Recurring Jobs with Solid Queue

+15 Mana ✨
Solid Queue Recurring Tasks(DOCUMENTATION)

Introduction

Solid Queue includes built-in support for recurring jobs — tasks that run on a schedule without needing additional gems.

Key Concepts

  • Recurring Task: A job executing on a cron-like schedule.
  • recurring.yml: Configuration file for scheduled job entries.
  • Cron Expression: Standard notation for execution schedules.

Real World Context

Every app needs recurring work: daily reports, hourly cleanup, weekly digests. With Solid Queue, these schedules live alongside your job configuration.

Deep Dive

Defining Recurring Jobs

yaml
# config/recurring.yml
production:
  cleanup_sessions:
    class: CleanupSessionsJob
    queue: low_priority
    schedule: "0 3 * * *"  # Daily at 3 AM

  daily_digest:
    class: DailyDigestJob
    queue: mailers
    schedule: "0 8 * * 1-5"  # Weekdays at 8 AM

  hourly_sync:
    class: SyncInventoryJob
    queue: default
    schedule: "0 * * * *"  # Every hour

Job Classes

Recurring job classes are standard Active Job classes:

ruby
class DailyDigestJob < ApplicationJob
  queue_as :mailers

  def perform
    User.subscribed_to_digest.find_each do |user|
      DigestMailer.daily(user).deliver_later
    end
  end
end

Common Pitfalls

  1. Not preventing overlap — Use limits_concurrency if jobs take longer than their interval.
  2. Forgetting environment-specific schedules — Jobs under production: won't run in development.

Best Practices

  1. Make recurring jobs fast or self-limiting — Use find_each for batching.
  2. Log completion — Recurring jobs have no caller, so logging is your visibility.

Summary

  • Solid Queue supports recurring jobs via config/recurring.yml.
  • Define schedules using cron expressions.
  • Use limits_concurrency to prevent overlapping executions.

Code Examples

yaml
# config/recurring.yml
production:
  cleanup_tokens:
    class: CleanupTokensJob
    queue: low_priority
    schedule: "0 4 * * *"
  weekly_digest:
    class: WeeklyDigestJob
    queue: mailers
    schedule: "0 9 * * 1"
✓ Completed