# Background Workers > Run a long-lived process for queues, media processing, and asynchronous work. Source: https://nexthomelabs.com/docs/services/background-workers Slug: services/background-workers Section: Create Last updated: 2026-08-30 --- # Background Workers Choose **Background Worker** for a process that should remain running but does not serve a public HTTP application. Typical uses include queue consumers, media processing, event handlers, and continuous synchronization jobs. ## Configure the process Set the source and start command that keeps the worker running. Configure its connection strings, credentials, and queue settings as environment variables in the dashboard. A worker should handle retries and failures in its own job logic; use a [Cron Job](/docs/services/cron-jobs) instead when work is naturally scheduled and finite. ## Observe releases Use the deployment detail page to inspect source preparation, dependency installation, and startup state. If a worker exits unexpectedly, review the start command and its application output before redeploying.