Windows
Linux
System & Storage
System
Windows msconfig / Task Scheduler equivalent in Linux
Runs commands or scripts automatically on a schedule — like Windows Task Scheduler.
Windows
→
msconfig / Task Scheduler
Linux equivalents
crontab -e
crontab -e
crontab -e
Overview
What this command does
Runs commands or scripts automatically on a schedule — like Windows Task Scheduler.
Migration tip: Cron uses a 5-field time format: minute hour day month weekday. The site crontab.guru is excellent for building cron expressions.
Practical tasks
Common use cases
Schedule recurring tasks
Runs commands or scripts automatically on a schedule — like Windows Task Scheduler.
crontab -e
Edit your cron jobs
crontab -l
List your current cron jobs
crontab -r
Remove all your cron jobs
Ready to run
Copyable Linux commands
Review paths, device names, package names and permissions before running any command.
crontab -e
crontab -l
Walkthrough
Examples with explanations
# Cron format: min hour day month weekday command
crontab -e # open editor to add/edit jobs
# Example cron entries:
0 9 * * 1-5 /home/john/backup.sh # 9am Mon-Fri
*/15 * * * * /usr/bin/check.sh # every 15 min
0 0 * * * /home/john/daily.sh # midnight daily
@reboot /home/john/startup.sh # on every boot
crontab -l # view your scheduled jobsReference
Common options and variations
| Command or option | Use |
|---|---|
crontab -e | Edit your cron jobs |
crontab -l | List your current cron jobs |
crontab -r | Remove all your cron jobs |
@reboot command | Run once on every system startup |
@daily command | Run once per day |
Distro differences
Debian/Ubuntu vs Fedora vs Arch
This command is the same on Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch Linux when the relevant tool is installed.
| Distribution | Package manager / base | Equivalent command | Difference to notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian/Ubuntu | same command | crontab -e |
Same command on this distribution. |
| Fedora | same command | crontab -e |
Same command on this distribution. |
| Arch | same command | crontab -e |
Same command on this distribution. |
Important
What to watch out for
Cron jobs run with a minimal environment — no PATH, no aliases. Always use full paths to commands in cron jobs (e.g. /usr/bin/python3, not just python3).
Keep learning