Fix Cron Jobs Not Running

Check Cron Service Status

sudo systemctl status cron     # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo systemctl status crond    # CentOS/RHEL

# Start/enable if needed
sudo systemctl enable cron --now

Check Cron Logs

sudo tail -f /var/log/syslog | grep CRON
sudo tail -f /var/log/cron
journalctl -u cron -f

Verify User's Crontab

# For specific user
sudo crontab -u username -l

# For root
sudo crontab -l

# Your user
crontab -l

Common Format Errors

# Wrong: missing fields
* * * * command

# Correct: 5 fields then command
* * * * * /usr/bin/php /path/to/script.php

Check Command Path

Always use absolute paths:

# Wrong
php script.php

# Correct
/usr/bin/php /var/www/script.php

# Find command path
which php

Test Command Manually

# Run as the cron user
sudo -u username /usr/bin/php /path/to/script.php

Check Cron Allowed Users

# User in cron.deny? Check these files
cat /etc/cron.allow
cat /etc/cron.deny

# If cron.allow exists, user must be listed

Redirect Output to Log

* * * * * /path/to/script >> /var/log/mycron.log 2>&1

Check Script Permissions

chmod +x /path/to/script.sh