--- crontab.1.orig.out Thu Sep 20 09:09:15 2007 +++ crontab.1.out Thu Sep 20 09:09:14 2007 @@ -1,462 +1,660 @@ User Commands crontab(1) NAME crontab - user crontab file SYNOPSIS /usr/bin/crontab [filename] - /usr/bin/crontab -e [username] - /usr/bin/crontab -l [username] - /usr/bin/crontab -r [username] - /usr/xpg4/bin/crontab [filename] - /usr/xpg4/bin/crontab -e [username] - /usr/xpg4/bin/crontab -l [username] - /usr/xpg4/bin/crontab -r [username] - /usr/xpg6/bin/crontab [filename] - /usr/xpg6/bin/crontab -e [username] - /usr/xpg6/bin/crontab -l [username] - /usr/xpg6/bin/crontab -r [username] DESCRIPTION The crontab utility manages a user's access with cron (see cron(1M)) by copying, creating, listing, and removing cron- tab files. If invoked without options, crontab copies the specified file, or the standard input if no file is speci- fied, into a directory that holds all users' crontabs. + + If crontab is invoked with filename, this overwrites an existing crontab entry for the user that invokes it. + + crontab Access Control + Users: Access to crontab is allowed: -SunOS 5.11 Last change: 24 May 2006 1 + o if the user's name appears in + /etc/cron.d/cron.allow. +SunOS 5.11 Last change: 20 September 2007 1 -User Commands crontab(1) - Users: Access to crontab is allowed: - o if the user's name appears in - /etc/cron.d/cron.allow. +User Commands crontab(1) + + o if /etc/cron.d/cron.allow does not exist and the user's name is not in /etc/cron.d/cron.deny. + + + Users: Access to crontab is denied: + + + o if /etc/cron.d/cron.allow exists and the user's name is not in it. + + + + o if /etc/cron.d/cron.allow does not exist and user's name is in /etc/cron.d/cron.deny. + + + + o if neither file exists, only a user with the solaris.jobs.user authorization is allowed to sub- mit a job. + + + + o if BSM audit is enabled, the user's shell is not audited and the user is not the crontab owner. This can occur if the user logs in by way of a program, such as some versions of SSH, which does not set audit parameters. + + + The rules for allow and deny apply to root only if the allow/deny files exist. + + The allow/deny files consist of one user name per line. + + + + + + +SunOS 5.11 Last change: 20 September 2007 2 + + + + + + +User Commands crontab(1) + + + crontab Entry Format A crontab file consists of lines of six fields each. The fields are separated by spaces or tabs. The first five are integer patterns that specify the following: + + minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day of the month (1-31), month of the year (1-12), day of the week (0-6 with 0=Sunday). Each of these patterns can be either an asterisk (meaning all legal values) or a list of elements separated by commas. An element is either a number or two numbers separated by a - minus sign (meaning an inclusive range). Time specified here - is interpreted in the timezone of the cron(1M) daemon, which - is set system-wide in /etc/default/init. Entries do not use - the invoking user's timezone. The specification of days can - be made by two fields (day of the month and day of the + minus sign (meaning an inclusive range). Time specified + here is interpreted in the crrently active timezone. At the + top of the crontab file this is the timezone which is set + system-wide in /etc/default/init. User can add lines + TZ=timezone and all the subsequent entries will be inter- + preted using that timezone until a new TZ=timezone line is + encountered. The specification of days can be made by + two fields (day of the month and day of the week). Both + are adhered to if specified as a list of elements. See EXAM- + PLES. -SunOS 5.11 Last change: 24 May 2006 2 + The sixth field of a line in a crontab file is a string that + is executed by the shell at the specified times. A percent + character in this field (unless escaped by \) is translated + to a NEWLINE character. + Only the first line (up to a `%' or end of line) of the com- + mand field is executed by the shell. Other lines are made + available to the command as standard input. Any blank line + or line beginning with a `#' is a comment and is ignored. -User Commands crontab(1) + The shell is invoked from your $HOME directory, like TZ both + $SHELL and $HOME can be set by having a line + SHELL=/usr/bin/someshell and HOME=/somedirectory respec- + tively which will take precedence for all the remaining + entries in the crontab or until there is another HOME or + SHELL entry. It is invoked with an arg0 of the basename