# Regular tasks

> Source: https://trigger.dev/docs/tasks-regular

They are defined using the `task()` function and can be [triggered](https://trigger.dev/docs/triggering)
 from your backend or inside another task. Like all tasks they don’t have timeouts, they should be placed inside a [/trigger folder](https://trigger.dev/docs/config/config-file)
, and you [can configure them](https://trigger.dev/docs/tasks/overview#defining-a-task)
.

[​](https://trigger.dev/docs/tasks-regular#example-tasks)

Example tasks
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

### 

[​](https://trigger.dev/docs/tasks-regular#a-task-that-does-an-openai-call-with-retrying)

A task that does an OpenAI call with retrying

Sometimes OpenAI calls can take a long time to complete, or they can fail. This task will retry if the API call fails completely or if the response is empty.

/trigger/openai.ts

    import { task } from "@trigger.dev/sdk";
    import OpenAI from "openai";
    
    const openai = new OpenAI({
      apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY,
    });
    
    export const openaiTask = task({
      id: "openai-task",
      //specifying retry options overrides the defaults defined in your trigger.config file
      retry: {
        maxAttempts: 10,
        factor: 1.8,
        minTimeoutInMs: 500,
        maxTimeoutInMs: 30_000,
        randomize: false,
      },
      run: async (payload: { prompt: string }) => {
        //if this fails, it will throw an error and retry
        const chatCompletion = await openai.chat.completions.create({
          messages: [{ role: "user", content: payload.prompt }],
          model: "gpt-3.5-turbo",
        });
    
        if (chatCompletion.choices[0]?.message.content === undefined) {
          //sometimes OpenAI returns an empty response, let's retry by throwing an error
          throw new Error("OpenAI call failed");
        }
    
        return chatCompletion.choices[0].message.content;
      },
    });
    

### 

[​](https://trigger.dev/docs/tasks-regular#a-task-that-sends-emails-in-a-sequence-with-delays-in-between)

A Task that sends emails in a sequence with delays in between

This example uses Resend to send a sequence of emails over several days. Each email is wrapped in `retry.onThrow`. This will retry the block of code if an error is thrown. This is useful when you don’t want to retry the whole task, but just a part of it. The entire task will use the default retrying, so can also retry. Additionally this task uses `wait.for` to wait for a certain amount of time before sending the next email. During the waiting time, the task will be paused and will not consume any resources.

/trigger/email-sequence.ts

    import { Resend } from "resend";
    
    const resend = new Resend(process.env.RESEND_ASP_KEY);
    
    export const emailSequence = task({
      id: "email-sequence",
      run: async (payload: { userId: string; email: string; name: string }) => {
        console.log(`Start email sequence for user ${payload.userId}`, payload);
    
        //send the first email immediately
        const firstEmailResult = await retry.onThrow(
          async ({ attempt }) => {
            const { data, error } = await resend.emails.send({
              from: "hello@trigger.dev",
              to: payload.email,
              subject: "Welcome to Trigger.dev",
              html: `<p>Hello ${payload.name},</p><p>Welcome to Trigger.dev</p>`,
            });
    
            if (error) {
              //throwing an error will trigger a retry of this block
              throw error;
            }
    
            return data;
          },
          { maxAttempts: 3 }
        );
    
        //then wait 3 days
        await wait.for({ days: 3 });
    
        //send the second email
        const secondEmailResult = await retry.onThrow(
          async ({ attempt }) => {
            const { data, error } = await resend.emails.send({
              from: "hello@trigger.dev",
              to: payload.email,
              subject: "Some tips for you",
              html: `<p>Hello ${payload.name},</p><p>Here are some tips for you…</p>`,
            });
    
            if (error) {
              //throwing an error will trigger a retry of this block
              throw error;
            }
    
            return data;
          },
          { maxAttempts: 3 }
        );
    
        //etc...
      },
    });
    

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