The Need for a Simple Solution

My project involved a web application that required periodic background tasks, such as data synchronization, cleanup jobs, and basic system monitoring. While there are many mature background job frameworks available, most were too feature-heavy for what I needed. I wanted something small, efficient, and easy to integrate into my Docker-based setup, without introducing unnecessary complexity.

That’s when I decided to write my own scheduler—lean, concise, and perfect for simple backend apps or as a side container to complement larger web applications.

The Custom Scheduler: Small but Effective

The goal was to create a minimalistic background job scheduler that could be easily run in a Docker container alongside the main web application. Written in TypeScript and Node.js, the solution is focused purely on executing periodic tasks with the least amount of code possible, while ensuring it’s flexible enough to be extended for future needs.

Unlike robust job schedulers like Bull or Agenda, my custom scheduler strips away non-essential features and focuses on what truly matters for small applications: reliability and ease of use. It supports scheduling jobs at specific intervals, retrying on failure, and executing scripts or commands as needed. By keeping the codebase concise, the scheduler can be easily maintained and quickly deployed.

Seamless Integration into Docker

The scheduler is designed to be packaged as a multi-layer Docker container. This approach allows me to include all the necessary CLI tools and backend executables in one place, ensuring that the container remains isolated but tightly integrated with the rest of the application.

This makes it an ideal sidecar container to handle tasks for a larger web application. Its small footprint ensures that it won’t introduce significant overhead, making it an excellent choice for environments where resources are limited, such as microservices architectures or smaller backend deployments.

Real-Time Observability: Telegram Bot and Email Alerts

One of the unique aspects of this project was adding easy observability and control via a Telegram bot and email notifications. While the scheduler itself is minimalistic, I wanted to ensure I had a convenient way to monitor job status and handle any failures without diving into logs or dashboards.

The Telegram bot integration allows me to start or stop jobs, check their status, and receive instant notifications when something goes wrong. This real-time control, paired with email alerts for periodic updates or error logs, ensures I stay informed even when the jobs are running in the background.

Perfect for Small-Scale Applications

This background job scheduler might not have the rich feature set of other established systems, but that’s exactly why it works so well in certain scenarios. For smaller applications or web services that don’t require a heavy-duty job queue, this solution offers a lightweight, easy-to-manage alternative. It handles the basics efficiently, making it perfect for production environments where simplicity and performance are crucial.

Final Thoughts

Creating this custom background job scheduler has been a rewarding experience. It’s not meant to replace more feature-rich systems, but rather fill the gap for projects where adding complex tooling would be overkill. With a small and concise codebase, seamless Docker integration, and real-time observability via Telegram and email, this scheduler has become an invaluable part of my workflow.

If you're working on a small backend or need a side container to handle background jobs without the complexity of larger frameworks, this custom solution might be just what you're looking for.

If you're tackling a similar challenge in your project, I highly recommend to have a try with the Background Job scheduler: https://github.com/alexpacio/background-job-scheduler