diff --git a/inc/TaskRunner.php b/inc/TaskRunner.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..813d85b8395ce7ac46f7ad8c52a7e9d0ac043756
--- /dev/null
+++ b/inc/TaskRunner.php
@@ -0,0 +1,239 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace dokuwiki;
+
+use Doku_Event;
+use Sitemapper;
+use Subscription;
+
+/**
+ * Class TaskRunner
+ *
+ * Run an asynchronous task.
+ */
+class TaskRunner
+{
+    /**
+     * Run the next task
+     *
+     * @todo refactor to remove dependencies on globals
+     * @triggers INDEXER_TASKS_RUN
+     */
+    public function run()
+    {
+        global $INPUT, $conf, $ID;
+
+        // keep running after browser closes connection
+        @ignore_user_abort(true);
+
+        // check if user abort worked, if yes send output early
+        $defer = !@ignore_user_abort() || $conf['broken_iua'];
+        $output = $INPUT->has('debug') && $conf['allowdebug'];
+        if(!$defer && !$output){
+            $this->sendGIF();
+        }
+
+        $ID = cleanID($INPUT->str('id'));
+
+        // Catch any possible output (e.g. errors)
+        if(!$output) {
+            ob_start();
+        } else {
+            header('Content-Type: text/plain');
+        }
+
+        // run one of the jobs
+        $tmp = []; // No event data
+        $evt = new Doku_Event('INDEXER_TASKS_RUN', $tmp);
+        if ($evt->advise_before()) {
+            $this->runIndexer() or
+            $this->runSitemapper() or
+            $this->sendDigest() or
+            $this->runTrimRecentChanges() or
+            $this->runTrimRecentChanges(true) or
+            $evt->advise_after();
+        }
+
+        if(!$output) {
+            ob_end_clean();
+            if($defer) {
+                $this->sendGIF();
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Just send a 1x1 pixel blank gif to the browser
+     *
+     * @author Andreas Gohr <andi@splitbrain.org>
+     * @author Harry Fuecks <fuecks@gmail.com>
+     */
+    protected function sendGIF()
+    {
+        $img = base64_decode('R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBTAA7');
+        header('Content-Type: image/gif');
+        header('Content-Length: '.strlen($img));
+        header('Connection: Close');
+        print $img;
+        tpl_flush();
+        // Browser should drop connection after this
+        // Thinks it's got the whole image
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Trims the recent changes cache (or imports the old changelog) as needed.
+     *
+     * @param bool $media_changes   If the media changelog shall be trimmed instead of
+     *                              the page changelog
+     *
+     * @return bool
+     * @triggers TASK_RECENTCHANGES_TRIM
+     * @author Ben Coburn <btcoburn@silicodon.net>
+     */
+    protected function runTrimRecentChanges($media_changes = false)
+    {
+        global $conf;
+
+        echo "runTrimRecentChanges($media_changes): started" . NL;
+
+        $fn = ($media_changes ? $conf['media_changelog'] : $conf['changelog']);
+
+        // Trim the Recent Changes
+        // Trims the recent changes cache to the last $conf['changes_days'] recent
+        // changes or $conf['recent'] items, which ever is larger.
+        // The trimming is only done once a day.
