Cron

Cron is a time-based job scheduler in Unix-like systems that runs commands or scripts at specified intervals.

What is Cron?

Cron is a daemon that executes scheduled commands at specified times and intervals, enabling automated task execution for backups, maintenance, and other recurring operations.

Crontab syntax

* * * * * command
│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ └─ Day of week (0-7)
│ │ │ └─── Month (1-12)
│ │ └───── Day of month (1-31)
│ └─────── Hour (0-23)
└───────── Minute (0-59)

Common misconceptions

"Cron is always reliable" — Monitor job execution
"Cron handles dependencies" — Use proper orchestration
"Environment is same as shell" — Limited environment variables