How to run a cron job

Cron is a software utility in Unix-like computer operating systems, which works as a time-based job scheduler. It can automate a command to run at fixed times, dates, or intervals.

A cron job is a command or script that is typically created and run to set up software environments or automate system maintenance and administration. For example, you could set a cron job to delete temporary files every week to free up disk space.

Creating a Cron Job

Here's how to create a cron job:

1. Click Sign Up / Log In at the top of this page.
2. Select Hosting Manager from the drop-down menu.
3. Enter your username and password and click Log In.
4. On the Home page, click on the Advanced icon or [ v ] arrow symbol on the right side, then click on the Cron Jobs button.
5. Under Add New Cron Job, select Common Settings from the drop-down list.
6. Set the following details to schedule your command:
7. Minute

   Enter a number from 0-59.

   Select Common Settings

   Hour

   Enter a number from 0-23.

   Select Common Settings

   Day

   Enter a number from 1-31.

   Select Common Settings

   Month

   Enter a number from 1-12 or the first three letters of the month, example, Jan.

   Select Common Settings

   Weekday

   Enter a number from 0-7 or the first three letters of the weekday, example, Mon.

   Select Common Settings

    

8. Under Command, specify the command to run then click Add New Cron Job.

You just successfully created a cron job.

Understanding the Command to Run

The command contains two parts:

[program to execute (php/pyth./perl)] [switches] [script]

The program to run will specify the type of script you are running and will either be:

• PHP
• Python
• Perl/CGI Scripts (This should be in your cgi-bin with permission 0755)

The script will need to be set on its direct path where it is located on our server, for example:

1. /home/username/public_html/path/to/script, with “username” being your actual username.

Run a PHP script:

php -q /home/username/public_html/scripts/testrun.php

Run a Python script:

python /home/username/public_html/path/to/script

Run a Perl/CGI script:

/home/username/public_html/cgi-bin/yourscript.pl

Understanding the User Agent String

Below is the command to set the user agent:

curl –user-agent YOUR_STRING (URL)
lynx –dump –useragent=YOUR_STRING (URL)

You just successfully run a cron job.