How to set up CRON tasks on cPanel

Estimated time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Intermediate ⭐⭐
Prerequisites: Access to cPanel, basic command line knowledge

📋 Introduction

CRON tasks (or Cron Jobs) allow you to automate the execution of scripts and commands at regular intervals on your server. It is a powerful tool to automate repetitive tasks without manual intervention.

Common use cases

Task	Typical Frequency
🔄 Automatic backups	Daily or weekly
📧 Newsletter sending	Weekly
🗑️ Temporary files cleanup	Daily
📊 Reports generation	Daily or monthly
🔔 WordPress WP-Cron	Every 15-30 minutes
💾 Data synchronization	Every hour
📬 Email checking	Every 5 minutes
🛒 Stock updates (e-commerce)	Every hour

🔢 Understanding CRON Syntax

Structure of a CRON expression

A CRON task is defined by 5 time fields + the command to execute:

*    *    *    *    *    command to execute
│    │    │    │    │
│    │    │    │    └─── Day of the week (0-7) (0 and 7 = Sunday)
│    │    │    └──────── Month (1-12)
│    │    └───────────── Day of the month (1-31)
│    └────────────────── Hour (0-23)
└─────────────────────── Minute (0-59)

Possible values

Field	Values	Special characters
Minute	0-59	* , - /
Hour	0-23	* , - /
Day of the month	1-31	* , - /
Month	1-12 or jan-dec	* , - /
Day of the week	0-7 or sun-sat	* , - /

Special characters

Character	Meaning	Example
`*`	All values	`* * * * *` = every minute
`,`	List of values	`1,15,30` = at minutes 1, 15, and 30
`-`	Range of values	`1-5` = from 1 to 5
`/`	Interval	`*/15` = every 15 units

Examples of CRON expressions

Expression	Meaning
`* * * * *`	Every minute
`/5 * * *`	Every 5 minutes
`/15 * * *`	Every 15 minutes
`0 * * * *`	Every hour (at minute 0)
`0 /2 * *`	Every 2 hours
`0 0 * * *`	Every day at midnight
`0 2 * * *`	Every day at 2 AM
`30 4 * * *`	Every day at 4:30 AM
`0 0 * * 0`	Every Sunday at midnight
`0 0 * * 1-5`	From Monday to Friday at midnight
`0 0 1 * *`	The 1st of each month at midnight
`0 0 1 1 *`	January 1st at midnight
`0 8,12,18 * * *`	At 8 AM, 12 PM, and 6 PM every day
`0 9-17 * * 1-5`	From 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday to Friday

⚙️ Creating a CRON Task on cPanel

Step 1: Accessing CRON tasks

Log in to cPanel
In the Advanced section, click on Cron Jobs

Step 2: Configuring email notifications

Before creating tasks, configure the email address to receive the results:

In the Email Cron section, enter your email address
Click on Update Email

💡 Tip: To disable notifications for a specific task, add >/dev/null 2>&1 at the end of the command.

Step 3: Adding a new CRON task

Scroll down to the Add New Cron Job section
Common settings: Use the dropdown menu to select a predefined interval

Option	Generated Expression
Once per minute	`* * * * *`
Every 5 minutes	`/5 * * *`
Twice per hour	`0,30 * * * *`
Once per hour	`0 * * * *`
Twice per day	`0 0,12 * * *`
Once per day	`0 0 * * *`
Once per week	`0 0 * * 0`
Once per month	`0 0 1 * *`

Step 4: Customizing the interval (optional)

If the predefined options are not suitable, manually fill in the fields:

Minute: 0-59 or *
Hour: 0-23 or *
Day: 1-31 or *
Month: 1-12 or *
Day of the week: 0-7 or *

Step 5: Entering the command

In the Command field, enter the complete command with the absolute path.

Examples of commands:

# Run a PHP script
/usr/local/bin/php /home/username/public_html/script.php

# Run with wget (call a URL)
/usr/bin/wget -q -O /dev/null https://mysite.com/cron.php

# Run with curl
/usr/bin/curl -s https://mysite.com/cron.php > /dev/null 2>&1

# Delete files older than 7 days
/usr/bin/find /home/username/public_html/tmp -type f -mtime +7 -delete

Step 6: Save

Click on Add New Cron Job

The task will appear in the list of Current Cron Jobs.

