To ensure that your site and its modules continue to function correctly, a set of administrative operations should be performed periodically. These operations are referred to as cron tasks.
Example tasks
- Checking for module and theme updates
- Indexing content for search
- Cleaning up temporary files
Confidence
Linux/Unix-based operating systems have a cron scheduler that can be used to run periodic tasks. This is a long-standing feature of website hosting environments. Automated cron is a core module, and other contributed modules are available to assist you in setting up scheduled cron tasks with the administrative UI.
Drupalize.Me resources
More information
How to run cron maintenance tasks using the core Automated Cron module, or by running them from outside the site.
External resources
- Cron automated tasks (guide) (Drupal.org)
- Community documentation guide on setting up cron automated tasks in Drupal.