Unable to create cronjobs using cronie

[TheVisitor92]

Hello there,
I’m new to Arch Linux and Garuda OS.

I’m trying to create my first cronjob on my first Garuda installation. To achieve this purpose, I installed cronie 1.7.2, right after I started and enabled with:

systemctl start cronie

systemctl enable cronie

Now, I ran:

crontab -e

from fish shell, a text file is opened with Kate (eg. crontab.Y7p5wl).
I read on web that this temp text file is like a buffer, so I need to write my cron entry here and save, and is what I have done, but after saved and closed the file, I can’t see my cron entry on /etc/crontab.

If helps, I’m running cron with normal user, but root user doesn’t work either.

I tried editing /etc/crontab with nano but cronjob still doesn’t work.

Someone could point me to the right direction please? On web I haven’t find much

[filo]

systemctl status cronie

?

[TheVisitor92]

@filo

?

As new user here I can’t upload images, but here the output:

● cronie.service - Command Scheduler
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/cronie.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
Active: active (running) since Sun 2024-09-29 18:10:34 CEST; 9min ago
Invocation: abb45b0f98834a2c81a003ea157bcfd8
Main PID: 9791 (crond)
Tasks: 1 (limit: 9062)
Memory: 904K (peak: 1.7M)
CPU: 12ms
CGroup: /system.slice/cronie.service
└─9791 /usr/sbin/crond -n

set 29 18:10:34 elia-thinkpad systemd[1]: Started Command Scheduler.
set 29 18:10:34 elia-thinkpad crond[9791]: (CRON) STARTUP (1.7.2)
set 29 18:10:34 elia-thinkpad crond[9791]: (CRON) INFO (Syslog will be used instead of sendmail.)
set 29 18:10:34 elia-thinkpad crond[9791]: (CRON) INFO (RANDOM_DELAY will be scaled with factor 76% if used.)
set 29 18:10:34 elia-thinkpad crond[9791]: (CRON) INFO (running with inotify support)
set 29 18:10:34 elia-thinkpad crond[9791]: (CRON) INFO (@reboot jobs will be run at computer's startup.)

cronie is runnig as root user (saw this with ps aux command)

[filo]

It’s a lot of time that I don’t use cron, but for anyone willing to help maybe it’s time to provide more details.
What you’re adding to cron, if you want to launch a script what it is like. It could be also a matter of environment variables.
And your garuda-inxi is missing in the initial post.

[TheVisitor92]

Sorry for the missing garuda-inxi output:

