't

guarantee the same level of persistence as Mongo (should the server need to be

restarted/crash).



Agenda decides to focus on persistence without requiring special configuration

of Redis (thereby degrading the performance of the Redis server on non-critical

data, such as sessions).



Ultimately if enough people want a Redis driver instead of Mongo, I will write

one. (Please open an issue requesting it). For now, Agenda decided to focus on

guaranteed persistence.



### Spawning / forking processes



Ultimately Agenda can work from a single job queue across multiple machines, node processes, or forks. If you are interested in having more than one worker, [Bars3s](http://github.com/bars3s) has written up a fantastic example of how one might do it:



```js

const cluster = require('cluster');

const os = require('os');



const httpServer = require('./app/http-server');

const jobWorker = require('./app/job-worker');



const jobWorkers = [];

const webWorkers = [];



if (cluster.isMaster) {

	const cpuCount = os.cpus().length;

	// Create a worker for each CPU

	for (let i = 0; i < cpuCount; i += 1) {

		addJobWorker();

		addWebWorker();

	}



	cluster.on('exit', (worker, code, signal) => {

		if (jobWorkers.indexOf(worker.id) !== -1) {

			console.log(

				`job worker ${worker.process.pid} exited (signal: ${signal}). Trying to respawn...`

			);

			removeJobWorker(worker.id);

			addJobWorker();

		}



		if (webWorkers.indexOf(worker.id) !== -1) {

			console.log(

				`http worker ${worker.process.pid} exited (signal: ${signal}). Trying to respawn...`

			);

			removeWebWorker(worker.id);

			addWebWorker();

		}

	});

} else {

	if (process.env.web) {

		console.log(`start http server: ${cluster.worker.id}`);

		// Initialize the http server here

		httpServer.start();

	}



	if (process.env.job) {

		console.log(`start job server: ${cluster.worker.id}`);

		// Initialize the Agenda here

		jobWorker.start();

	}

}



function addWebWorker() {

	webWorkers.push(cluster.fork({ web: 1 }).id);

}



function addJobWorker() {

	jobWorkers.push(cluster.fork({ job: 1 }).id);

}



function removeWebWorker(id) {

	webWorkers.splice(webWorkers.indexOf(id), 1);

}



function removeJobWorker(id) {

	jobWorkers.splice(jobWorkers.indexOf(id), 1);

}

```



### Recovering lost Mongo connections ("auto_reconnect")



Agenda is configured by default to automatically reconnect indefinitely, emitting an [error event](#agenda-events)

when no connection is available on each [process tick](#processeveryinterval), allowing you to restore the Mongo

instance without having to restart the application.



However, if you are using an [existing Mongo client](#mongomongoclientinstance)

you'll need to configure the `reconnectTries` and `reconnectInterval` [connection settings](http://mongodb.github.io/node-mongodb-native/3.0/reference/connecting/connection-settings/)

manually, otherwise you'll find that Agenda will throw an error with the message "MongoDB connection is not recoverable,

application restart required" if the connection cannot be recovered within 30 seconds.



# Example Project Structure



Agenda will only process jobs that it has definitions for. This allows you to

selectively choose which jobs a given agenda will process.



Consider the following project structure, which allows us to share models with

the rest of our code base, and specify which jobs a worker processes, if any at

all.



```

- server.js

- worker.js

lib/

  - agenda.js

  controllers/

    - user-controller.js

  jobs/

    - email.js

    - video-processing.js

    - image-processing.js

   models/

     - user-model.js

     - blog-post.model.js

```



Sample job processor (eg. `jobs/email.js`)



```js

let email = require('some-email-lib'),

	User = require('../models/user-model.js');



module.exports = function (agenda) {

	agenda.define('registration email', async job => {

		const user = await User.get(job.attrs.data.userId);

		await email(user.email(), 'Thanks for registering', 'Thanks for registering ' + user.name());

	});



	agenda.define('reset password', async job => {

		// Etc

	});



	// More email related jobs

};

```



lib/agenda.js



```js

const Agenda = require('agenda');



const connectionOpts = { db: { address: 'localhost:27017/agenda-test', collection: 'agendaJobs' } };



const agenda = new Agenda(connectionOpts);



const jobTypes = process.env.JOB_TYPES ? process.env.JOB_TYPES.split(',') : [];



jobTypes.forEach(type => {

	require('./jobs/' + type)(agenda);

});



if (jobTypes.length) {

	agenda.start(); // Returns a promise, which should be handled appropriately

}



module.exports = agenda;

```



lib/controllers/user-controller.js



```js

let app = express(),

	User = require('../models/user-model'),

	agenda = require('../worker.js');



app.post('/users', (req, res, next) => {

	const user = new User(req.body);

	user.save(err => {

		if (err) {

			return next(err);

		}

		agenda.now('registration email', { userId: user.primary() });

		res.send(201, user.toJson());

	});

});

```



worker.js



```js

require('./lib/agenda.js');

```



Now you can do the following in your project:



```bash

node server.js

```



Fire up an instance with no `JOB_TYPES`, giving you the ability to process jobs,

but not wasting resources processing jobs.



```bash

JOB_TYPES=email node server.js

```



Allow your http server to process email jobs.



```bash

JOB_TYPES=email node worker.js

```



Fire up an instance that processes email jobs.



```bash

JOB_TYPES=video-processing,image-processing node worker.js

```



Fire up an instance that processes video-processing/image-processing jobs. Good for a heavy hitting server.



