How to Create a Cron Job in cPanel
Cron jobs run a command automatically on a schedule — for backups, application tasks, or maintenance scripts. cPanel makes scheduling them straightforward.
Step-by-step
- Open Advanced → Cron Jobs in cPanel.
- Set a notification email at the top so you receive the output of each run (or manage this later — see cron email output).
- Choose the schedule. Use the Common Settings dropdown for everyday intervals, or set the five time fields (minute, hour, day, month, weekday) directly — see schedule examples.
- Enter the command to run — for example a PHP script (see running a PHP script) or a backup command.
- Click Add New Cron Job. It appears in the list below and runs at the next scheduled time.
- Edit or delete existing jobs from the same list at any time.
💡 Good to know
- Avoid scheduling heavy jobs every minute — once or a few times a day is kinder to shared resources.
- Test the command works before scheduling it, to avoid silent failures.
- Keep at least one notification address so you know if a job errors.