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Cron Jobs and Scheduled Tasks in Plesk

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Cron Jobs & Scheduled Tasks in Plesk

Automate scripts and tasks easily — no technical skills needed


Step 1: Log in to Your Plesk Control Panel

Go to:

https://yourdomain.com:8443

Log in using your Plesk username and password.


Step 2: Go to Scheduled Tasks

  1. In the left sidebar, click Tools & Settings (or click your domain if it’s domain-specific)

  2. Scroll to Tools & Resources

  3. Click Scheduled Tasks (or Cron Jobs in some versions)


Step 3: Add a New Task

  1. Click the “Add Task” button

  2. Choose Task type:

    • 🟢 Run a command – most common (for PHP scripts, etc.)

    • 🟡 Fetch a URL – visit a web address (good for WordPress cron-like tasks)

    • 🔵 Run a PHP script – if the script is hosted on your domain


✅ Step 4: Set the Command

For example, to run a PHP script located at /httpdocs/cron.php:

Command type: Run a command
Command:

/usr/bin/php -q /var/www/vhosts/yourdomain.com/httpdocs/cron.php

Tip: If you're not sure of the full file path, go to Files > File Manager, open the script, and look at the address bar.


✅ Step 5: Set the Schedule

Choose when to run your task using the time fields:

Field Meaning Example
Minute 0–59 0 = start of the hour
Hour 0–23 1 = 1 AM
Day 1–31 * = every day
Month 1–12 * = every month
Weekday 0–6 (0 = Sunday) * = every day of week

🕒 Example: Run every day at 2:00 AM

Minute: 0 Hour: 2 Day: * Month: * Weekday: *  

Step 6: Save and Monitor the Task

  1. Click OK or Apply to save

  2. The task will now run automatically based on your schedule

You can:

  • Edit it later

  • Disable or remove it

  • View logs if output is saved


Optional: Email Notification of Cron Output

At the top of the Scheduled Tasks page, you can enter an email address to receive the output of all cron jobs. This is useful for checking if the task succeeded or failed.

📬 Set the “Send notifications to” field with your email address.


Tips for Using Cron Jobs

  • Use cron for backups, updates, email sending, and database cleanups

  • Don't run heavy tasks too frequently (e.g. every minute) — it can slow down your server

  • Test your script manually first by visiting the URL or running it from File Manager

  • Back up your site before setting new cron jobs


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