The cron command-line utility is a job scheduler. cron schedules jobs (commands or shell scripts), also known as cron jobs, to run periodically at fixed times, dates, or intervals.
This tool automates system maintenance or administration, but it’s also useful for other tasks such as downloading files from the Internet and downloading email at regular intervals.
cron is suitable for scheduling repetitive tasks. Scheduling one-time tasks can be accomplished using the associated at utility. It supports access control with PAM providing the system has PAM installed.
cronie contains the standard UNIX daemon crond that runs specified programs at scheduled times and related tools. The source is based on the original vixie-cron and has security and configuration enhancements like the ability to use pam and SELinux.
This is free and open source software.
Website: github.com/cronie-crond/cronie
Support:
Developer: Marcela Mašláňová, Colin Dean, Tomáš Mráz, Marco Migliori, Sami Kerola (Originally written by Paul Vixie)
License: GNU General Public License v2.0
cronie is written in C. Learn C with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Alternatives to cron | |
|---|---|
| cronie | Modern day version of cron and associated tools |
| fcron | Designed for systems which are not continuously running or regularly |
| systemd | Suite of basic building blocks for a Linux system |
| mcron | 100% compatible replacement for Vixie cron |
| anacron | Designed for systems which are not continuously running |
| Jobber | Run commands to a schedule |
| bcron | Designed with secure operations in mind |
| Cronicle | Multi-server task scheduler and runner |
| Supercronic | Crontab-compatible job runner designed for container environments |
| runcron | Minimal cron alternative for automated and container-friendly environments |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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