System:
Kernel: 6.10.10-zen1-1-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 14.2.1
clocksource: tsc avail: acpi_pm
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-zen
root=UUID=cd382bd2-defe-4b7b-b2b4-f47cbe7d9e7d rw rootflags=subvol=@
quiet loglevel=3 ibt=off
Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.1.5 tk: Qt v: N/A wm: kwin_wayland dm: SDDM
Distro: Garuda base: Arch Linux
Machine:
Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 20HES2BD0J v: ThinkPad T470
serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 10 serial: <filter>
Mobo: LENOVO model: 20HES2BD0J v: SDK0J40697 WIN serial: <filter>
part-nu: LENOVO_MT_20HE_BU_Think_FM_ThinkPad T470
uuid: 766904cc-2148-11b2-a85c-f88b6f6149cf UEFI-[Legacy]: LENOVO
v: N1QETA1W (1.76 ) date: 11/06/2023
Battery:
ID-1: BAT0 charge: 20.0 Wh (100.0%) condition: 20.0/24.0 Wh (83.5%)
volts: 12.7 min: 11.5 model: SMP 01AV421 type: Li-poly serial: <filter>
status: full cycles: 593
CPU:
Info: model: Intel Core i5-7300U socket: BGA1356 (U3E1) note: check bits: 64
type: MT MCP arch: Amber/Kaby Lake note: check gen: core 7 level: v3
note: check built: 2017 process: Intel 14nm family: 6 model-id: 0x8E (142)
stepping: 9 microcode: 0xF6
Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 clusters: 2 cores: 2 threads: 4 tpc: 2
smt: enabled cache: L1: 128 KiB desc: d-2x32 KiB; i-2x32 KiB L2: 512 KiB
desc: 2x256 KiB L3: 3 MiB desc: 1x3 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 700 min/max: 400/3500 base/boost: 2600/2700 scaling:
driver: intel_pstate governor: powersave volts: 1.0 V ext-clock: 100 MHz
cores: 1: 700 2: 700 3: 700 4: 700 bogomips: 21599
Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
Device-1: Intel HD Graphics 620 vendor: Lenovo driver: i915 v: kernel
arch: Gen-9.5 process: Intel 14nm built: 2016-20 ports: active: eDP-1
empty: DP-1, DP-2, HDMI-A-1, HDMI-A-2 bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:5916
class-ID: 0300
Device-2: Chicony Integrated IR Camera driver: uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-5:2 chip-ID: 04f2:b5ac
class-ID: 0e02
Device-3: Chicony Integrated Camera driver: uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-8:4 chip-ID: 04f2:b5ab
class-ID: 0e02
Display: unspecified server: X.Org v: 24.1.2 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.2
compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: modesetting
alternate: fbdev,intel,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915 display-ID: :1 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 508x286mm (20.00x11.26")
s-diag: 583mm (22.95")
Monitor-1: eDP-1 model: AU Optronics 0x103d built: 2016 res: 1920x1080
hz: 60 dpi: 158 gamma: 1.2 size: 309x173mm (12.17x6.81") diag: 354mm (13.9")
ratio: 16:9 modes: 1920x1080
API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris platforms: device: 0 drv: iris
device: 1 drv: swrast gbm: drv: iris surfaceless: drv: iris x11: drv: iris
inactive: wayland
API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 24.2.3-arch1.1
glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 620 (KBL GT2)
device-ID: 8086:5916 memory: 3.62 GiB unified: yes
API: Vulkan v: 1.3.295 layers: 3 device: 0 type: integrated-gpu name: Intel
HD Graphics 620 (KBL GT2) driver: mesa intel v: 24.2.3-arch1.1
device-ID: 8086:5916 surfaces: xcb,xlib device: 1 type: cpu name: llvmpipe
(LLVM 18.1.8 256 bits) driver: mesa llvmpipe v: 24.2.3-arch1.1 (LLVM
18.1.8) device-ID: 10005:0000 surfaces: xcb,xlib
Audio:
Device-1: Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio vendor: Lenovo
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_skl,snd_soc_avs
bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:9d71 class-ID: 0403
API: ALSA v: k6.10.10-zen1-1-zen status: kernel-api tools: N/A
Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.2.5 status: n/a (root, process) with:
1: pipewire-pulse status: active 2: wireplumber status: active
3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
Device-1: Intel Ethernet I219-LM vendor: Lenovo driver: e1000e v: kernel
port: N/A bus-ID: 00:1f.6 chip-ID: 8086:15d7 class-ID: 0200
IF: enp0s31f6 state: down mac: <filter>
Device-2: Intel Wireless 8265 / 8275 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel pcie:
gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 04:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:24fd
class-ID: 0280
IF: wlp4s0 state: up mac: <filter>
Info: services: NetworkManager, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant
Bluetooth:
Device-1: Intel Bluetooth wireless interface driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB
rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-7:3 chip-ID: 8087:0a2b
class-ID: e001
Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 4.2
lmp-v: 8 status: discoverable: no pairing: no class-ID: 6c010c
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 21.4 GiB (9.0%)
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Toshiba model: N/A
size: 238.47 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s
lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 5111AALA temp: 30.9 C
scheme: MBR
SMART: yes health: PASSED on: 263d 17h cycles: 1,893
read-units: 52,597,179 [26.9 TB] written-units: 25,524,616 [13.0 TB]
Partition:
ID-1: / raw-size: 238.47 GiB size: 238.47 GiB (100.00%)
used: 21.4 GiB (9.0%) fs: btrfs block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
maj-min: 259:1
ID-2: /home raw-size: 238.47 GiB size: 238.47 GiB (100.00%)
used: 21.4 GiB (9.0%) fs: btrfs block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
maj-min: 259:1
ID-3: /var/log raw-size: 238.47 GiB size: 238.47 GiB (100.00%)
used: 21.4 GiB (9.0%) fs: btrfs block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
maj-min: 259:1
ID-4: /var/tmp raw-size: 238.47 GiB size: 238.47 GiB (100.00%)
used: 21.4 GiB (9.0%) fs: btrfs block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
maj-min: 259:1
Swap:
Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 7.41 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 100
comp: zstd avail: lzo,lzo-rle,lz4,lz4hc,842 max-streams: 4 dev: /dev/zram0
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 52.0 C pch: 38.0 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
Memory: total: 8 GiB note: est. available: 7.41 GiB used: 2.69 GiB (36.2%)
igpu: 32 MiB
Processes: 212 Power: uptime: 29m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep
avail: s2idle wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
suspend, test_resume image: 2.95 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,
power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd v: 256 default: graphical
tool: systemctl
Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1414 libs: 417 tools: octopi,paru Compilers:
gcc: 14.2.1 Shell: garuda-inxi (sudo) default: Bash v: 5.2.37
running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.36
Garuda (2.6.26-1):
System install date:     2024-04-05
Last full system update: 2024-09-29
Is partially upgraded:   No
Relevant software:       snapper NetworkManager dracut
Windows dual boot:       No/Undetected
Failed units:

I’m trying to run this cronjob entry:

@reboot rclone mount --daemon GDrive:<path> /home/elia/DB

but as I say, when I write the above line into the temporary file (which is opened after “crontab -e” command) and then save it, nothing happens.

