Common Cron Job Examples for DirectAdmin

These are ready-to-use cron job commands for common tasks on Domain India DirectAdmin hosting: WordPress, PHP scripts, database backups, cleanups and more. Copy one into DirectAdmin's Cron Jobs page, replace USERNAME and example.com with your own details, and check the log the first time it runs.

1. Before you copy an example

• Schedule and command are separate. Each example shows the five schedule values followed by the command. In DirectAdmin, put the schedule values in the time fields and everything after them in the command box.
• Use your PHP version. Each version has its own binary: /usr/local/php83/bin/php, /usr/local/php82/bin/php and so on. The plain /usr/local/bin/php on our server is PHP 8.1, which may not be what your site runs.
• Your paths. Websites live in /home/USERNAME/domains/example.com/public_html. Keep scripts, logs and backups outside public_html so they can't be opened from the web.
• Escape %. Cron treats a bare % as a line break, so dates like $(date +%F) must be written $(date +\%F) in the command box. Inside a script file, no escaping is needed.
• Every 4 minutes is the minimum. An hourly check on our cPanel and DirectAdmin shared servers rewrites jobs set to every 1, 2 or 3 minutes to */4.

2. WordPress: replace WP-Cron with a real cron job

WordPress's own scheduler only runs when someone visits the site. A real cron job makes scheduled posts and plugin tasks run on time.

First add this line to wp-config.php, above "That's all, stop editing":

define( 'DISABLE_WP_CRON', true );

Then add a job every 15 minutes:

*/15 * * * * cd /home/USERNAME/domains/example.com/public_html && /usr/local/php83/bin/php wp-cron.php >/dev/null 2>&1

More in WordPress cron and scheduled tasks.

3. Run a PHP script on a schedule

Hourly, for example to send queued emails or sync data:

0 * * * * /usr/local/php83/bin/php /home/USERNAME/domains/example.com/public_html/send-emails.php >/dev/null 2>&1

If the script includes other files by relative path, change into its folder first, as in the WordPress example.

Some applications give you a cron URL instead of a file. Call it with curl:

*/15 * * * * /usr/bin/curl -s "https://example.com/cron.php?key=YOUR_KEY" >/dev/null 2>&1

4. Nightly database backup

Keep the database password out of the cron line. Create /home/USERNAME/.my.cnf in the File Manager, set its permissions to 600, and add:

[mysqldump]
user=USERNAME_dbuser
password=your-database-password

Then create /home/USERNAME/scripts/db_backup.sh:

#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="/home/USERNAME/backups"
DB_NAME="USERNAME_dbname"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"
/usr/bin/mysqldump --single-transaction "$DB_NAME" | gzip > "$BACKUP_DIR/${DB_NAME}_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql.gz"
find "$BACKUP_DIR" -name "*.sql.gz" -mtime +7 -delete

Schedule it for 2:30 a.m. every day:

30 2 * * * /bin/bash /home/USERNAME/scripts/db_backup.sh >> /home/USERNAME/cron.log 2>&1

Download a copy now and then. A backup kept only on the hosting account is lost with the account. Domain India DirectAdmin hosting also has weekly JetBackup backups; see backup and restore with JetBackup.

5. Clean up old cache or temporary files

Delete files older than 7 days from an application's cache folder, every day at 3 a.m.:

0 3 * * * /usr/bin/find /home/USERNAME/domains/example.com/public_html/cache -type f -mtime +7 -delete >/dev/null 2>&1

Check the folder path twice before you schedule a -delete job. It removes files without asking.

6. Rotate your own log file weekly

Every Sunday at 1 a.m., rename the current log with the date and start a new one:

0 1 * * 0 mv /home/USERNAME/logs/app.log /home/USERNAME/logs/app-$(date +\%Y\%m\%d).log && touch /home/USERNAME/logs/app.log

7. Stop a long job overlapping itself

If a job can take longer than its interval, copies pile up and use your plan's resources. flock runs the job only if the previous run has finished:

*/10 * * * * /usr/bin/flock -n /home/USERNAME/import.lock /usr/local/php83/bin/php /home/USERNAME/scripts/import.php >/dev/null 2>&1

8. Laravel's scheduler

Laravel expects schedule:run every minute. On our shared servers it runs every 4 minutes, so tasks you set to everyMinute() run every 4 minutes too:

* * * * * cd /home/USERNAME/domains/example.com && /usr/local/php83/bin/php artisan schedule:run >/dev/null 2>&1

Tasks that start shell commands fail on shared hosting, because exec, proc_open and similar functions are disabled for command-line PHP as well as websites. See PHP disabled functions on shared hosting. If your app needs true every-minute scheduling or queue workers, use a VPS.

9. Debugging a job

Send the output to a log while you test:

*/15 * * * * /usr/local/php83/bin/php /home/USERNAME/scripts/task.php >> /home/USERNAME/cron-debug.log 2>&1

Open the log in the File Manager after the next run. "No such file or directory" usually means a wrong username or domain in the path. If the log stays empty, check that the job is listed in Cron Jobs and that its hour is set in Indian Standard Time.

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Ready to schedule a task? Follow the DirectAdmin cron guide, check your timing with the cron expression guide, or compare DirectAdmin hosting plans. If a job still won't run, open a support ticket with the exact command and the error from your log.