---
title: Use Message Queues for Background Jobs
impact: MEDIUM-HIGH
impactDescription: Queues enable reliable background processing
tags: microservices, queues, bullmq, background-jobs
---

## Use Message Queues for Background Jobs

Use `@nestjs/bullmq` for background job processing. Queues decouple long-running tasks from HTTP requests, enable retry logic, and distribute workload across workers. Use them for emails, file processing, notifications, and any task that shouldn't block user requests.

**Incorrect (long-running tasks in HTTP handlers):**

```typescript
// Long-running tasks in HTTP handlers
@Controller('reports')
export class ReportsController {
  @Post()
  async generate(@Body() dto: GenerateReportDto): Promise<Report> {
    // This blocks the request for potentially minutes
    const data = await this.fetchLargeDataset(dto);
    const report = await this.processData(data); // Slow!
    await this.sendEmail(dto.email, report); // Can fail!
    return report; // Client times out
  }
}

// Fire-and-forget without retry
@Injectable()
export class EmailService {
  async sendWelcome(email: string): Promise<void> {
    // If this fails, email is never sent
    await this.mailer.send({ to: email, template: 'welcome' });
    // No retry, no tracking, no visibility
  }
}

// Use setInterval for scheduled tasks
setInterval(async () => {
  await cleanupOldRecords();
}, 60000); // No error handling, memory leaks
```

**Correct (use BullMQ for background processing):**

```typescript
// Configure BullMQ
import { BullModule } from '@nestjs/bullmq';

@Module({
  imports: [
    BullModule.forRoot({
      connection: {
        host: 'localhost',
        port: 6379,
      },
      defaultJobOptions: {
        removeOnComplete: 1000,
        removeOnFail: 5000,
        attempts: 3,
        backoff: {
          type: 'exponential',
          delay: 1000,
        },
      },
    }),
    BullModule.registerQueue({ name: 'email' }, { name: 'reports' }, { name: 'notifications' }),
  ],
})
export class QueueModule {}

// Producer: Add jobs to queue
@Injectable()
export class ReportsService {
  constructor(@InjectQueue('reports') private reportsQueue: Queue) {}

  async requestReport(dto: GenerateReportDto): Promise<{ jobId: string }> {
    // Return immediately, process in background
    const job = await this.reportsQueue.add('generate', dto, {
      priority: dto.urgent ? 1 : 10,
      delay: dto.scheduledFor ? Date.parse(dto.scheduledFor) - Date.now() : 0,
    });

    return { jobId: job.id };
  }

  async getJobStatus(jobId: string): Promise<JobStatus> {
    const job = await this.reportsQueue.getJob(jobId);
    return {
      status: await job.getState(),
      progress: job.progress,
      result: job.returnvalue,
    };
  }
}

// Consumer: Process jobs
@Processor('reports')
export class ReportsProcessor {
  private readonly logger = new Logger(ReportsProcessor.name);

  @Process('generate')
  async generateReport(job: Job<GenerateReportDto>): Promise<Report> {
    this.logger.log(`Processing report job ${job.id}`);

    // Update progress
    await job.updateProgress(10);

    const data = await this.fetchData(job.data);
    await job.updateProgress(50);

    const report = await this.processData(data);
    await job.updateProgress(90);

    await this.saveReport(report);
    await job.updateProgress(100);

    return report;
  }

  @OnQueueActive()
  onActive(job: Job) {
    this.logger.log(`Processing job ${job.id}`);
  }

  @OnQueueCompleted()
  onCompleted(job: Job, result: any) {
    this.logger.log(`Job ${job.id} completed`);
  }

  @OnQueueFailed()
  onFailed(job: Job, error: Error) {
    this.logger.error(`Job ${job.id} failed: ${error.message}`);
  }
}

// Email queue with retry
@Processor('email')
export class EmailProcessor {
  @Process('send')
  async sendEmail(job: Job<SendEmailDto>): Promise<void> {
    const { to, template, data } = job.data;

    try {
      await this.mailer.send({
        to,
        template,
        context: data,
      });
    } catch (error) {
      // BullMQ will retry based on job options
      throw error;
    }
  }
}

// Usage
@Injectable()
export class NotificationService {
  constructor(@InjectQueue('email') private emailQueue: Queue) {}

  async sendWelcome(user: User): Promise<void> {
    await this.emailQueue.add(
      'send',
      {
        to: user.email,
        template: 'welcome',
        data: { name: user.name },
      },
      {
        attempts: 5,
        backoff: { type: 'exponential', delay: 5000 },
      }
    );
  }
}

// Scheduled jobs
@Injectable()
export class ScheduledJobsService implements OnModuleInit {
  constructor(@InjectQueue('maintenance') private queue: Queue) {}

  async onModuleInit(): Promise<void> {
    // Clean up old reports daily at midnight
    await this.queue.add(
      'cleanup',
      {},
      {
        repeat: { cron: '0 0 * * *' },
        jobId: 'daily-cleanup', // Prevent duplicates
      }
    );

    // Send digest every hour
    await this.queue.add(
      'digest',
      {},
      {
        repeat: { every: 60 * 60 * 1000 },
        jobId: 'hourly-digest',
      }
    );
  }
}

@Processor('maintenance')
export class MaintenanceProcessor {
  @Process('cleanup')
  async cleanup(): Promise<void> {
    await this.cleanupOldReports();
    await this.cleanupExpiredSessions();
  }

  @Process('digest')
  async sendDigest(): Promise<void> {
    const users = await this.getUsersForDigest();
    for (const user of users) {
      await this.emailQueue.add('send', { to: user.email, template: 'digest' });
    }
  }
}

// Queue monitoring with Bull Board
import { BullBoardModule } from '@bull-board/nestjs';
import { BullMQAdapter } from '@bull-board/api/bullMQAdapter';

@Module({
  imports: [
    BullBoardModule.forRoot({
      route: '/admin/queues',
      adapter: ExpressAdapter,
    }),
    BullBoardModule.forFeature({
      name: 'email',
      adapter: BullMQAdapter,
    }),
    BullBoardModule.forFeature({
      name: 'reports',
      adapter: BullMQAdapter,
    }),
  ],
})
export class AdminModule {}
```

Reference: [NestJS Queues](https://docs.nestjs.com/techniques/queues)
