ansible.builtin.cron (v2.11.12) — module

Manage cron.d and crontab entries

| "added in version" 0.9 of ansible.builtin"

Authors: Dane Summers (@dsummersl), Mike Grozak (@rhaido), Patrick Callahan (@dirtyharrycallahan), Evan Kaufman (@EvanK), Luca Berruti (@lberruti)

Install Ansible via pip

Install with pip install ansible-core==2.11.12

Description

Use this module to manage crontab and environment variables entries. This module allows you to create environment variables and named crontab entries, update, or delete them.

When crontab jobs are managed: the module includes one line with the description of the crontab entry C("#Ansible: <name>") corresponding to the "name" passed to the module, which is used by future ansible/module calls to find/check the state. The "name" parameter should be unique, and changing the "name" value will result in a new cron task being created (or a different one being removed).

When environment variables are managed, no comment line is added, but, when the module needs to find/check the state, it uses the "name" parameter to find the environment variable definition line.

When using symbols such as %, they must be properly escaped.


Requirements

Usage examples

  • Success
    Steampunk Spotter scan finished with no errors, warnings or hints.
- name: Ensure a job that runs at 2 and 5 exists. Creates an entry like "0 5,2 * * ls -alh > /dev/null"
  ansible.builtin.cron:
    name: "check dirs"
    minute: "0"
    hour: "5,2"
    job: "ls -alh > /dev/null"
  • Success
    Steampunk Spotter scan finished with no errors, warnings or hints.
- name: 'Ensure an old job is no longer present. Removes any job that is prefixed by "#Ansible: an old job" from the crontab'
  ansible.builtin.cron:
    name: "an old job"
    state: absent
  • Success
    Steampunk Spotter scan finished with no errors, warnings or hints.
- name: Creates an entry like "@reboot /some/job.sh"
  ansible.builtin.cron:
    name: "a job for reboot"
    special_time: reboot
    job: "/some/job.sh"
  • Success
    Steampunk Spotter scan finished with no errors, warnings or hints.
- name: Creates an entry like "PATH=/opt/bin" on top of crontab
  ansible.builtin.cron:
    name: PATH
    env: yes
    job: /opt/bin
  • Success
    Steampunk Spotter scan finished with no errors, warnings or hints.
- name: Creates an entry like "APP_HOME=/srv/app" and insert it after PATH declaration
  ansible.builtin.cron:
    name: APP_HOME
    env: yes
    job: /srv/app
    insertafter: PATH
  • Success
    Steampunk Spotter scan finished with no errors, warnings or hints.
- name: Creates a cron file under /etc/cron.d
  ansible.builtin.cron:
    name: yum autoupdate
    weekday: "2"
    minute: "0"
    hour: "12"
    user: root
    job: "YUMINTERACTIVE=0 /usr/sbin/yum-autoupdate"
    cron_file: ansible_yum-autoupdate
  • Success
    Steampunk Spotter scan finished with no errors, warnings or hints.
- name: Removes a cron file from under /etc/cron.d
  ansible.builtin.cron:
    name: "yum autoupdate"
    cron_file: ansible_yum-autoupdate
    state: absent
  • Success
    Steampunk Spotter scan finished with no errors, warnings or hints.
- name: Removes "APP_HOME" environment variable from crontab
  ansible.builtin.cron:
    name: APP_HOME
    env: yes
    state: absent

Inputs

    
day:
    aliases:
    - dom
    default: '*'
    description:
    - Day of the month the job should run (C(1-31), C(*), C(*/2), and so on).
    type: str

env:
    default: false
    description:
    - If set, manages a crontab's environment variable.
    - New variables are added on top of crontab.
    - I(name) and I(value) parameters are the name and the value of environment variable.
    type: bool
    version_added: '2.1'
    version_added_collection: ansible.builtin

job:
    aliases:
    - value
    description:
    - The command to execute or, if env is set, the value of environment variable.
    - The command should not contain line breaks.
    - Required if I(state=present).
    type: str

hour:
    default: '*'
    description:
    - Hour when the job should run (C(0-23), C(*), C(*/2), and so on).
    type: str

name:
    description:
    - Description of a crontab entry or, if env is set, the name of environment variable.
    - Required if I(state=absent).
    - Note that if name is not set and I(state=present), then a new crontab entry will
      always be created, regardless of existing ones.
    - This parameter will always be required in future releases.
    type: str

user:
    description:
    - The specific user whose crontab should be modified.
    - When unset, this parameter defaults to the current user.
    type: str

month:
    default: '*'
    description:
    - Month of the year the job should run (C(1-12), C(*), C(*/2), and so on).
    type: str

state:
    choices:
    - absent
    - present
    default: present
    description:
    - Whether to ensure the job or environment variable is present or absent.
    type: str

backup:
    default: false
    description:
    - If set, create a backup of the crontab before it is modified. The location of the
      backup is returned in the C(backup_file) variable by this module.
    type: bool

minute:
    default: '*'
    description:
    - Minute when the job should run (C(0-59), C(*), C(*/2), and so on).
    type: str

reboot:
    default: false
    description:
    - If the job should be run at reboot. This option is deprecated. Users should use
      I(special_time).
    type: bool
    version_added: '1.0'
    version_added_collection: ansible.builtin

weekday:
    aliases:
    - dow
    default: '*'
    description:
    - Day of the week that the job should run (C(0-6) for Sunday-Saturday, C(*), and so
      on).
    type: str

disabled:
    default: false
    description:
    - If the job should be disabled (commented out) in the crontab.
    - Only has effect if I(state=present).
    type: bool
    version_added: '2.0'
    version_added_collection: ansible.builtin

cron_file:
    description:
    - If specified, uses this file instead of an individual user's crontab.
    - If this is a relative path, it is interpreted with respect to I(/etc/cron.d).
    - If it is absolute, it will typically be C(/etc/crontab).
    - Many linux distros expect (and some require) the filename portion to consist solely
      of upper- and lower-case letters, digits, underscores, and hyphens.
    - To use the I(cron_file) parameter you must specify the I(user) as well.
    type: str

insertafter:
    description:
    - Used with I(state=present) and I(env).
    - If specified, the environment variable will be inserted after the declaration of
      specified environment variable.
    type: str
    version_added: '2.1'
    version_added_collection: ansible.builtin

insertbefore:
    description:
    - Used with I(state=present) and I(env).
    - If specified, the environment variable will be inserted before the declaration of
      specified environment variable.
    type: str
    version_added: '2.1'
    version_added_collection: ansible.builtin

special_time:
    choices:
    - annually
    - daily
    - hourly
    - monthly
    - reboot
    - weekly
    - yearly
    description:
    - Special time specification nickname.
    type: str
    version_added: '1.3'
    version_added_collection: ansible.builtin