> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.opus-host.de/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Schedule Recurring Tasks With Cron on Your VPS

> Automate backups, cleanup scripts, and any recurring task on your Opus Host VPS by adding entries to crontab — with examples and common pitfalls.

Cron is the classic Unix job scheduler: give it a schedule and a command, and it runs that command for you forever. Backups, log cleanup, hourly syncs, nightly reboots — anything you can put in a shell command, cron can put on a timer.

## Edit your crontab

Each user has their own crontab. Run this as the user you want the job to run as:

```bash theme={null}
crontab -e
```

The first time, you will be asked to pick an editor. `nano` is the easiest choice.

## Cron schedule syntax

Each line has five time fields followed by the command to run:

```text theme={null}
*  *  *  *  *  command
│  │  │  │  │
│  │  │  │  └─ day of week (0-6, Sunday=0)
│  │  │  └──── month (1-12)
│  │  └─────── day of month (1-31)
│  └────────── hour (0-23)
└───────────── minute (0-59)
```

## Example jobs

```bash theme={null}
# Every day at 3:00 AM: back up the home directory
0 3 * * * tar czf /root/backup-$(date +\%F).tar.gz /home

# Every 15 minutes: ping a health check
*/15 * * * * curl -fsS https://example.com/health > /dev/null

# Every Sunday at 4:30 AM: clear old logs
30 4 * * 0 find /var/log -name "*.log" -mtime +30 -delete

# On reboot: start a script
@reboot /home/alice/scripts/startup.sh
```

<Tip>
  When writing schedules by hand, [crontab.guru](https://crontab.guru) is invaluable for double-checking.
</Tip>

## List, view, and remove

```bash theme={null}
# List current crontab
crontab -l

# Remove all cron jobs for the current user
crontab -r
```

## Common pitfalls

* **Cron has a minimal PATH.** Always use absolute paths (`/usr/bin/python3`, not just `python3`) or set `PATH=` at the top of your crontab.
* **Cron does not load your shell profile.** Environment variables from `~/.bashrc` are not available. Set them explicitly in the crontab or inside the script.
* **Output is emailed by default.** On a VPS without mail configured, this fails silently. Redirect output to a log file so you can debug:
  ```bash theme={null}
  0 3 * * * /home/alice/backup.sh >> /var/log/backup.log 2>&1
  ```

## Check that cron is running

```bash theme={null}
sudo systemctl status cron
```

If it is stopped, start it and see [systemd Services](/vps/systemd-services).