A cron job is a Linux utility that allows you to schedule scripts or other commands to run automatically at specified intervals. Here’s how to set up a cron job in Linux:
- Open a terminal window and type the following command to edit the crontab file:
crontab -e
2. In the file, each line represents a separate cron job. The syntax of each line is as follows:
* * * * * [command to run]
3. Each field represents a different aspect of the scheduling, from left to right:
- Minutes (0-59)
- Hours (0-23)
- Days of the month (1-31)
- Months (1-12)
- Days of the week (0-7, where both 0 and 7 represent Sunday)
4. For example, the following line will run the command /usr/bin/example.sh every day at 10 PM:
0 22 * * * /usr/bin/example.sh
5. Save the file and exit the editor. Your new cron job will be active and will run at the specified intervals.
Note: To view a list of your current cron jobs, type the following command:
crontab -l
And to remove a cron job, simply delete the corresponding line from the crontab file and save the changes.