How to set up a cron job in cPanel

A cron job?Cron job A task the server runs by itself on a timetable, like an alarm clock for jobs. For example, making a backup every night at 3 a.m. More about Cron job → runs a command on a schedule: every five minutes, every night, every Monday. Websites use them for backups, newsletters, imports and housekeeping. cPanel’s Cron Jobs tool sets them up without the command line.

Add a cron job

1. Common Settings fills in the schedule for you, such as Once Per Day or Twice Per Hour.
2. Or set Minute, Hour, Day, Month and Weekday yourself. * means “every”.
3. Command: what to run (details below).
4. Click Add New Cron Job.

Times use the server’s time zone, which may differ from yours. The page’s examples and the server clock show which it uses.

Writing the command

Cron runs with almost no settings, so use full paths for everything:

/usr/local/bin/php /home/exampleco/public_html/wp-cron.php >/dev/null 2>&1

Part	Meaning
/usr/local/bin/php	The PHP program. The page shows the right path for your server
/home/exampleco/public_html/wp-cron.php	The script, by its full path (your home directory is on the cPanel home screen)
>/dev/null 2>&1	Throw away the output, so no email is sent

For a specific PHP version, use its own path, such as /usr/local/bin/ea-php83, as the page’s examples show.

To call a web address instead of a file, use curl:

/usr/bin/curl -s https://example.com/tasks/run >/dev/null 2>&1

Cron email

By default, cron emails any output to the address under Cron Email at the top of the page. That is useful while testing, and a flood once a job runs every five minutes. Either remove the output with >/dev/null 2>&1, or keep a log instead:

/usr/local/bin/php /home/exampleco/jobs/import.php >> /home/exampleco/logs/import.log 2>&1

WordPress: replace wp-cron

WordPress runs its scheduled tasks, such as publishing scheduled posts, sending emails and running backups, only when someone visits the site. On quiet sites tasks run late; on busy ones it adds work to page loads. Replace it with a real cron job:

1. Add to wp-config.php, above That’s all, stop editing:

define( 'DISABLE_WP_CRON', true );

2. Add a cron job running every 5 or 15 minutes:

/usr/local/bin/php /home/exampleco/public_html/wp-cron.php >/dev/null 2>&1

WP Toolkit’s Take over wp-cron.php switch does both steps for you. See WordPress in cPanel.

If it does not run

• Run the exact command in Terminal (under Advanced) if your host allows it, to see errors.
• Temporarily remove >/dev/null 2>&1 so errors are emailed to you.
• Check paths: the most common mistake is a relative path such as public_html/script.php.
• Hosts may limit how often jobs can run. Every minute is often blocked; every 5 minutes is usually fine.

Official documentation

• Cron Jobs, cPanel?cPanel The most popular hosting control panel: a website where you manage your email, files, databases and domains with point-and-click tools instead of commands. More about cPanel → documentation.
• Hooking WP-Cron into the system task scheduler, WordPress Developer Resources.

Related

• Cron job in the glossary.
• How to change PHP version in cPanel.