of + the $SHELL that is currently in effect. Users who desire to - week). Both are adhered to if specified as a list of ele- - ments. See EXAMPLES. +SunOS 5.11 Last change: 20 September 2007 3 - The sixth field of a line in a crontab file is a string that - is executed by the shell at the specified times. A percent - character in this field (unless escaped by \) is translated - to a NEWLINE character. - Only the first line (up to a `%' or end of line) of the com- - mand field is executed by the shell. Other lines are made - available to the command as standard input. Any blank line - or line beginning with a `#' is a comment and is ignored. - The shell is invoked from your $HOME directory with an arg0 - of sh. Users who desire to have their .profile executed must - explicitly do so in the crontab file. cron supplies a - default environment for every shell, defining HOME, LOGNAME, - SHELL(=/bin/sh), TZ, and PATH. The default PATH for user - cron jobs is /usr/bin; while root cron jobs default to + + + +User Commands crontab(1) + + + + have their .profile or equivilent files executed must expli- + citly do so in the crontab file. cron supplies a default + environment for every shell, defining HOME, LOGNAME, SHELL, + TZ, and PATH. The default PATH for user cron jobs is + /usr/bin; while root cron jobs default to /usr/sbin:/usr/bin. The default PATH can be set in - /etc/default/cron (see cron(1M)). + /etc/default/cron (see cron(1M)). The TZ, HOME and SHELL + environment variables are set to match those that are in + effect in the crontab file at the time. + + If you do not redirect the standard output and standard error of your commands, any generated output or errors are mailed to you. + + + Crontab Environment Variables + The following variables are supported: + + HOME: This allows the user to choose and alternative direc- + tory for cron to change directory to prior to running the + command. For example + + HOME=/var/tmp + + SHELL: The name of the shell to use to run the commands. Eg: + + SHELL=/usr/bin/ksh + + TZ: This allows the user to choose the timezone in which the + cron entries are run. This effects both the environment of + the command that is run and the timing of the entry. For + example to have your entries run using the timezone for Ice- + land: + + TZ=Iceland + + All these variables effect all the lines below them until + they are reset by a new line defining the variable. Hence it + is possible to have multiple timezones supported by a single + crontab file. + + The rest of the lines are the same as crontab entries that + conform to the UNIX standard. + + Setting cron Jobs Across Timezones - The timezone of the cron daemon sets the system-wide + The default timezone of the cron daemon sets the system-wide timezone for cron entries. This, in turn, is by set by default system-wide using /etc/default/init. + + +SunOS 5.11 Last change: 20 September 2007 4 + + + + + + +User Commands crontab(1) + + + If some form of daylight savings or summer/winter time is in effect, then jobs scheduled during the switchover period could be executed once, twice, or not at all. + + OPTIONS The following options are supported: - -e Edits a copy of the current user's crontab file, or - creates an empty file to edit if crontab does not - exist. When editing is complete, the file is installed - as the user's crontab file. - The environment variable EDITOR determines which edi- - tor is invoked with the -e option. All crontab jobs - should be submitted using crontab. Do not add jobs by - just editing the crontab file, because cron is not - aware of changes made this way. - If all lines in the crontab file are deleted, the old - crontab file is restored. The correct way to delete - all lines is to remove the crontab file using the -r + -e Edits a copy of the current user's crontab file, or + creates an empty file to edit if crontab does not exist. + When editing is complete, the file is installed as the + user's crontab file. -SunOS 5.11 Last change: 24 May 2006 3 + The environment variable EDITOR determines which editor + is invoked with the -e option. All crontab jobs should + be submitted using crontab. Do not add jobs by just + editing the crontab file, because cron is not aware of + changes made this way. + If all lines in the crontab file are deleted, the old + crontab file is restored. The correct way to delete all + lines is to remove the crontab file using the -r option. -User Commands crontab(1) + If username is specified, the