Stateful actors
Rivet Actors provide durable, stateful compute for Node.js or Bun backends, with state kept close to the running workload for quick reads and writes.
Rivet
ClaimRivet provides infrastructure for AI agents and stateful workloads with durable actors, agent runtime tooling, and flexible deployment on Cloud, VPC, self-hosted, or air-gapped environments.
Overview
Rivet is infrastructure for long-lived, stateful software and AI agents. The product combines Rivet Actors, which provide durable compute for applications and realtime workflows, with agentOS, a portable in-process operating system for agents.
The site presents Rivet as something you can run in Rivet Cloud, inside your own VPC, on a self-hosted deployment, or in air-gapped and on-prem environments. It is positioned for teams building agents, realtime apps, and backend systems that need durable state, scheduling, and observability.
Core capabilities
Elastic execution
Actors can run indefinitely, hibernate when idle, scale to zero, and burst to thousands of instances when traffic increases.
Workflows, queues, and realtime streaming
The platform includes built-in WebSockets, durable workflows, queues, and scheduling for multi-step and realtime systems.
Portable agent runtime
agentOS is a lightweight in-process OS for agents, built on Wasm and V8, with a stated ~6 ms cold start and 22 MB RAM footprint.
Filesystem access for tools and data
The system can mount external sources such as S3, SQLite, Google Drive, or the host filesystem as a filesystem for agents to use.
Built-in debugging and monitoring
Rivet includes observability tools such as a SQLite viewer, workflow state inspection, event monitoring, and a REPL for debugging actors and agent sessions.
Common use cases
Agent backends
Build agents that need durable memory, long-running execution, and a portable runtime that can sit inside an existing backend.
Realtime apps
Run realtime applications that rely on WebSockets, stateful sessions, and coordinated workflows without building the orchestration layer from scratch.
Durable workflows
Handle background jobs, timers, queues, and multi-step processes that must survive idling and resume cleanly later.
Private and regulated deployments
Deploy in environments with strict boundary requirements, including customer VPCs, regulated networks, or fully air-gapped infrastructure.
Custom platform integration
Connect a custom Node.js hosting platform by exposing `/api/rivet`, setting the required environment variables, and linking the app from the Rivet dashboard.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Combines durable actors and agent runtime tooling in one platform.
- Supports multiple deployment models, including managed cloud, self-hosted, VPC, and air-gapped environments.
- Includes observability tools for inspecting workflow state, events, and SQLite data.
- Documents compatibility with common Node.js and Bun stacks, plus several frameworks and runtimes.
Cons
- The source does not provide a full feature-by-feature comparison across every deployment option.
- Enterprise Edition details are described at a high level, so buyers would need to speak with sales for implementation specifics.
FAQ
What is Rivet used for?
Rivet is built for long-lived, stateful workloads and agents. The docs describe actors as long-lived processes with durable state, realtime events, and built-in hibernation, while the home page positions agentOS as a portable OS for agents.
Where can Rivet run?
The source shows several deployment paths: Rivet Cloud, your own VPC, customer environments, air-gapped networks, self-hosted infrastructure, and supported platforms such as Vercel, Railway, Kubernetes, AWS, and GCP through the custom platform flow.
Does Rivet offer both cloud and self-hosted options?
The pricing page shows Free, Hobby, Team, and Enterprise Edition options. Free and paid cloud tiers have usage limits and included allowances, while Enterprise Edition is a custom on-prem offering for running Rivet in private or regulated environments.
What is required to connect a custom hosting platform?
The custom platform docs say your app must expose a publicly accessible /api/rivet endpoint, and that you configure RIVET_ENDPOINT and RIVET_PUBLIC_ENDPOINT before connecting it from the Rivet dashboard.
Which runtimes and frameworks does Rivet support?
The documentation lists Node.js and Bun as the primary setup path, with additional options for React, Next.js, Rust beta, Effect.ts beta, Cloudflare Workers, and Supabase Functions.
Quick Facts
- Category
- Developer Tool
- Primary focus
- Infrastructure for AI agents and stateful workloads
- Deployment options
- Cloud, VPC, self-hosted, and air-gapped
- Supported stacks
- Node.js, Bun, Deno, React, Next.js, and more
- Pricing model
- Free, paid cloud tiers, usage-based billing, and custom enterprise pricing
- Website
- rivet.gg