> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.release.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.release.com/guides-and-examples/running-instances/cron-jobs.md).

# Cron jobs

How to create cron jobs

## Understanding cron jobs

Cron jobs let you run scripts and other jobs periodically, either based on an interval (for example, every ten minutes) or on a schedule (for example, every Tuesday at 03:00 AM).

## Creating a cron job in your environment

To create cron jobs in Release, edit your "Environment Configuration" under **Settings**.

![Edit environment configuration](https://585411240-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M1neGLLQ0sDXeK6ooSo%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-3b9aec97240fdd6463e468e92b1e8930c69ffd9f%2Fjobs-edit-evironment-configuration.png?alt=media)

1. At the end of the YAML, add a section called `cron_jobs` and define any jobs you want to run following the example below.

```yaml
# ...
cron_jobs:
  - name: hello-cron
    schedule: "0/5 * * * *"
    image: busybox
    command:
      - sh
      - "-c"
      - "echo 'hi from cron'"
```

2. Press **Save as new version**.

![Save new configuration version](https://585411240-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M1neGLLQ0sDXeK6ooSo%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-00b626d305ab82f2ad4d2db2edd699374746bffa%2Fcronjobs-cron-configuration-block.png?alt=media)

3. Click **Deploy** -> **Deploy Patch** to apply this new configuration to your environment. This will redeploy your existing instances, and also add a new one to run the cron job you defined.

![Apply latest configuration](https://585411240-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M1neGLLQ0sDXeK6ooSo%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-5fc1384287683ba6e467d6c58dad2cd8a438344d%2Fjobs-apply-latest-config.png?alt=media)

Wait for the new environment to deploy. If you used the configuration from the example above, you should see a new instance come up every five minutes. Viewing the logs of that instance will confirm that the job ran as expected.

![Viewing the CronJob log](https://585411240-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M1neGLLQ0sDXeK6ooSo%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-d2b5562a50d074582463516ccc6bf0c94a0a9a2f%2Fcronjobs-cron-log-success.png?alt=media)

## The difference between cron jobs and jobs

Cron jobs are distinct from jobs in that:

* Cron jobs are run on a schedule or timer.
* Jobs are run manually or based on events, for example, after a backend service comes up.

## The cron jobs schema

Instead of choosing an `image` to base your cron job on, you can define `from_services` to base your cron job on an existing service. You can find more examples and the full schema in the [schema docs](/reference-documentation/application-settings/application-template/schema-definition.md#cron-jobs).


---

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