specified user's crontab + file is edited, rather than the current user's crontab + file. This can only be done by root or by a user with + the solaris.jobs.admin authorization. - option. - If username is specified, the specified user's crontab - file is edited, rather than the current user's crontab - file. This can only be done by root or by a user with - the solaris.jobs.admin authorization. + -l Lists the crontab file for the invoking user. Only root + or a user with the solaris.jobs.admin authorization can + specify a username following the -l option to list the + crontab file of the specified user. - -l Lists the crontab file for the invoking user. Only - root or a user with the solaris.jobs.admin authoriza- - tion can specify a username following the -l option to - list the crontab file of the specified user. - -r Removes a user's crontab from the crontab directory. - Only root or a user with the solaris.jobs.admin - authorization can specify a username following the -r - option to remove the crontab file of the specified - user. + -r Removes a user's crontab from the crontab directory. + Only root or a user with the solaris.jobs.admin authori- + zation can specify a username following the -r option to + remove the crontab file of the specified user. + +SunOS 5.11 Last change: 20 September 2007 5 + + + + + + +User Commands crontab(1) + + + EXAMPLES Example 1 Cleaning up Core Files + This example cleans up core files every weekday morning at 3:15 am: + 15 3 * * 1-5 find $HOME -name core 2>/dev/null | xargs rm -f - Example 2 Mailing a Birthday Greeting + This example mails a birthday greeting: + 0 12 14 2 * mailx john%Happy Birthday!%Time for lunch. - Example 3 Specifying Days of the Month and Week + This example runs a command on the first and fifteenth of each month, as well as on every Monday: + 0 0 1,15 * 1 + To specify days by only one field, the other field should be + set to *. For example: + 0 0 * * 1 -SunOS 5.11 Last change: 24 May 2006 4 + would run a command only on Mondays. + TZ=GMT + HOME=/local/home/user + SHELL=/usr/bin/ksh + 0 0 * * * echo $(date) > midnight.GMT + TZ=PST + 0 0 * * * echo $(date) > midnight.PST -User Commands crontab(1) +SunOS 5.11 Last change: 20 September 2007 6 - To specify days by only one field, the other field should be - set to *. For example: - 0 0 * * 1 +User Commands crontab(1) - would run a command only on Mondays. + Would allow 2 jobs to run. The top one would run at midnight + in the GMT timezone and the second would run at midnight PST + timezone. Both would be run in the directory + /local/home/user using the korn shell. + + + ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES See environ(5) for descriptions of the following environment variables that affect the execution of crontab: LANG, LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE, LC_MESSAGES, and NLSPATH. + + /usr/bin/crontab - EDITOR Determine the editor to be invoked when the -e - option is specified. This is overriden by the - VISUAL environmental variable. The default editor - is vi(1). + EDITOR Determine the editor to be invoked when the -e + option is specified. This is overriden by the VISUAL + environmental variable. The default editor is vi(1). - PATH The search path used to find the default vi util- - ity. - VISUAL Determine the visual editor to be invoked when the - -e option is specified. If VISUAL is not speci- - fied, then the environment variable EDITOR is - used. If that is not set, the default is vi(1). + PATH The PATH in crontab's environment is used as the + search path used to find the editor. + + + VISUAL Determine the visual editor to be invoked when the + -e option is specified. If VISUAL is not specified, + then the environment variable EDITOR is used. If + that is not set, the default is vi(1). + + + + /usr/xpg4/bin/crontab - EDITOR Determine the editor to be invoked when the -e - option is specified. The default editor is - /usr/xpg4/bin/vi(1). + EDITOR Determine the editor to be invoked when the -e + option is specified. The default editor is + /usr/xpg4/bin/vi(1). - /usr/xpg6/bin/crontab - EDITOR Determine the editor to be invoked when the -e - option is specified. The default editor is - /usr/xpg6/bin/vi(1). -EXIT STATUS - The following exit values are returned: + /usr/xpg6/bin/crontab + EDITOR Determine the editor to be invoked when the -e + option is specified. The default editor is + /usr/xpg6/bin/vi(1). - 0 Successful completion. -SunOS 5.11 Last change: 24 May 2006 