+        if (file_exists($fn) &&
+            (@filemtime($fn . '.trimmed') + 86400) < time() &&
+            !file_exists($fn . '_tmp')) {
+            @touch($fn . '.trimmed');
+            io_lock($fn);
+            $lines = file($fn);
+            if (count($lines) <= $conf['recent']) {
+                // nothing to trim
+                io_unlock($fn);
+                echo "runTrimRecentChanges($media_changes): finished" . NL;
+                return false;
+            }
+
+            io_saveFile($fn . '_tmp', '');          // presave tmp as 2nd lock
+            $trim_time = time() - $conf['recent_days'] * 86400;
+            $out_lines = [];
+            $old_lines = [];
+            for ($i = 0; $i < count($lines); $i++) {
+                $log = parseChangelogLine($lines[$i]);
+                if ($log === false) {
+                    continue;
+                }                      // discard junk
+                if ($log['date'] < $trim_time) {
+                    $old_lines[$log['date'] . ".$i"] = $lines[$i];     // keep old lines for now (append .$i to prevent key collisions)
+                } else {
+                    $out_lines[$log['date'] . ".$i"] = $lines[$i];     // definitely keep these lines
+                }
+            }
+
+            if (count($lines) == count($out_lines)) {
+                // nothing to trim
+                @unlink($fn . '_tmp');
+                io_unlock($fn);
+                echo "runTrimRecentChanges($media_changes): finished" . NL;
+                return false;
+            }
+
+            // sort the final result, it shouldn't be necessary,
+            //   however the extra robustness in making the changelog cache self-correcting is worth it
+            ksort($out_lines);
+            $extra = $conf['recent'] - count($out_lines);        // do we need extra lines do bring us up to minimum
+            if ($extra > 0) {
+                ksort($old_lines);
+                $out_lines = array_merge(array_slice($old_lines, -$extra), $out_lines);
+            }
+
+            $eventData = [
+                'isMedia' => $media_changes,
+                'trimmedChangelogLines' => $out_lines,
+                'removedChangelogLines' => $extra > 0 ? array_slice($old_lines, 0, -$extra) : $old_lines,
+            ];
+            trigger_event('TASK_RECENTCHANGES_TRIM', $eventData);
+            $out_lines = $eventData['trimmedChangelogLines'];
+
+            // save trimmed changelog
+            io_saveFile($fn . '_tmp', implode('', $out_lines));
+            @unlink($fn);
+            if (!rename($fn . '_tmp', $fn)) {
+                // rename failed so try another way...
+                io_unlock($fn);
+                io_saveFile($fn, implode('', $out_lines));
+                @unlink($fn . '_tmp');
+            } else {
+                io_unlock($fn);
+            }
+            echo "runTrimRecentChanges($media_changes): finished" . NL;
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        // nothing done
+        echo "runTrimRecentChanges($media_changes): finished" . NL;
+        return false;
+    }
+
+
+    /**
+     * Runs the indexer for the current page
+     *
+     * @author Andreas Gohr <andi@splitbrain.org>
+     */
+    protected function runIndexer()
+    {
+        global $ID;
+        global $conf;
+        print 'runIndexer(): started' . NL;
+
+        if (!$ID) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        // do the work
+        return idx_addPage($ID, true);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Builds a Google Sitemap of all public pages known to the indexer
+     *
+     * The map is placed in the root directory named sitemap.xml.gz - This
+     * file needs to be writable!
+     *
+     * @author Andreas Gohr
+     * @link   https://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/docs/en/about.html
+     */
+    protected function runSitemapper()
+    {
+        print 'runSitemapper(): started' . NL;
+        $result = Sitemapper::generate() && Sitemapper::pingSearchEngines();
+        print 'runSitemapper(): finished' . NL;
+        return $result;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Send digest and list mails for all subscriptions which are in effect for the
+     * current page
+     *
+     * @author Adrian Lang <lang@cosmocode.de>
+     */
+    protected function sendDigest()
+    {
+        global $conf;
+        global $ID;
+
+        echo 'sendDigest(): started' . NL;
+        if (!actionOK('subscribe')) {
+            echo 'sendDigest(): disabled' . NL;
+            return false;
+        }
+        $sub = new Subscription();
+        $sent = $sub->send_bulk($ID);
+
+        echo "sendDigest(): sent $sent mails" . NL;
+        echo 'sendDigest(): finished' . NL;
+        return (bool)$sent;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/inc/template.php b/inc/template.php
index b4acae1ba34e0b3896ac482efd9f9c1265f06d67..03c7bf96fe951720f0d7541eaa1576a446524d56 100644
--- a/inc/template.php
+++ b/inc/template.php
@@ -1169,7 +1169,7 @@ function tpl_indexerWebBug() {
     global $ID;
 
     $p           = array();
-    $p['src']    = DOKU_BASE.'lib/exe/indexer.php?id='.rawurlencode($ID).
