Cron

The Cron tab manages a website’s scheduled jobs. Each job runs as the website’s own system account, so it cannot touch another website’s files.

Job list

The table lists each job with four columns:

• Runs: the schedule in readable form, with the raw cron expression when it differs.
• Command: the command that will run.
• State: On or Off.
• Actions: Pause / Resume and Delete.

Pausing keeps the job but stops it from running, which is handy for a temporary shut-off.

Adding a job

1. In Runs, pick a preset schedule (the default is 3 AM every day).
2. For a custom schedule, fill in Or a custom schedule with five fields separated by spaces: minute hour day month weekday, for example */10 8-18 * * 1-5. When this field has content, it replaces the preset on the left.
3. Enter the Command, then click Add.

Each website has a maximum number of jobs, shown next to the Add button.

Writing the command

• The command runs through /bin/sh, with the website’s home directory as the working directory.
• Use full paths, for example php8.4 /home/<website-name>/htdocs/cron.php.
• Output is discarded. To keep it, append >> ~/cron.log 2>&1 to the command.

Tip

For WordPress, disable the built-in WP_CRON and call wp-cron.php from here on a fixed schedule, so scheduled tasks do not depend on visitor traffic.