Cron

cron

Example usage of cron utility
Developer(s)	AT&T Bell Laboratories
Initial release	May 1975; 49 years ago (1975-05)
Written in	C
Operating system	Unix and Unix-like, Plan 9, Inferno
Type	Job scheduler

The cron command-line utility is a job scheduler on Unix-like operating systems. Users who set up and maintain software environments use cron to schedule jobs^[1] (commands or shell scripts), also known as cron jobs,^[2][3] to run periodically at fixed times, dates, or intervals.^[4] It typically automates system maintenance or administration—though its general-purpose nature makes it useful for things like downloading files from the Internet and downloading email at regular intervals.^[5]

Cron is most suitable for scheduling repetitive tasks. Scheduling one-time tasks can be accomplished using the associated at utility.

Cron's name originates from Chronos, the Greek word for time.^{[6][better source needed]}