Add, edit and delete cron jobs in cPanel

What is a cron job?

A cron job is an alarm clock for the server. At the time you pick, it runs a command or a script. Examples are making a backup each night, clearing old files, or running a WordPress task. cPanel is the dashboard of your hosting account. It has a page called Cron Jobs where you set these alarms.

How the time fields work

A schedule has five parts, in this order.

A star (*) means "every". So 30 2 * * * means 2:30 in the morning, every day.

Add a cron job

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. Under Advanced, click Cron Jobs.
3. Optional: type your email address under Cron Email and click Update Email. You then get a message each time a job runs.
4. Under Add New Cron Job, pick a time from Common Settings, or type your own values in the five boxes.
5. In the Command box, type what should run. Example for a PHP script:

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

   This runs the PHP file. Replace username and the file name with your own. The PHP path may differ. Ask support if it does not work.
6. Click Add New Cron Job.

Edit a cron job

1. Scroll to Current Cron Jobs.
2. Click Edit next to the job.
3. Change the time or the command.
4. Click Edit Line to save.

Delete a cron job

1. Scroll to Current Cron Jobs.
2. Click Delete next to the job.
3. Click Delete Line to confirm.

If your job does not run

• Check the schedule for typos.
• Use full paths, not short ones.
• Read the email output for error messages.
• Make sure the script file has permission to run.

Quick recap

• A cron job runs a task on a schedule.
• Open Cron Jobs in cPanel to add, edit or delete one.
• Five fields set the time: minute, hour, day, month and weekday.
• Use full file paths and test your command first.