DBOS

What it is for

DBOS is a Postgres-durable workflow library: you annotate functions, it checkpoints each step in your database, and Conductor lets you trace, fork, or replay a run. Use it when the job is workflows that live in Postgres you start at $0 OSS, then $99 Pro, not when you need a $20 chat seat.

What makes it unique: the cover is the official DBOS Conductor traces table (workflow / step / GET rows, status, duration bars) — not a pricing card. The table itself is ops, not a sixth product.

Key features

• Durable workflows — @DBOS.workflow() runs to completion; a crash resumes from the last finished step (workflow tutorial; pricing). One run. Steps (@DBOS.step()) are the units of this. The library install is install.
• Exactly-once transactions — a workflow commits a database transaction once and will not retry that commit (workflow tutorial Workflow Guarantees). A write, not a step retry. Steps are at-least-once; transactions are this guarantee.
• Queues — enqueue many workflows and cap concurrency / flow control (workflow tutorial; Durable Queues). A line, not a single run. Debounce is a mode of this.
• Durable sleep — DBOS.sleep() stores the wake time in Postgres so a workflow can pause for days (workflow tutorial). A clock, not a queue slot. Timeouts (SetWorkflowTimeout) are next to this.
• Fork + versioning — Conductor forks a run from a step and versions the code so you replay with a fix (pricing Conductor). A branch, not a trace row. Distributed recovery is SKU of this.

The traces table (cover) is ops. The CLI is install. MCP Server is Pro tooling. Checkpoints (workflows + steps + transactions) are the meter. Self-hosted Conductor is Enterprise SKU. DBOS Cloud (serverless hosting) is a separate product.

Who it's for

Best fit: backend teams who will stay on OSS Transact $0 (bring your own Postgres) while they annotate a first workflow, then buy Pro at $99/month when they want Conductor for 3 apps and 1M checkpoints.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-22 (Asia/Shanghai) from dbos.dev/pricing. Conductor is checkpoints. The Transact library is open source.

• Open source (Transact) — $0. TypeScript, Python, Go, Java (Rust library in preview). Run on any Linux / macOS / Windows. You own the Postgres. No Conductor console until a paid plan.
• Pro — $99/month. 2 seats. 3 apps. 1M checkpoints/mo then $50/million. Conductor: live console, traces, distributed recovery, versioning, forking, BYO database, unlimited workers / throughput, MCP server, configurable retention. Community Discord.
• Teams — $499/month. 10 seats. 10 apps then $50/app. 10M checkpoints then $40/million (quantity discounts). Custom alerting, RBAC, OpenMetrics, metadata-only mode, SOC 2 & HIPAA. Dedicated Slack, priority email, 2-day SLA, architecture help.
• Enterprise — custom. SSO/SAML, self-hosted / air-gapped Conductor, quantity discounts, same-day SLA, onboarding, security questionnaires.
• Overage policy — exceeding checkpoints does not stop the app; they email you to cut usage or raise the limit.
• DBOS Cloud — separate serverless host for Transact apps (auto-scale, recovery). Talk to sales; not inside $99.

Confirm checkout; taxes follow your location.

Limitations / costs

• OSS has no Conductor. Traces, fork, and versioning start at Pro $99.
• A checkpoint is a workflow, a step, or a transaction. A chatty agent burns the 1M envelope faster than a two-step job.
• Postgres-durable workflows, not an event bus. For event-wrapped step.run() see Inngest. For a million-run task queue see Hatchet.

Alternatives

• Inngest — event-wrapped durable functions with a $0 / $99 / $499 Cloud ladder.
• Hatchet — a worker task queue billed $30/million runs after a free million.
• Trigger.dev — durable TypeScript tasks metered in credits when you do not want checkpoints in Postgres.

Official tutorial

Official DBOS-Inc channel video: The First 5 Minutes with DBOS (oEmbed author: DBOS-Inc). First-party five-minute start.

Written path: dbos.dev/pricing plus the Conductor traces screenshot.

Website

https://www.dbos.dev

Repository

https://github.com/dbos-inc/dbos-transact-ts

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is the official DBOS Conductor traces table. Dollars checked on dbos.dev/pricing (OSS $0; Pro $99 / 1M checkpoints; Teams $499 / 10M). Tutorial oEmbed author: DBOS-Inc.

Last verified

2026-10-22 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.