Developers and sysadmins often rely on cron jobs for scheduled automation: sending reports, backups, cache clearing, and more. But what happens if a job silently fails? No logs, no alerts, no signs.
Why Cron Can Fail
- Changed path to the executable
- Environment issues (e.g., PATH variables or missing dependencies)
- Expired token or wrong parameters
- Permission errors
The Solution — External Monitoring
Our platform offers a simple way to monitor cron jobs. Here’s the idea: at the end of every cron job, you send an HTTP request (ping) to a unique URL. If we don’t receive it on time — you get notified.
How to Set It Up
- Create a new cron monitor in your dashboard
- Copy the provided URL
- Add a line to your script like:
curl -fsS https://ev.okchecker.com/p/<api-key>/backup-db - Set the expected interval (e.g., once every 24h)
- Choose notification methods: Email, Telegram, Slack
Bonus: Logging and History
Every successful ping is logged. You can view stats by day/week/month, graph trends, and even export logs.
Bottom Line
Monitoring cron jobs isn’t optional anymore. Avoid silent failures, protect your automation — and sleep well knowing it’s covered.