📝 Common CRON Commands

Run a PHP script

/usr/local/bin/php /home/username/public_html/my-script.php

💡 The path to PHP may vary. Common paths:

/usr/local/bin/php

/usr/bin/php

/usr/local/bin/ea-php81 (for a specific version)

Calling a URL with wget

/usr/bin/wget -q -O /dev/null https://mysite.com/cron.php

Option	Meaning
`-q`	Silent mode
`-O /dev/null`	Do not save the output

Calling a URL with curl

/usr/bin/curl -s https://mysite.com/cron.php > /dev/null 2>&1

Option	Meaning
`-s`	Silent mode
`> /dev/null 2>&1`	Redirect all output to null

Remove temporary files

# Remove .tmp files older than 24 hours
/usr/bin/find /home/username/public_html/cache -name "*.tmp" -mtime +1 -delete

# Remove files older than 7 days in a directory
/usr/bin/find /home/username/logs -type f -mtime +7 -delete

Backup a database

/usr/bin/mysqldump -u db_user -p'password' db_name > /home/username/backups/backup_$(date +\%Y\%m\%d).sql

⚠️ Security: Avoid storing passwords in plain text. Use a secure .my.cnf file.

Compress files

/usr/bin/tar -czf /home/username/backups/site_$(date +\%Y\%m\%d).tar.gz /home/username/public_html

🔵 CRON Tasks for WordPress

Issue with WP-Cron

WordPress uses a "pseudo-cron" system called WP-Cron that runs on every page load. On low-traffic sites, scheduled tasks can be delayed.

Solution: Disable WP-Cron and use a real system CRON.

Step 1: Disable WP-Cron

Edit the wp-config.php file and add this line before /* That's all, stop editing! */:

define('DISABLE_WP_CRON', true);

Step 2: Create a system CRON task

Option A: Using wget

/usr/bin/wget -q -O /dev/null https://mysite.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron > /dev/null 2>&1

Option B: Using curl

/usr/bin/curl -s https://mysite.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron > /dev/null 2>&1

Option C: Using PHP directly

/usr/local/bin/php /home/username/public_html/wp-cron.php > /dev/null 2>&1

Recommended Frequency for WordPress

Site Type	Frequency
Personal Blog	Every hour (`0 * * * *`)
Showcase Site	Every 30 minutes (`/30 * * *`)
WooCommerce E-commerce	Every 15 minutes (`/15 * * *`)
High-Traffic Site	Every 5 minutes (`/5 * * *`)

Complete WordPress Configuration

Interval	Command
`/15 * * *`	`/usr/bin/wget -q -O /dev/null https://mysite.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron > /dev/null 2>&1`

📋 Practical Examples

Example 1: Daily Backup at 3 AM

Field	Value
Minute	`0`
Hour	`3`
Day	`*`
Month	`*`
Weekday	`*`
Command	`/usr/local/bin/php /home/username/public_html/backup.php > /dev/null 2>&1`

Full Expression: 0 3 * * *

Example 2: Cache Cleanup Every 6 Hours

Field	Value
Minute	`0`
Hour	`*/6`
Day	`*`
Month	`*`
Weekday	`*`
Command	`/usr/local/bin/php /home/username/public_html/clear_cache.php`

Full Expression: 0 */6 * * *

Example 3: Weekly Report on Mondays at 9 AM

Field	Value
Minute	`0`
Hour	`9`
Day	`*`
Month	`*`
Weekday	`1`
Command	`/usr/local/bin/php /home/username/public_html/weekly_report.php`

Full Expression: 0 9 * * 1

Example 4: Price Updates Every Hour (E-commerce)

Field	Value
Minute	`0`
Hour	`*`
Day	`*`
Month	`*`
Weekday	`*`
Command	`/usr/bin/curl -s https://mysite.com/update-prices.php > /dev/null 2>&1`

Full Expression: 0 * * * *

Example 5: Delete Expired Sessions Daily

Field	Value
Minute	`30`
Hour	`2`
Day	`*`
Month	`*`
Weekday	`*`
Command	`/usr/bin/find /home/username/tmp/sessions -type f -mtime +1 -delete`

Full Expression: 30 2 * * *

✏️ Modify or Delete a CRON Task

Modify a task

In the Current Cron Jobs section, find the task to modify
Click on Edit
Make your changes
Click on Edit Line

Delete a task

In the Current Cron Jobs section, find the task to delete
Click on Delete
Confirm the deletion

🔧 Troubleshooting

CRON Task Not Running

❌ Possible Cause	✅ Solution
Incorrect path to PHP	Check with `which php` in SSH

Incorrect path to script Use the full absolute path Insufficient permissions Check script permissions (755) Syntax error in script Test the script manually Incorrect CRON expression Check on crontab.guru

Find the path to PHP

which php

Typical result: /usr/local/bin/php

For a specific version:

which ea-php81

Manually test a command

Before creating the CRON task, test the command in SSH:

/usr/local/bin/php /home/username/public_html/my-script.php

If the script works manually, it should work in CRON.

Receive error notifications

To debug, temporarily remove > /dev/null 2>&1 from the command.

You will then receive errors by email.

Common errors

"No such file or directory"

/bin/sh: /home/username/public_html/script.php: No such file or directory

Solution: Check that the path is correct and the file exists.