5 +SunOS 5.11 Last change: 20 September 2007 7 User Commands crontab(1) - >0 An error occurred. +EXIT STATUS + The following exit values are returned: + + 0 Successful completion. + + + + + >0 An error occurred. + + + + FILES - /etc/cron.d main cron directory + /etc/cron.d main cron directory - /etc/cron.d/cron.allow list of allowed users - /etc/default/cron contains cron default settings + /etc/cron.d/cron.allow list of allowed users - /etc/cron.d/cron.deny list of denied users - /var/cron/log accounting information + /etc/default/cron contains cron default settings - /var/spool/cron/crontabs spool area for crontab -ATTRIBUTES - See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attri- - butes: + /etc/cron.d/cron.deny list of denied users - /usr/bin/crontab - ____________________________________________________________ - |_____________________________|_____________________________| - | Availability | SUNWcsu | - |_____________________________|_____________________________| - |_____________________________|_____________________________| - /usr/xpg4/bin/crontab - ____________________________________________________________ - |_____________________________|_____________________________| - | Availability | SUNWxcu4 | - |_____________________________|_____________________________| - |_____________________________|_____________________________| + /var/cron/log accounting information - /usr/xpg6/bin/crontab + /var/spool/cron/crontabs spool area for crontab +ATTRIBUTES + See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attri- + butes: -SunOS 5.11 Last change: 24 May 2006 6 +SunOS 5.11 Last change: 20 September 2007 8 + User Commands crontab(1) + /usr/bin/crontab ____________________________________________________________ |_____________________________|_____________________________| + | Availability | SUNWcsu | + |_____________________________|_____________________________| + |_____________________________|_____________________________| + + + /usr/xpg4/bin/crontab + ____________________________________________________________ + |_____________________________|_____________________________| + | Availability | SUNWxcu4 | + |_____________________________|_____________________________| + |_____________________________|_____________________________| + + + /usr/xpg6/bin/crontab + ____________________________________________________________ + |_____________________________|_____________________________| | Availability | SUNWxcu6 | |_____________________________|_____________________________| |_____________________________|_____________________________| SEE ALSO atq(1), atrm(1), auths(1), ed(1), sh(1), vi(1), cron(1M), su(1M), auth_attr(4), attributes(5), environ(5), stan- dards(5) + + NOTES If you inadvertently enter the crontab command with no argu- ments, do not attempt to get out with Control-d. This removes all entries in your crontab file. Instead, exit with Control-c. + + When updating cron, check first for existing crontab entries that can be scheduled close to the time of the update. Such entries can be lost if the update process completes after the scheduled event. This can happen because, when cron is notified by crontab to update the internal view of a user's crontab file, it first removes the user's existing internal crontab and any internal scheduled events. Then it reads the new crontab file and rebuilds the internal crontab and events. This last step takes time, especially with a large crontab file, and can complete after an existing crontab entry is scheduled to run if it is scheduled too close to the update. To be safe, start a new job at least 60 seconds after the current date and time. + + +SunOS 5.11 Last change: 20 September 2007 9 + + + + + + +User Commands crontab(1) + + + If an authorized user other than root modifies another user's crontab file, the resulting behavior can be unpredictable. Instead, the authorized user should first use su(1M) to become superuser to the other user's login before making any changes to the crontab file. + Care should be taken when adding TZ, SHELL and HOME vari- + ables to the crontab file when the crontab file could be + shared with applications that do not expect those variables + to be changed from the default. Resetting the values to + their deraults at the bottom of the file will minimize the + risk of this causing a problem. -SunOS 5.11 Last change: 24 May 2006 7 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +SunOS 5.11 Last change: 20 September 2007 10 + +