Failing scheduled jobs
Scheduled jobs are tasks your server runs on its own — nightly backups, sending emails, clearing caches. When one fails, nothing tells you, so it can go wrong for weeks before anyone notices.
- At a glance
- Group
- Maintenance
- Mellonbot
- Can fix it
- What it does
- Finds the cause and fixes the job’s settings.
- Approval
- Always with your OK
What you’ll notice
- 01Backups stopped appearing, or are empty
- 02Scheduled emails or reports no longer arrive
- 03Caches or old files never get cleaned up
- 04Scheduled posts don’t publish on time
Why it usually happens
- 01A script path or program moved after an update
- 02The job runs as a user without the right permissions
- 03The disk is full, so the job can’t write
- 04A typo in the schedule itself
Fix it yourself
How to fix it by hand
Comfortable with a terminal? Here’s what an experienced admin would do. Start with the read-only commands.
- 01
List your scheduled jobs
Also check other users’ jobs with sudo crontab -l -u username.
crontab -l - 02
Check system-wide jobs
Many jobs live in these folders instead of your crontab.
ls /etc/cron.d /etc/cron.daily - 03
See when jobs last ran
The cron log shows each run and any errors.
sudo journalctl -u cron --since "2 days ago" --no-pager - 04
Run the job by hand
Run the same command the job uses and read the error it prints.
sudo -u www-data /path/to/your-job.sh
With Mellonbot
How Mellonbot fixes it
- Checks that scheduled jobs run and finish without errors.
- Explains what the job does and why it’s failing, in plain English.
- Offers to fix the job’s settings — with a backup first and a check that the next run works.
- Emails you on scheduled checks when a job starts failing, not weeks later.
Not sure this is your problem? Ask us →
FAQ
Failing scheduled jobs: common questions
Why isn’t my cron job running?
Common reasons are a wrong path, missing permissions, or the job relying on settings that only exist when you’re logged in. Running the command by hand usually shows the error.
How do I know if my backups are working?
Check that new backup files appear on schedule and aren’t empty — and ideally test restoring one.
Still have a question?
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