"Permission denied"

/bin/sh: /home/username/public_html/script.php: Permission denied

Solution: Make the script executable:

chmod 755 /home/username/public_html/script.php

Or explicitly use the PHP interpreter:

/usr/local/bin/php /home/username/public_html/script.php

"Command not found"

/bin/sh: php: command not found

Solution: Use the full path to PHP (/usr/local/bin/php).

Check CRON logs

CRON logs are usually in /var/log/cron (root access required).

On shared hosting, use email notifications for debugging.

⚠️ Best Practices

Task Frequency

⚠️ Avoid	✅ Recommended
`* * * * *` (every minute) without reason	Minimum 5-15 minutes between executions
Multiple heavy tasks at the same time	Stagger tasks over time
Unnecessary tasks	Delete obsolete tasks

⚠️ Shared hosting: Most hosts limit CRON to a minimum of 5-15 minutes.

Security

Practice	Recommendation
Passwords	Do not include in clear text in commands
Sensitive scripts	Place outside `public_html`
Logs	Regularly monitor executions
Permissions	Limit script permissions

Optimization

# Best practice: use nice to limit priority
nice -n 15 /usr/local/bin/php /home/username/public_html/script.php

# Best practice: redirect output to avoid emails
/usr/local/bin/php /home/username/script.php > /dev/null 2>&1

# Best practice: log to a file for debugging
/usr/local/bin/php /home/username/script.php >> /home/username/logs/cron.log 2>&1

📊 Useful Tools

CRON Expression Generators

Tool	URL
Crontab Guru	crontab.guru
Cron Maker	cronmaker.com
Crontab Generator	crontab-generator.org

Test a CRON Expression

On crontab.guru, enter your expression to see when it will run:

*/15 * * * *

Result: "At every 15th minute" Next executions: 00:00, 00:15, 00:30, 00:45, 01:00...

📝 Summary

SET UP A CRON TASK:

1. cPanel → Advanced → Cron Jobs
2. Configure notification email (optional)
3. Select interval (dropdown menu or custom)
4. Enter command with absolute path
5. Click "Add New Cron Job"

CRON SYNTAX:
┌─────────── Minute (0-59)
│ ┌───────── Hour (0-23)
│ │ ┌─────── Day of the month (1-31)
│ │ │ ┌───── Month (1-12)
│ │ │ │ ┌─── Day of the week (0-7)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *  command

COMMON INTERVALS:
├── */5 * * * *    → Every 5 minutes
├── 0 * * * *      → Every hour
├── 0 0 * * *      → Every day at midnight
├── 0 0 * * 0      → Every Sunday at midnight
└── 0 0 1 * *      → 1st of every month

COMMON COMMANDS:
├── PHP: /usr/local/bin/php /path/script.php
├── wget: /usr/bin/wget -q -O /dev/null https://url
├── curl: /usr/bin/curl -s https://url > /dev/null 2>&1
└── find: /usr/bin/find /path -mtime +7 -delete

WORDPRESS WP-CRON:
1. Add to wp-config.php: define('DISABLE_WP_CRON', true);
2. Create CRON: */15 * * * * wget -q -O /dev/null https://site.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron

DISABLE NOTIFICATIONS:
Add at the end of the command: > /dev/null 2>&1

How to set up CRON tasks on cPanel

How to set up CRON tasks on cPanel

📋 Introduction

Common use cases

🔢 Understanding CRON Syntax

Structure of a CRON expression

Possible values

Special characters

Examples of CRON expressions

⚙️ Creating a CRON Task on cPanel

Step 1: Accessing CRON tasks

Step 2: Configuring email notifications

Step 3: Adding a new CRON task

Step 4: Customizing the interval (optional)

Step 5: Entering the command

Step 6: Save

📝 Common CRON Commands

Run a PHP script

Calling a URL with wget

Calling a URL with curl

Remove temporary files

Backup a database

Compress files

🔵 CRON Tasks for WordPress

Issue with WP-Cron

Step 1: Disable WP-Cron

Step 2: Create a system CRON task

Recommended Frequency for WordPress

Complete WordPress Configuration

📋 Practical Examples

Example 1: Daily Backup at 3 AM

Example 2: Cache Cleanup Every 6 Hours

Example 3: Weekly Report on Mondays at 9 AM

Example 4: Price Updates Every Hour (E-commerce)

Example 5: Delete Expired Sessions Daily

✏️ Modify or Delete a CRON Task

Modify a task

Delete a task

🔧 Troubleshooting

CRON Task Not Running

Find the path to PHP

Manually test a command

Receive error notifications

Common errors

"No such file or directory"

"Permission denied"

"Command not found"

Check CRON logs

⚠️ Best Practices

Task Frequency

Security

Optimization

📊 Useful Tools

CRON Expression Generators

Test a CRON Expression

📝 Summary

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