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How to run PHP cronjobs

About PHP

PHP is one of the most popular web programming languages. It lets you quickly create and improve websites, from a simple one-page website to full content management system like WordPress or an ever-changing SaaS.

Run PHP cronjobs via crontab

You may need to do periodic update to your website, e.g. cleaning up inactive users, creating backups, etc.

To do so, create a PHP script to work your magic. Let’s save it as cron.php. You can then set up cronjobs using your hosting’s Cron Jobs feature, or run crontab -e on your server.

The cronjob will look like this

Terminal window
30 7 * * * /usr/bin/php /path/to/cron.php

This will run your cronjob once a day at 7:30.

If you can run your script via a browser, use curl to run it:

Terminal window
30 7 * * * curl https://example.com/backend/cron.php

A better way to run PHP cron

There are several free cronjob services to run your PHP script. Why they are better:

  • Know when your cronjob is executed
  • Check last execution results including HTTP status, execution time, and output
  • Receive email notifications when your cronjob fails
  • and many more features.

To set up cronjob for your PHP script at FastCron, follow these steps:

  • Log in to your account.
  • Click new Cron Job button.
  • Enter your cronjob URL e.g. https://example.com/backend/cron.php into URL to call.
  • Select When to call: Every day or your desired time interval.
  • Then Save and run cronjob.