# Debugging Issues



If you think you have encountered a bug, please feel free to report it here:



[Submit Issue](https://github.com/hokify/agenda/issues/new)



Please provide us with as much details as possible such as:



- Agenda version

- Environment (OSX, Linux, Windows, etc)

- Small description of what happened

- Any relevant stack track

- Agenda logs (see below)



#### To turn on logging, please set your DEBUG env variable like so:



- OSX: `DEBUG="agenda:*" ts-node src/index.ts`

- Linux: `DEBUG="agenda:*" ts-node src/index.ts`

- Windows CMD: `set DEBUG=agenda:*`

- Windows PowerShell: `$env:DEBUG = "agenda:*"`



While not necessary, attaching a text file with this debug information would

be extremely useful in debugging certain issues and is encouraged.



# Known Issues



#### "Multiple order-by items are not supported. Please specify a single order-by item."



When running Agenda on Azure cosmosDB, you might run into this issue caused by Agenda's sort query used for finding and locking the next job. To fix this, you can pass [custom sort option](#sortquery): `sort: { nextRunAt: 1 }`



# Performance



It is recommended to set this index if you use agendash:



```

db.agendaJobs.ensureIndex({

    "nextRunAt" : -1,

    "lastRunAt" : -1,

    "lastFinishedAt" : -1

}, "agendash2")

```



If you have one job definition with thousand of instances, you can add this index to improve internal sorting query

for faster sortings



```

db.agendaJobs.ensureIndex({

    "name" : 1,

    "disabled" : 1,

    "lockedAt" : 1

}, "findAndLockDeadJobs")

```



# Sandboxed Worker - use child processes



It's possible to start jobs in a child process, this helps for example for long running processes

to seperate them from the main thread. For example if one process consumes too much memory and gets killed,

it will not affect any others.

To use this feature, several steps are required.

1.) create a childWorker helper.

The subrocess has a complete seperate context, so there are no database connections or anything else that can be shared.

Therefore you have to ensure that all required connections and initializations are done here too. Furthermore

you also have to load the correct job definition so that agenda nows what code it must execute. Therefore 3 parameters

are passed to the childWorker: name, jobId and path to the job definition.



Example file can look like this:



childWorker.ts



```ts

import 'reflect-metadata';



process.on('message', message => {

  if (message === 'cancel') {

    process.exit(2);

  } else {

    console.log('got message', message);

  }

});



(async () => {

	const mongooseConnection = /** connect to database */



  /** do other required initializations */



  // get process arguments (name, jobId and path to agenda definition file)

	const [, , name, jobId, agendaDefinition] = process.argv;



  // set fancy process title

	process.title = `${process.title} (sub worker: ${name}/${jobId})`;



  // initialize Agenda in "forkedWorker" mode

	const agenda = new Agenda({ name: `subworker-${name}`, forkedWorker: true });

	// connect agenda (but do not start it)

	await agenda.mongo(mongooseConnection.db as any);



	if (!name || !jobId) {

		throw new Error(`invalid parameters: ${JSON.stringify(process.argv)}`);

	}



  // load job definition

  /** in this case the file is for example ../some/path/definitions.js

  with a content like:

  export default (agenda: Agenda, definitionOnly = false) => {

    agenda.define(

      'some job',

      async (notification: {

        attrs: { data: { dealId: string; orderId: TypeObjectId } };

      }) => {

        // do something

      }

    );



    if (!definitionOnly) {

        // here you can create scheduled jobs or other things

    }

	});

  */

	if (agendaDefinition) {

		const loadDefinition = await import(agendaDefinition);

		(loadDefinition.default || loadDefinition)(agenda, true);

	}



  // run this job now

	await agenda.runForkedJob(jobId);



  // disconnect database and exit

	process.exit(0);

})().catch(err => {

	console.error('err', err);

	if (process.send) {

		process.send(JSON.stringify(err));

	}

	process.exit(1);

});



```



Ensure to only define job definitions during this step, otherwise you create some

overhead (e.g. if you create new jobs inside the defintion files). That's why I call

the defintion file with agenda and a second paramter that is set to true. If this

parameter is true, I do not initialize any jobs (create jobs etc..)



2.) to use this, you have to enable it on a job. Set forkMode to true:



```ts

const job = agenda.create('some job', { meep: 1 });

job.forkMode(true);

await job.save();

```



# Acknowledgements



- Agenda was originally created by [@rschmukler](https://github.com/rschmukler).

- [Agendash](https://github.com/agenda/agendash) was originally created by [@joeframbach](https://github.com/joeframbach).

- These days Agenda has a great community of [contributors](https://github.com/hokify/agenda/graphs/contributors) around it. Join us!



# License



[The MIT License](LICENSE.md)