33
cron PATH bit me again today (lemmy.world)
submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by indidev@lemmy.world to c/programming@programming.dev
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Deployed a backup script on a new server, tested it manually — worked fine. Set up crontab, came back next morning, no backup. Turns out /usr/local/bin wasn't in cron's PATH so pg_dump just silently didn't exist.

Switched to absolute path and it worked immediately. Fifteen minutes of debugging for a one-character fix. I keep making this mistake every time I set up a new box. At this point I should just have a checklist taped to my monitor.

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[-] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 14 points 3 weeks ago

That's one reason why I like using systemd timers instead of cronjobs. You can easily test it by running the unit instead of setting the job to "in a minute".

Downside is that you don't easily get notification mails for any output.

[-] dan@upvote.au 2 points 3 weeks ago

I use healthchecks + runitor for notifications. Would recommend. I posted another comment about them.

this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2026
33 points (97.1% liked)

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