How to run a cron job every 15 minutes

Linux and Unix-based systems have a built-in scheduling service called cron, that runs in the background and executes commands defined as cron jobs. Here’s how to schedule a cron job to run every 15 minutes.

Linux and Unix-based systems have a built-in scheduling service called cron, that runs in the background and executes commands defined as cron jobs. Here’s how to schedule a cron job to run every 15 minutes.

Login to your UNIX/Linux system and type the following command to open the cron job editor:

crontab -e

Crontab uses a VI editor, so press the “i” key to enter INSERT mode.

Each line in the crontab editor represents a cron job, using the following syntax:

To get crontab to run a task every 15 minutes you would type the following command:

*/15  *    *    *   *  /path/to/script

Save and close the file by pressing the Esc key and then entering “wq” at the command prompt, indicating “write” and then “quit”.

Crontab will run the script every 15 minutes.