<p>Currently not... after all, the task has to be triggered by <em>something</em> (either a cron job or a PHP request to kick it off).</p>

<p>We've discussed the possibility of adding quasi-cron support natively in the future.  It wouldn't be 100% accurate, though, since it would still require a PHP request to trigger it. At most you'd be able to say something like "Start this task at 8PM tomorrow", but it wouldn't actually start until the first PHP request that occurs after 8PM tomorrow.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-20T00:39:46.407Z
For what it's worth, WordPress has the same issue. A lot of people disable WP Cron because it has performance problems and fill in the gaps with a real, system level cron job. Another reason to go for a VPS over shared IMO. I would imagine people who need this also have gzip enabled and [need to setup that job](http://buildwithcraft.com/docs/config-settings#runTasksAutomatically) anyway.
RitterKnight
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-09T18:23:59.727Z
Has it been added yet?
user2997606
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-14T22:29:13.540Z
Brad is this answer still accurate? I noticed the [`runTasksAutomatically`](https://craftcms.com/docs/config-settings#runTasksAutomatically) setting is available and on by default.
Simon East
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-14T23:30:54.923Z
@SimonEast We were going to add proper cron job support in Craft 3, but it didn't make the list. Still pretty high on the todo list, though.
Brad Bell
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-19T23:26:58.127Z
2015-11-19T23:26:58.127Z
Brad Bell
<p>Is it possible to have a task (defined in a plugin) be scheduled in Craft to run on a recurring basis without having to use cron?</p>

<p>If so, where do I put those settings (eg, to run a task hourly)?</p>

<plugin-development><plugins><tasks><cron>
Recurring Scheduled Tasks in Craft
# Recurring Scheduled Tasks in Craft

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-11-19)

Is it possible to have a task (defined in a plugin) be scheduled in Craft to run on a recurring basis without having to use cron?

If so, where do I put those settings (eg, to run a task hourly)?

**Tags:** plugin-development, plugins, tasks, cron

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-11-19. Score: 2

Currently not... after all, the task has to be triggered by *something* (either a cron job or a PHP request to kick it off).

We've discussed the possibility of adding quasi-cron support natively in the future. It wouldn't be 100% accurate, though, since it would still require a PHP request to trigger it. At most you'd be able to say something like "Start this task at 8PM tomorrow", but it wouldn't actually start until the first PHP request that occurs after 8PM tomorrow.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: For what it's worth, WordPress has the same issue. A lot of people disable WP Cron because it has performance problems and fill in the gaps with a real, system level cron job. Another reason to go for a VPS over shared IMO. I would imagine people who need this also have gzip enabled and [need to setup that job](http://buildwithcraft.com/docs/config-settings#runTasksAutomatically) anyway.  
> **username_3**: Has it been added yet?  
> **username_4**: Brad is this answer still accurate? I noticed the [`runTasksAutomatically`](https://craftcms.com/docs/config-settings#runTasksAutomatically) setting is available and on by default.  
> **username_1**: @SimonEast We were going to add proper cron job support in Craft 3, but it didn't make the list. Still pretty high on the todo list, though.  

---

