# Schedule cron jobs on your server

> Run commands on your server at set times with cron. Choose a frequency or a custom cron expression, pick the user, run a job now and read its log.

The **Scheduler** page of a server manages its scheduled jobs: commands that cron runs at set times, such as every minute, every night or on the first of the month. Use it for the Laravel scheduler, for cleanup scripts, for reports or for anything else that should run on a schedule and then exit.

Each job is written to its own file in `/etc/cron.d` on the server, so jobs can be added and removed independently without touching anyone's crontab. Schedules follow the server's timezone, which is shown at the top of the page and can be changed in the [server settings](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/servers/server-settings).

![The Scheduler page with the default jobs and a Laravel scheduler job every minute](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs-media/en/server-scheduler.webp?v=161e760d "Scheduled jobs on a server")

## Schedule a job

1. Open the server and choose **Scheduler** in the sidebar.
2. Click **Schedule job**.
3. Enter the **Command**, for example `php /home/vimonto/example.com/current/artisan schedule:run`.
4. Optionally enter a **Name**, to recognise the job in the list.
5. Choose who it runs as under **Run as**: the system user (`vimonto` by default) or `root`.
6. Choose **When** it runs (see below).
7. Click **Schedule job**.

The job shows as **Adding** until its cron file is written, then it runs at its next scheduled time.

The command runs through bash, so pipes, `&&` and variables work as you type them. Cron's own special characters, such as `%`, need no escaping.

## Which frequencies can you choose?

| Frequency | Cron expression | Runs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Every minute** | `* * * * *` | Every minute. |
| **Hourly** | `0 * * * *` | At the start of every hour. |
| **Nightly** | `0 0 * * *` | Every day at midnight. |
| **Weekly** | `0 0 * * 0` | Every Sunday at midnight. |
| **Monthly** | `0 0 1 * *` | On the first of every month at midnight. |
| **On reboot** | `@reboot` | Once, every time the server starts. |
| **Custom schedule** | your own | Whatever you enter under **Schedule**. |

### Write a custom cron expression

Choose **Custom schedule** and enter five fields under **Schedule**: minute, hour, day of the month, month and day of the week. Each field accepts `*`, a number, a range (`1-5`), a step (`*/15`) and lists separated by commas.

| Expression | Runs |
| --- | --- |
| `*/15 * * * *` | Every 15 minutes. |
| `30 3 * * *` | Every night at 3:30. |
| `0 9 * * 1-5` | At 9:00 on weekdays. |
| `0 */6 * * *` | Every six hours. |
| `0 2 1,15 * *` | At 2:00 on the 1st and the 15th of the month. |

Names such as `MON` or `JAN` and shortcuts such as `@daily` are not accepted in a custom schedule; use numbers instead.

## Run the Laravel scheduler

Laravel's scheduler needs one cron job that runs `schedule:run` every minute. The easiest way is to switch on the scheduler for the site on its [queues and scheduler](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/sites/queues-and-scheduler) page: Vimonto Deploy then creates the job for you, with the right path and user, and it appears in this list.

To add it by hand instead, schedule this command **Every minute** as the system user:

```bash
php /home/vimonto/example.com/current/artisan schedule:run
```

Use the site's `current` directory so the job always runs the code that is live. A job the site created this way is marked **Via Scheduler**; see [Jobs made by site features](#jobs-made-by-site-features).

## Run a job now

Open the actions menu (**⋯**) of a job and choose **Run now**. The command runs immediately as the job's user, from that user's home directory. Its output appears in the task on the [activity](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/organization/activity) page, which makes this the easiest way to test a new job.

## Read the log

Click **Log** next to a job to see the last 300 lines its scheduled runs printed (standard output and errors together), fetched from the server when you click. Every run appends its output to `/var/log/vimonto/cron-{id}.log`, under a line with the date and time it started, such as `--- 2026-10-07T03:30:00+02:00`. A job that prints nothing leaves only that line, so you can still see that it ran.

Once a day, a log larger than 5 MB is moved aside: one older file is kept and anything older is deleted, so a chatty job cannot fill the disk. The log is deleted when you remove the job. Output of **Run now** is not written to the log; it is in the task on the activity page.


## What are the default jobs?

Every server is provisioned with two jobs, marked **Default**:

| Job | When | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Update Composer | **Nightly** | Updates Composer to its latest version. |
| Clean up unused packages | **Weekly** | Removes packages and cached package files the server no longer needs. |

Both run as `root`. You can edit, run or remove them like any other job.

## Edit or remove a job

Open the actions menu (**⋯**) and choose **Edit** to change the command, name, user or schedule; **Save** rewrites the cron file. Choose **Remove** to delete the job; it will no longer run.

If writing a job fails, it shows **Failed**; choose **Try again** in the actions menu.

### Jobs made by site features

Jobs that a [site feature](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/sites/site-features) created, such as the Laravel scheduler or **Real cron** for WordPress, are marked with a **Via …** badge, for example **Via Scheduler**. You can read their **Log** and **Run now** here, but **Edit**, **Try again** and **Remove** are not offered: change them through the feature in the site header, and switch the feature off to remove its job.

## Know when a scheduled job stops running

Cron does not tell you when a job fails or stops running. Use a heartbeat for that: click **Add heartbeat** on the [monitoring](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/servers/monitoring) page, then have the job call the heartbeat's URL when it finishes, for example by ending the command with `&& curl -fsS https://…` (the URL shown for the heartbeat). If the ping does not come within the interval and grace period you set, Vimonto Deploy emails the address under **Notify** and notifies the organization's members, one email per person; see [who gets notified](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/servers/monitoring#who-gets-notified).

## Frequently asked questions

### In which timezone do jobs run?

In the server's timezone, shown at the top of the **Scheduler** page. Change it in the [server settings](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/servers/server-settings); jobs then follow the new timezone.

### Why doesn't my job run?

Open its **Log** to see what the last scheduled runs printed, or click **Run now** and read the output on the activity page. Common causes are a relative path (use full paths, or `cd` into the directory first), a command that needs another user, or a custom schedule that is not what you meant. Cron uses a short `PATH` (`/usr/local/sbin`, `/usr/local/bin`, `/usr/sbin`, `/usr/bin`, `/sbin` and `/bin`).

### What is the difference between a scheduled job and a process?

A scheduled job starts at set times and exits when it is done. A [process](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/servers/processes) runs all the time and is restarted by Supervisor when it stops. Use a process for queue workers, and a scheduled job for tasks such as the Laravel scheduler.

### Can a job run more often than every minute?

No. Cron's smallest interval is one minute. For work that must run continuously, use a [process](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/servers/processes).