Crontab on Linux: how to schedule tasks automatically

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0300

A backup that should run every day at 3am, but only runs when somebody remembers to execute the script by hand. A log that grows without rotation until it fills the disk. A certificate that expires because nobody automated the renewal. All of these problems share the same cause: a task that ought to be automatic still depends on a human remembering. crontab has existed since the earliest Unix systems for exactly this — and most sysadmins use only a fraction of what it offers.

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Crontab on Linux: how to schedule tasks automatically