+    $p['src']    = DOKU_BASE.'lib/exe/taskrunner.php?id='.rawurlencode($ID).
         '&'.time();
     $p['width']  = 2; //no more 1x1 px image because we live in times of ad blockers...
     $p['height'] = 1;
diff --git a/lib/exe/indexer.php b/lib/exe/indexer.php
deleted file mode 100644
index 4f60f1666ffe386903109715fdf0e6b9409556d5..0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
--- a/lib/exe/indexer.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,209 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-/**
- * DokuWiki indexer
- *
- * @license    GPL 2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html)
- * @author     Andreas Gohr <andi@splitbrain.org>
- */
-if(!defined('DOKU_INC')) define('DOKU_INC',dirname(__FILE__).'/../../');
-define('DOKU_DISABLE_GZIP_OUTPUT',1);
-require_once(DOKU_INC.'inc/init.php');
-session_write_close();  //close session
-if(!defined('NL')) define('NL',"\n");
-
-// keep running after browser closes connection
-@ignore_user_abort(true);
-
-// check if user abort worked, if yes send output early
-$defer = !@ignore_user_abort() || $conf['broken_iua'];
-$output = $INPUT->has('debug') && $conf['allowdebug'];
-if(!$defer && !$output){
-    sendGIF(); // send gif
-}
-
-$ID = cleanID($INPUT->str('id'));
-
-// Catch any possible output (e.g. errors)
-if(!$output) ob_start();
-else header('Content-Type: text/plain');
-
-// run one of the jobs
-$tmp = array(); // No event data
-$evt = new Doku_Event('INDEXER_TASKS_RUN', $tmp);
-if ($evt->advise_before()) {
-    runIndexer() or
-    runSitemapper() or
-    sendDigest() or
-    runTrimRecentChanges() or
-    runTrimRecentChanges(true) or
-    $evt->advise_after();
-}
-
-if(!$output) {
-    ob_end_clean();
-    if($defer) sendGIF();
-}
-
-exit;
-
-// --------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-/**
- * Trims the recent changes cache (or imports the old changelog) as needed.
- *
- * @param bool $media_changes If the media changelog shall be trimmed instead of
- *                              the page changelog
- * @return bool
- *
- * @author Ben Coburn <btcoburn@silicodon.net>
- */
-function runTrimRecentChanges($media_changes = false) {
-    global $conf;
-
-    echo "runTrimRecentChanges($media_changes): started".NL;
-
-    $fn = ($media_changes ? $conf['media_changelog'] : $conf['changelog']);
-
-    // Trim the Recent Changes
-    // Trims the recent changes cache to the last $conf['changes_days'] recent
-    // changes or $conf['recent'] items, which ever is larger.
-    // The trimming is only done once a day.
-    if (file_exists($fn) &&
-        (@filemtime($fn.'.trimmed')+86400)<time() &&
-        !file_exists($fn.'_tmp')) {
-            @touch($fn.'.trimmed');
-            io_lock($fn);
-            $lines = file($fn);
-            if (count($lines)<=$conf['recent']) {
-                // nothing to trim
-                io_unlock($fn);
-                echo "runTrimRecentChanges($media_changes): finished".NL;
-                return false;
-            }
-
-            io_saveFile($fn.'_tmp', '');          // presave tmp as 2nd lock
-            $trim_time = time() - $conf['recent_days']*86400;
-            $out_lines = array();
-            $old_lines = array();
-            for ($i=0; $i<count($lines); $i++) {
-                $log = parseChangelogLine($lines[$i]);
-                if ($log === false) continue;                      // discard junk
-                if ($log['date'] < $trim_time) {
-                    $old_lines[$log['date'].".$i"] = $lines[$i];     // keep old lines for now (append .$i to prevent key collisions)
-                } else {
-                    $out_lines[$log['date'].".$i"] = $lines[$i];     // definitely keep these lines
-                }
-            }
-
-            if (count($lines)==count($out_lines)) {
-              // nothing to trim
-              @unlink($fn.'_tmp');
-              io_unlock($fn);
-              echo "runTrimRecentChanges($media_changes): finished".NL;
-              return false;
-            }
-
-            // sort the final result, it shouldn't be necessary,
-            //   however the extra robustness in making the changelog cache self-correcting is worth it
-            ksort($out_lines);
-            $extra = $conf['recent'] - count($out_lines);        // do we need extra lines do bring us up to minimum
-            if ($extra > 0) {
-              ksort($old_lines);
-              $out_lines = array_merge(array_slice($old_lines,-$extra),$out_lines);
-            }
-
-            // save trimmed changelog
-            io_saveFile($fn.'_tmp', implode('', $out_lines));
-            @unlink($fn);
-            if (!rename($fn.'_tmp', $fn)) {
-                // rename failed so try another way...
