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03 / How-to · Sites · 3.5

Scheduled tasks

Add a command that runs on a schedule to a site, run it straight away and read its output.

Type
How-to guide
Needs
An administrator account, or an operator assigned to the site
Version
a7d92ba
Last verified
2026-10-10

A scheduled task is a command of the site that runs on a cron schedule. It runs as the site's user, in its folder, with the same protections as its PHP.

Add a task​

  1. Open the site, then More and Cron.
  2. Under New scheduled task, type the Schedule (cron) or pick one from Presets: Every 5 minutes, Every 15 minutes, Hourly, Daily at 3am, Sundays at 3am.
  3. In Command, type the command, for example php current/artisan schedule:run.
  4. In Description, say what it is for, if you like.
  5. Choose Add.

The task's PATH is /usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin, so php is /usr/bin/php, the server's default CLI, not necessarily the site's PHP version. If the site runs another version, write it out, for example php8.4 current/artisan schedule:run.

The command starts in the site's folder (/srv/sites/<domain>), which is also its HOME. Its output, errors included, goes to logs/cron-<id>.log in the site's folder, which keeps the last 500 lines. A scheduled run that lasts more than 6 hours is stopped together with everything it started.

On WordPress and WooCommerce sites, WordPress's own cron already runs from the system every 5 minutes: you do not need to add it.

The schedule​

Five fields separated by spaces: minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day of month (1–31), month (1–12), day of week (0–7). Each field is *, a number N, a range N-M, or a comma-separated list; * and a range take a step, as in */15 or 0-30/10.

The panel refuses names (mon, jan), shortcuts such as @daily and the N/S form. It also refuses a command that, written into the cron line, exceeds 998 bytes, and says how many bytes to cut.

Run now​

Choose Run now next to the task. The command runs once, for at most 300 seconds, and a window shows its status and output (the last 64 KiB). If the task is already running, the panel refuses to start another run.

Pause, edit, remove​

  • The Run on schedule switch pauses it: the task stays in the list but no longer runs.
  • Edit task (the pencil) opens it in the form again; choose Save.
  • Remove (the bin) deletes it, after you confirm.

With cgctl you can run a task by its number: cgctl cron run <id>.

Next step​

Delete a site when you no longer need it.

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