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Scheduled Tasks ​

Scheduled tasks

Scheduled tasks are used to set up tasks that execute at specified times, such as scheduled backups, scheduled script execution, etc.

Task List ​

Go to the Tasks page, which displays the scheduled task list by default.

The list displays the following information:

  • Task Name: Task name
  • Task Type: Run Script/Backup Data/Log Rotation/Access URL/Sync Time
  • Enabled: Whether enabled
  • Task Schedule: Execution schedule
  • Created At: Creation time
  • Last Updated: Last modification time
  • Actions: Run, view logs, edit, delete

Create Task ​

Click the Create Task button to create a new scheduled task.

Task Types ​

TypeDescription
Run ScriptExecute a Shell script
Backup DataScheduled backup of a website, directory, MySQL, PostgreSQL, ClickHouse, Redis, or Valkey data to the chosen storage
Log RotationScheduled rotation of website or container logs
Access URLSend an HTTP request (GET/POST/PUT/DELETE/PATCH/HEAD) to a URL, with optional headers, body, timeout, retries, and ignore certificate
Sync TimeSynchronize the server time

For Backup Data and Log Rotation tasks you can also set a Retention Count to keep only the most recent backups/archives and automatically clear older ones, and select the target Storage.

Process Lock

Enable Process Lock to prevent duplicate execution: if the previous run is still in progress, the current run is skipped.

Execution Schedule ​

Multiple schedule settings are supported:

  • Every Second: Execute once every second
  • Every N Seconds: Execute every N seconds
  • Every Minute: Execute once every minute
  • Every N Minutes: Execute every N minutes
  • Every N Hours: Execute every N hours
  • Every N Days: Execute every N days
  • Hourly: Execute at a specified minute every hour
  • Daily: Execute at a specified time each day
  • Weekly: Execute on specified day and time each week
  • Monthly: Execute on specified date and time each month
  • Yearly: Execute on specified month, date, and time each year
  • After Reboot: Execute once after the server reboots (@reboot)
  • Custom: Use Cron expression

Cron Expression ​

Cron expression format: minute hour day month weekday

*    *    *    *    *
│    │    │    │    │
│    │    │    │    └── Day of week (0-7, both 0 and 7 are Sunday)
│    │    │    └─────── Month (1-12)
│    │    └──────────── Day of month (1-31)
│    └───────────────── Hour (0-23)
└────────────────────── Minute (0-59)

Six-field expressions are also supported for second-level scheduling, where the leading field is the second (second minute hour day month weekday). For example, */10 * * * * * runs every 10 seconds.

Common examples:

ExpressionDescription
0 2 * * *Every day at 2 AM
0 */6 * * *Every 6 hours
0 0 * * 0Every Sunday at midnight
0 0 1 * *First day of every month at midnight
*/5 * * * *Every 5 minutes

Don't know how to write it? Just describe your requirements clearly to an AI and let it generate one for you.

Shell Task Examples ​

Clean Temporary Files ​

bash
find /tmp -type f -mtime +7 -delete

Restart Service ​

bash
systemctl restart nginx

Sync Time ​

bash
ntpdate ntp.aliyun.com

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For server time synchronization you no longer need a hand-written shell command. Use the dedicated Sync Time task type instead, which runs the panel's own acepanel sync-time command and syncs against the time server configured in the panel.

Task Operations ​

Enable/Disable ​

Control whether the task is enabled via the switch. Disabled tasks will not execute.

Execute Immediately ​

Click the Run button to execute the task immediately without waiting for the scheduled time.

View Logs ​

Click the Logs button to view the task execution logs.

Edit Task ​

Click the Edit button to modify the task configuration.

Delete Task ​

Click the Delete button to delete the task.

Bulk Delete ​

Select multiple tasks using the checkboxes in the list, then click the Delete button at the top of the page to delete all selected tasks at once.

Panel Tasks ​

The Tasks page has two tabs: Scheduled Tasks (the cron list described above) and Panel Tasks. Switch to the Panel Tasks tab to see the background task queue, which records long-running operations triggered by the panel (such as backups, restores, and other queued jobs).

The list displays the following information:

  • Task Name: Task name
  • Status: Waiting / Running / Completed / Failed
  • Creation Time: When the task was created
  • Completion Time: When the task finished
  • Actions: View logs, delete

A task's Logs can be viewed once it has started running, and a task can only be deleted after it has finished (status is Completed or Failed); waiting and running tasks cannot be deleted.

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Notes ​

  1. Task execution time is based on the server timezone
  2. Long-running tasks may affect the next execution; enable Process Lock to skip overlapping runs
  3. Regularly check task execution status via the Logs button