-                io_unlock($fn);
-                io_saveFile($fn, implode('', $out_lines));
-                @unlink($fn.'_tmp');
-            } else {
-                io_unlock($fn);
-            }
-            echo "runTrimRecentChanges($media_changes): finished".NL;
-            return true;
-    }
-
-    // nothing done
-    echo "runTrimRecentChanges($media_changes): finished".NL;
-    return false;
-}
-
-/**
- * Runs the indexer for the current page
- *
- * @author Andreas Gohr <andi@splitbrain.org>
- */
-function runIndexer(){
-    global $ID;
-    global $conf;
-    print "runIndexer(): started".NL;
-
-    if(!$ID) return false;
-
-    // do the work
-    return idx_addPage($ID, true);
-}
-
-/**
- * Builds a Google Sitemap of all public pages known to the indexer
- *
- * The map is placed in the root directory named sitemap.xml.gz - This
- * file needs to be writable!
- *
- * @author Andreas Gohr
- * @link   https://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/docs/en/about.html
- */
-function runSitemapper(){
-    print "runSitemapper(): started".NL;
-    $result = Sitemapper::generate() && Sitemapper::pingSearchEngines();
-    print 'runSitemapper(): finished'.NL;
-    return $result;
-}
-
-/**
- * Send digest and list mails for all subscriptions which are in effect for the
- * current page
- *
- * @author Adrian Lang <lang@cosmocode.de>
- */
-function sendDigest() {
-    global $conf;
-    global $ID;
-
-    echo 'sendDigest(): started'.NL;
-    if(!actionOK('subscribe')) {
-        echo 'sendDigest(): disabled'.NL;
-        return false;
-    }
-    $sub = new Subscription();
-    $sent = $sub->send_bulk($ID);
-
-    echo "sendDigest(): sent $sent mails".NL;
-    echo 'sendDigest(): finished'.NL;
-    return (bool) $sent;
-}
-
-/**
- * Just send a 1x1 pixel blank gif to the browser
- *
- * @author Andreas Gohr <andi@splitbrain.org>
- * @author Harry Fuecks <fuecks@gmail.com>
- */
-function sendGIF(){
-    $img = base64_decode('R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBTAA7');
-    header('Content-Type: image/gif');
-    header('Content-Length: '.strlen($img));
-    header('Connection: Close');
-    print $img;
-    tpl_flush();
-    // Browser should drop connection after this
-    // Thinks it's got the whole image
-}
-
-//Setup VIM: ex: et ts=4 :
-// No trailing PHP closing tag - no output please!
-// See Note at http://php.net/manual/en/language.basic-syntax.instruction-separation.php
diff --git a/lib/exe/taskrunner.php b/lib/exe/taskrunner.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..69ab4451a11f800d3efa1b71f8e5e5072d12c2c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/exe/taskrunner.php
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * DokuWiki indexer
+ *
+ * @license    GPL 2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html)
+ * @author     Andreas Gohr <andi@splitbrain.org>
+ */
+if (!defined('DOKU_INC')) {
+    define('DOKU_INC', __DIR__ . '/../../');
+}
+define('DOKU_DISABLE_GZIP_OUTPUT',1);
+require_once DOKU_INC.'inc/init.php';
+session_write_close();  //close session
+
+$taskRunner = new \dokuwiki\TaskRunner();
+$taskRunner->run();