Scheduled tasks: cronjobs #

This page is for developers who declare scheduled tasks in code ($schedule->command()->hourly(), #[AsCronTask], Celery beat, @Scheduled). In Exponential, scheduled work is grouped into cronjob parts declared in settings/cronjob.ini; the system's crontab runs php runcronjobs.php <part> at the rhythm each part needs. The schedule itself lives in the crontab, not in code (Cronjobs for applications).

Contents #

1. Parts and scripts
2. Parts the site needs
3. Adding your part
4. Running and scheduling
5. Locks, pauses and watching
6. Compared with other frameworks

Parts and scripts #

eZRunCronjobs (kernel/classes/ezruncronjobs.php) runs a script; the code of a kernel part is an Exponential\Runnable\CronjobPart class in kernel/private/classes/cronjobs/ (Cronjobs).

Parts the site needs #

Shipped parts include frequent (notification, workflow, content jobs, audit) and infrequent (basket cleanup, link check, mail preferences), among others. Without frequent, notifications are not sent and content waiting in a deferred workflow never publishes. Schedule them in every installation (Cronjobs guide).

Adding your part #

# extension/expdemo/settings/cronjob.ini.append.php
<?php /* #?ini charset="utf-8"?
[CronjobSettings]
ExtensionDirectories[]=expdemo

[CronjobPart-expdemo]
Scripts[]=expdemo_import.php
*/ ?>

The script lives in extension/expdemo/cronjobs/expdemo_import.php (Writing a cronjob script). A part of your own can be scheduled separately from the kernel's.

Running and scheduling #

php runcronjobs.php --list --allow-root-user
php runcronjobs.php -s site expdemo --allow-root-user
php bin/php/console cron:expdemo -s site

*/5 * * * *  cd /path/to/installation && php runcronjobs.php -q -s site frequent >> var/log/cron-frequent.log 2>&1
15  * * * *  cd /path/to/installation && php runcronjobs.php -q -s site expdemo >> var/log/cron-expdemo.log 2>&1

Run as the web server's user, never as root. -s <siteaccess> matters when your extension is active only in some siteaccesses. Setup > Cronjobs proposes crontab lines.

Locks, pauses and watching #

• Only one instance of a cronjob script runs at a time; MaxScriptExecutionTime lets a new instance take over a stuck one.
• Parts can be paused in Setup > Cronjobs; a paused part is skipped whoever starts it (Pausing cronjob parts).
• Setup > Cronjobs shows each part, its last runs, output and issues (Cronjobs console).
• Make scripts safe to run twice and to be interrupted.

Velocity has a scheduler of its own for handlers of its application layer; it does not run Exponential's cronjob scripts, so keep the system crontab for them (Velocity scheduler).

Compared with other frameworks #

Related pages #

• Queues and background jobs
• Cronjob part filter
• Runnable commands, cronjob parts and views
• Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.