Wait Node

Pause a workflow for a fixed duration, until a specific datetime, or until an external HTTP call resumes it. Powered by Inngest durable execution — the workflow state is preserved across the wait period.

How It Works

When a Wait node is reached, the workflow is suspended and its state is saved. No compute resources are used during the wait. Execution resumes automatically when the wait condition is met.

Modes

Duration

Pause for a fixed amount of time.

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`amount`	`number`	Yes	—	Number of time units to wait
`unit`	`string`	Yes	—	seconds · minutes · hours · days · weeks

textExample — send a follow-up SMS 24 hours later

Razorpay Trigger (payment.captured)
→ MSG91 — Send SMS "Thank you for your order!"
→ Wait — Duration: 24 hours
→ MSG91 — Send SMS "How was your experience? Reply with your rating."

Until

Pause until a specific datetime.

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`datetime`	`string`	Yes	—	ISO 8601 datetime string, e.g. 2026-04-01T09:00:00+05:30
`timezone`	`string`	Yes	`Asia/Kolkata`	IANA timezone name

textExample — send flash sale notification at 9 AM IST

Schedule Trigger (daily at 8:50 AM IST)
→ Wait — Until: 2026-04-01T09:00:00+05:30
→ MSG91 — Send Bulk SMS "Flash sale starts NOW! 50% off for next 2 hours."

Webhook Resume

Pause the workflow and generate a unique URL. Resume execution by making a POST request to that URL with any payload. Use this for human approval flows, payment confirmation, or external system callbacks.

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`timeout`	`number`	No	—	Maximum time to wait in seconds before timing out
`onTimeout`	`string`	No	`continue`	"continue" — proceed after timeout \| "fail" — throw error on timeout

jsonOutput (webhook resume mode)

{
  "wait": {
    "resumeUrl": "https://app.nodebase.in/api/resume/wf_abc123",
    "waitedMs": 42000,
    "resumedBy": "webhook",
    "resumedAt": "2026-04-01T10:30:00.000Z",
    "webhookData": { "approved": true, "approvedBy": "priya@example.com" }
  }
}

textExample — human approval flow

Webhook Trigger (new refund request)
→ Slack — Send Message
    channel: #approvals
    text:    "Refund request from {{body.email}} — ₹{{body.amount}}
              Approve: POST {{wait.resumeUrl}} with {"approved": true}
              Reject:  POST {{wait.resumeUrl}} with {"approved": false}"
→ Wait — Webhook Resume (timeout: 86400, onTimeout: continue)
→ If / Else: {{wait.webhookData.approved}} is_true
  TRUE  → Razorpay — Create Refund
          → Gmail "Your refund has been approved"
  FALSE → Gmail "Your refund request was not approved"

Durable execution: The Wait node uses Inngest under the hood. Even if the server restarts, your workflow will resume exactly where it left off.

Output Variables

Variable	Type	Description	Example
`{{wait.waitedMs}}`	number	Actual milliseconds waited	86400000
`{{wait.resumedBy}}`	string	"duration" \| "until" \| "webhook" \| "timeout"	"webhook"
`{{wait.resumedAt}}`	string	ISO timestamp when execution resumed	"2026-04-01T10:30:00.000Z"
`{{wait.resumeUrl}}`	string	URL to POST to resume (webhook mode only)	"https://app.nodebase.in/api/resume/..."
`{{wait.webhookData}}`	object	Body of the POST request that resumed the workflow	{ "approved": true }

Common Issues & Solutions

Issue	Cause	Solution
Workflow never resumes after webhook	Resume URL called with GET instead of POST	The resume URL only accepts HTTP POST requests
webhookData is empty	Resume POST request had no body	Send a JSON body in the POST request to the resume URL
Workflow timed out unexpectedly	onTimeout is set to fail	Change onTimeout to "continue" to proceed after timeout instead of erroring

If / Else — branch on {{wait.webhookData}} after webhook resume
Slack — send the resume URL to a Slack approver
Gmail — email the resume URL for async approval

Loop Merge