When you set up your WHMCS installation, you must set up the system cron to automate WHMCS’s many tasks. The system cron is a system daemon that executes tasks at designated times. WHMCS includes processes that must run on a periodic basis via the cron.

Cron Tasks #

The method that you use to set up your cron jobs will depend on the type of server that you use and whether you prefer to use the command line or a control panel interface.

After you set up the cron job, you can change the time at which the daily automated actions run using Time of Day at Configuration () > System Settings > Automation Settings. You must ensure that the system cron will run during the hour that you set.

• WHMCS uses the PHP now() timestamp when the cron.php script runs. This determines the current time using the value that the PHP configuration returns.
• We recommend running the cron task every five minutes. WHMCS will never perform a particular task more frequently than you specify.
• Make certain that WHMCS’s configured timezone matches the server’s timezone.

When you configure WHMCS, set up the following cron tasks:

System Cron #

The system cron automates tasks within WHMCS. The system uses this to automate billing, generate invoices, and perform many other actions. Configure this to run every 5 minutes, or as frequently as your hosting provider allows (at minimum, once per hour).

You can find the correct command to copy-and-paste for your WHMCS installation by going to Configuration () > System Settings > Automation Settings and clicking on the first badge:

For example: */5 * * * * php -q /home/username/crons/cron.php

POP Email Import Cron #

You only need to configure this cron task if you want to import emails to the support queue via the POP3 protocol.

If you use this, configure it to run every five minutes.

For example: */5 * * * * php -q /home/username/crons/pop.php

The crons Directory #

All of the files for WHMCS’s cron tasks are in the crons directory.

You can move the crons folder to any location above or below the document root. We recommend moving it to a private directory above your document root for better security.

System Cron Options #

The system cron automates tasks within WHMCS. You can run the system cron script (crons/cron.php) with additional options if you need additional control over the tasks that run and the script’s output.

The system cron script has the following argument input structure:

cron.php [<argument> [options]]

Arguments #

You can use the following arguments:

Options #

You can use the following arguments:

Tasks #

Most of the system cron’s tasks only need to run daily. Others, however, may benefit from running multiple times per day, like ticket escalations or checking for WHMCS updates. A few tasks only run once per month, like calculating overage usage and generating invoices.

WHMCS handles this correctly automatically for scheduled cron runs, but you can also choose tasks to run (using the do argument) or skip (using the skip argument) when running the cron yourself:

Custom Task Runs #

If you want a particular task to only execute on a particular schedule, create a separate scheduled cron command that uses the do argument for that task and alter your main System Cron command to skip that task using the skip argument.

For example, you could schedule the first cron command below to skip ticket escalations and automatic suspensions on regular runs:

*/5 * * * * php -q /path/to/cron.php skip --TicketEscalations --AutoSuspensions

Then, you could schedule the second and third commands separately to only process ticket escalations on weekdays during business hours and only process automatic suspensions on weekday mornings:

0 9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 * * 1-5 php -q /path/to/cron.php do --TicketEscalations
0 9 * * 1-5 php -q /path/to/cron.php do --AutoSuspensions

Invoke the Cron with an HTTP Request #

In some hosting environments, you may not be able to create a crontab entry directly. Instead, you can invoke the cron command using an HTTP request.

For example, the following GET request runs the system cron, skipping the DomainRenewalNotices and TicketEscalations tasks.

GET http://www.example.com/admin/cron.php?command=skip&options=DomainRenewalNotices,TicketEscalations

Last modified: January 8, 2025