Scheduled tasks
at server and app level
Server-level and application-level scheduling for shell, Python, and custom commands. Basic presets or advanced cron expressions. Failures roll up to monitoring — cron's silent failures are surfaced.
Job Name
Type
Command
Schedule
2
Scopes (server & app)
3
Command types (Shell, Python, Custom)
2
Schedule modes (Basic & Advanced)
0
Silent failures
Two scopes, same form
Server-level jobs handle housekeeping and cross-app tasks. Application-level jobs default their working directory to the app root and migrate/clone with that application automatically.
Server Cronjobs
Whole server scope — housekeeping and cross-app tasks
Application Cronjobs
One app scope — defaults to app root, migrates with the app
Three Command Types
Shell, Python, and Custom commands
Flexible Scheduling
Basic presets or advanced cron expressions
Flexible scheduling — basic or advanced
Choose from basic presets or use advanced cron fields for exact timing a preset can't express. Pre-save validation blocks jobs that wouldn't run.
- Basic presets: Every Hour, Day, Week, Month
- Advanced: raw cron fields (minute, hour, month, weekday)
- Job Name, Type, Command, Schedule, Working Directory
- Pre-save validation — blocks missing fields and invalid schedules
Basic Presets
Advanced — Cron Fields
Min
0
Hour
2
Day
*
Mon
*
Wk
*
Application cronjobs that migrate with the app
Application-level jobs default their working directory to the app root and migrate/clone with that application automatically. Put a job on the application it belongs to — it migrates with the app.
- Application Cronjob — one app scope, defaults to app root
- Working directory defaults to app root
- Migrates and clones with the application automatically
- Server Cronjob — whole server scope, set working directory explicitly
api-gateway
/var/www/api
web-frontend
/var/www/web
worker-queue
/var/www/worker
analytics
/var/www/analytics
Working directory defaults to app root · migrates with app
Lifecycle & monitoring — no silent failures
Start/Stop without deleting the definition — useful for suspending a suspect job. Failures roll up into Monitoring → Cron Job Failures, because cron is silent by nature.
- Status: Active, Stopped, Unknown
- Start/Stop toggle without deleting the definition
- Search by job name, bulk actions with guards
- Failures roll up to the Monitoring dashboard
nightly-backup
log-rotate
db-cleanup
Cron Job Failures
db-cleanup failed 3× — rolled up to Monitoring
Built-in operational guidance
The panel surfaces the most common cron pitfalls directly: use absolute paths (cron runs with a minimal environment), set Working Directory explicitly, redirect output, and stagger heavy jobs.
- Use absolute paths — no PATH, no aliases under cron
- Set Working Directory when relative paths are involved
- Redirect output so failures leave a trace
- Stagger heavy jobs so they don't compete for disk/CPU
# Pitfall: relative paths
$ ./backup.sh
→ not found — cron has no PATH
# Fix: absolute paths
/usr/local/bin/backup.sh
# Pitfall: silent failures
$ /usr/local/bin/backup.sh
→ no output, no trace
# Fix: redirect output
/usr/local/bin/backup.sh >> /var/log/backup.log 2>&1
$
Cron is silent — we surface the failures
Cron runs with a minimal environment — no PATH, no aliases, no shell profile. The panel surfaces the most common pitfalls directly, so you don't discover them at 3am when a job silently stops running.
Absolute paths — cron has no PATH or aliases
Redirect output so failures leave a trace
Stagger heavy jobs to avoid resource contention
Everything around your cronjobs
Pair cronjob scheduling with the tools that keep your applications fast, secure, and resilient.
Server cronjobs run at the whole-server scope for housekeeping and cross-app tasks. Application cronjobs run at the app scope with the working directory defaulting to app root, and they migrate/clone with that application automatically.
SharkCluster supports Shell, Python, and Custom command types for both server-level and application-level scheduled tasks, with basic presets or advanced cron expressions.
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