page:recipes:ai workflow runner:nestjs:persistent state

Host ai workflow runner with NestJS: Postgres-backed state

Summary

Deploy a ai workflow runner built with NestJS on Ample using the durable job state pattern. Compute runs the app in an isolated microVM behind a public HTTPS URL, a managed PostgreSQL 16 database is auto-provisioned and injected as DATABASE_URL. Verified on NestJS: a jobs table with a state and attempts counter, processing inside a row-locked transaction, and a second run that is a no-op (job=done attempts=1 idempotent=true). Not separately tested: your job types, payload schema and retry policy; treat the ai workflow runner-specific behavior as your application code.

Framework

NestJS

Workload

AI workflow runner

Release Status

Published

Support Status

Verified

Execution Status

Ready

Prerequisites

• A NestJS project that builds and starts with the documented commands (npm install, nest build (TypeScript) then node dist/main.js on the node-22 template)
• A PostgreSQL driver reading DATABASE_URL at runtime (auto-provisioned when omitted, or supplied with --env)
• An Ample account token with servers:write, databases:read

Tested Configuration

• Template: node-22
• Runtime: node
• Size: s-1vcpu-1gb
• Install: npm install
• Build: npm run build --if-present
• Start: npm run start

Workflow Steps

1. Build and start
   npm install, nest build (TypeScript) then node dist/main.js on the node-22 template. The server must bind 0.0.0.0 on PORT.

2. Implement the pattern on PostgreSQL
   The fixture's module implements durable job state: a jobs table with a state and attempts counter, processing inside a row-locked transaction, and a second run that is a no-op (job=done attempts=1 idempotent=true). Copy the approach into your schema; keep migrations idempotent and run them with --release-command.

3. Deploy
   ample deploy . --name --public
   Run the synchronous deploy once and read the result (exit 0 live, 1 failed, 2 blocked). Re-running with no change is a no-op.

4. Verify
   ample logs --kind build
   Fetch the live URL and the pattern self-test route(s) (/p/durable-job-state) from the example; then run your own checks. On failure read the logs.

Success Checks

• App responds on its public URL
  Kind: http_get Path: / Expect: ample canary nestjs patterns

• Durable-job-state self-test
  Kind: http_get Path: /p/durable-job-state Expect: job=done attempts=1 idempotent=true

Limitations

• Verified on the node-22 template at s-1vcpu-1gb with the example fixture; other sizes, templates and NestJS major versions are not verified.
• The ai workflow runner itself (your job types, payload schema and retry policy) is application code and was not separately tested; the pattern checks are what was verified.

Cost Estimate

• Currency: USD
• Monthly Amount: 10.0
• Basis: Size prices from pricing.toml (loaded by the API) at build revision 1ac5595375130d45290090e82ed0f554ccd45405-dirty
• Components:
  • App server: s-1vcpu-1gb, Quantity: 1.0, Monthly Amount: 5.0
  • Managed PostgreSQL database: s-1vcpu-1gb, Quantity: 1.0, Monthly Amount: 5.0

Evidence Summary

1. Canary Run
   Summary: NestJS pattern fixture deployed on Ample (npm install, nest build (TypeScript) then node dist/main.js on the node-22 template); checks passed for durable-job-state and configuration-secrets.
   Observed At: 2026-09-21T02:34:39Z

2. Canary Run
   Summary: The same NestJS app deployed with a --release-command migration; the marker it created was readable after activation.
   Observed At: 2026-09-20T02:16:51Z

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