Execute scheduled tasks (cron job)

A so-called cron job is a mechanism that bundles together many automatic maintenance, synchronisation and notification tasks. Rather than checking a single task, it checks which scheduled tasks are due and then carries them out. In your ChurchTools, too, a cron job carries out these important administrative tasks in the background.

These include, for example, the following areas of responsibility:

• Calendar: Update external calendar sources
• Check-in: Delete old entries from the print/queue
• Users/Emails/Administration: Reset login errors, clean up old email data, remove attachments that are no longer needed
• Reports: send scheduled reports
• Events: Send reminders, information about upcoming sessions and updates for leaders
• General maintenance: trigger reminder and notification emails, clean up data, retrieve licence information, delete old temporary files
• and lots more …

Carrying out planned tasks #

The scheduled tasks are triggered automatically every 4 hours on all systems. They always start at night. As soon as someone is actively using the system, they run additionally every hour.

You can also trigger the cron job manually via the ‘Manage’ menu by clicking on ‘Execute scheduled tasks’.

Components of a cron job #

Which of the scheduled tasks actually run depends on the timetable, the modules activated in the system and the type of call. Not everything runs every time a call is made. A cron job always consists of several parts. To illustrate what we mean, we’ll give you a few examples in each case so that you can get a better idea.

1. Scheduled tasks that run continuously
   – Trigger reminder emails
   – Delete temporary files
   – Clear the authentication/authorisation cache
   – Mark the run as completed
   
2. Depending on the time, additional time-scheduled cron jobs are executed
   • Clearing/Deleting
     • Clear the cache
     • Deleting old photos
     • Delete expired registration/invitation tokens
     • Clear up expired subscriptions
     • Clean up old log entries
     • Delete completed routine runs
   • Notifications/emails
     • Send birthday reminders
     • Initiate chat invitations
     • Send follow-up emails
     • Generate and send scheduled reports
     • Send reminders about tasks, outstanding tasks and information for leaders
     • Send emails from the normal email queue
   • Synchronisation/Automation
     • Update chat data
     • Start event chats automatically
     • Start sync jobs automatically
     • Recalculate dynamic groups
     • Carry out CCLI-related maintenance
   • Groups/Appointments/Check-in
     • Processing group registrations
     • Clear up completed groups
     • Update group members
     • Create group appointments
     • Processing registration deadlines for groups
     • Carrying out routine tasks
     • Send error emails regarding routine/group processes
   • Other system tasks
     • Database/Import Clean-up
     • View licence information
     • Place automatic notifications in the email queue
     • Sending data security emails
     • Sending general emails
3. Start custom cron jobs for enabled modules
   • Create scheduled reports and send them to recipients
   • Update external iCal/calendar sources
   • Run a mail merge
   • Delete old files
   • Keep group memberships up to date
4. Tidy up
5. Wenn der Cron mit sendmail=true aufgerufen wird, macht er nur den Hintergrundversand:
   • Send pending emails in batches
   • If necessary, trigger the next background process