Other infos:

sudo crontab -l -u root
no crontab for root

sudo crontab -l -u elia
no crontab for elia

sudo cat /etc/crontab
# /etc/crontab: configuration file for cron

# See cron(8) and crontab(5) for details.

# m h dom mon dow user command

Also, these are journalctl entries for ‘cronie’ service after Garuda boot:

journalctl -u cronie

-- Boot 5b273b8a46c0419ba69c88ed86003029 --
set 29 19:33:06 elia-thinkpad systemd[1]: Started Command Scheduler.
set 29 19:33:06 elia-thinkpad crond[648]: (CRON) STARTUP (1.7.2)
set 29 19:33:06 elia-thinkpad crond[648]: (CRON) INFO (Syslog will be used instead of sendmail.)
set 29 19:33:06 elia-thinkpad crond[648]: (CRON) INFO (RANDOM_DELAY will be scaled with factor 74% if used.)
set 29 19:33:06 elia-thinkpad crond[648]: (CRON) INFO (running with inotify support)
set 29 20:01:00 elia-thinkpad CROND[5065]: (root) CMD (run-parts /etc/cron.hourly)
set 29 20:01:00 elia-thinkpad anacron[5073]: Anacron started on 2024-09-29
set 29 20:01:00 elia-thinkpad anacron[5073]: Will run job `cron.daily' in 49 min.
set 29 20:01:00 elia-thinkpad anacron[5073]: Will run job `cron.weekly' in 69 min.
set 29 20:01:00 elia-thinkpad anacron[5073]: Will run job `cron.monthly' in 89 min.
set 29 20:01:00 elia-thinkpad anacron[5073]: Jobs will be executed sequentially
set 29 20:01:01 elia-thinkpad CROND[5064]: (root) CMDEND (run-parts /etc/cron.hourly)

If I run manually 'rclone mount --daemon GDrive: /home/elia/DB it works as expected.

[SGS]

(Just)

FYI

The default system scheduled jobs in arch linux is managed through systemd.timer. To list the timer units :

systemctl list-timers

[filo]

If I understand correctly, rclone needs and uses a configuration file, and maybe cron is not able to find it.
So, this might be a problem of environment variables and/or even use the whole path to rclone.
Anyway, this wouldn’t explain why the entry is not saved at all… I have no idea.
In general, to achieve something @reboot, I’d rather create a systemd service running at startup.
You could start with something like this (to be refined for sure):
Create a file in /etc/systemd/system, e.g. rclone-gdrive.service with the following contents:

[Unit]
Description=Rclone Google Drive Mount
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target

[Service]
TimeoutStartSec=10
ExecStart=/usr/bin/rclone mount --daemon GDrive:<path> /home/elia/DB
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Then

sudo systemctl enable --now rclone-gdrive.service

Edit: it will be probably a bit more complicated. See e g.

Rclone mount on startup with systemd

Just found a solution you could start with:

Mounting onedrive on startup/login/restart/reboot

Solution: /usr/bin/onedrive/mount-onedrive.sh #!/bin/bash rclone mount --config ~/.config/rclone/rclone.conf --allow-non-empty --vfs-cache-mode writes onedrive: /home/$ {USER}/OneDrive /etc/systemd/system/onedrive-mount.service [Unit] Description=Mount OneDrive with rclone After=network.target [Service] Type=simple ExecStart=/usr/bin/onedrive/mount-onedrive.sh Restart=on-failure RestartSec=10 User=<your-user> [Install] WantedBy=default.target Note: This is important! If you have a Microso…

[TheVisitor92]

@SGS thank you for the command to list timers, much appreciated.

@filo thank you very much! These are a lot of useful infos and you were right, it was an environment variable issue.

So, I can say for sure that I posted in the right section: I’m such a newbie!

‘crontab -e’ command opens Keta editor 'cause a global environment variable is set to use Keta text editor.

Now the fun part, I come from Debian, where by default you find Bash shell, so… I was trying to use Fish shell as Bash, but this isn’t how things work.

I opened:

~/.config/fish/config.fish

and configured:

set -g EDITOR /usr/bin/nano
set -g SUDO_EDITOR /usr/bin/nano
set -g VISUAL $EDITOR

So this is the Fish shell equivalent of setting environment variables inside ~/.bashrc (on Bash).

I edited crontab -e with ‘nano’, thus the temporary file (crontab.something) acts correctly as a buffer, inside I wrote:

@reboot rclone mount --daemon GDrive: /home/elia/DB/

Saved with Ctrl + X and reboot.

My Google Drive was successfully mounted at boot.

This lookslike to me a little bit “dirty” as solution, so I’ll definitively give a try to the systemd service way you pointed me. For now, a big thank you!

[filo]

Well done! Hey, I forgot the most important thing: welcome to the forum!