How to set up a cron job that runs a Node.js app

By Flavio Copes

Learn how to set up a cron job that runs a Node.js app by writing a run.sh script, making it executable with chmod, and scheduling it through crontab -e.

Create a shell script in a file, for example called run.sh

#!/bin/sh
node app.js

Give it execution rights

chmod +x run.sh

Then

crontab -e

By default this opens with the default editor, which is usually vim.

| Tip if you’re new to vim: use i to enter insertion mode, so you can type/paste, then esc and wq to save and quit.

Now you can add one line for each cron job.

The syntax to define cron jobs is kind of scary. This is why I usually use a website to help me generate it without errors: https://crontab-generator.org/

You pick a time interval for the cron job, and you type the command to execute.

I chose to run this every every day at 10AM.

This is the crontab line I need to run:

0 10 * * * /Users/flaviocopes/dev/run.sh >/dev/null 2>&1

If all goes well, the cron job is set up.

Once this is done, you can see the list of active cron jobs by running:

crontab -l

You can remove a cron job running crontab -e again, removing the line and exiting the editor.

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