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Scheduling

Integration ​

Schedule Constraints ​

The scheduler provides many constraint methods to fine-tune when your tasks should run.

Basic Integration ​

The recommended way to define scheduled tasks is using the event manager during container building:

php
use Cake\Event\EventManager;
use Scheduling\Schedule;

$eventManager = EventManager::instance();
$eventManager->on('Application.buildContainer', function ($event): void {
    $container = $event->getData('container');
    $schedule = $container->get(Schedule::class);

    // Define your scheduled tasks here
    $schedule->command('cache clear')->everyMinute();
});

This approach ensures that your scheduled tasks are defined when the application container is built, making them available to all scheduling commands.

Defining Scheduled Tasks ​

Command Scheduling ​

Schedule CakePHP console commands using the command method:

php
// Schedule a command every minute
$schedule->command('emails send')->everyMinute();

// Schedule with arguments
$schedule->command('reports generate --format=pdf')->daily();

// Schedule using command class
$schedule->command(\App\Command\BackupCommand::class)->weekly();

Closure Scheduling ​

Schedule closures for simple tasks:

php
$schedule->call(function () {
    // Clear temporary files
    $filesystem = new \Cake\Filesystem\Folder(TMP);
    $filesystem->delete();
})->daily();

Shell Command Scheduling ​

Execute system commands:

php
$schedule->exec('php /path/to/script.php')->hourly();

$schedule->exec('mysqldump -u user -p database > backup.sql')
    ->dailyAt('02:00');

Frequency Options ​

The plugin provides a comprehensive set of frequency methods:

Second-Based Frequencies ​

php
$schedule->command('monitor check')->everySecond();
$schedule->command('health check')->everyFiveSeconds();
$schedule->command('queue process')->everyTenSeconds();
$schedule->command('metrics collect')->everyFifteenSeconds();
$schedule->command('status update')->everyThirtySeconds();

Minute-Based Frequencies ​

php
$schedule->command('cache warm')->everyMinute();
$schedule->command('data sync')->everyFiveMinutes();
$schedule->command('log rotate')->everyFifteenMinutes();
$schedule->command('cleanup temp')->everyThirtyMinutes();

Hour-Based Frequencies ​

php
$schedule->command('reports hourly')->hourly();
$schedule->command('backup incremental')->everyTwoHours();
$schedule->command('analytics process')->everyFourHours();

Daily Frequencies ​

php
$schedule->command('reports daily')->daily();
$schedule->command('backup full')->dailyAt('02:00');
$schedule->command('cleanup logs')->dailyAt('03:30');

Weekly and Monthly ​

php
$schedule->command('reports weekly')->weekly();
$schedule->command('reports monthly')->monthly();
$schedule->command('maintenance')->weeklyOn(1, '08:00'); // Monday at 8 AM

Custom Cron Expressions ​

php
$schedule->command('custom task')->cron('0 */6 * * *'); // Every 6 hours

Task Constraints ​

Time-Based Constraints ​

php
// Run only between 9 AM and 5 PM
$schedule->command('business task')
    ->hourly()
    ->between('09:00', '17:00');

// Skip execution between midnight and 6 AM
$schedule->command('maintenance task')
    ->hourly()
    ->unlessBetween('00:00', '06:00');

Day-Based Constraints ​

php
// Run only on weekdays
$schedule->command('business report')
    ->daily()
    ->weekdays();

// Run only on weekends
$schedule->command('maintenance')
    ->hourly()
    ->weekends();

// Run on specific days
$schedule->command('weekly report')
    ->daily()
    ->days([1, 3, 5]); // Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Conditional Constraints ​

php
// Run only if condition is true
$schedule->command('conditional task')
    ->daily()
    ->when(function () {
        return file_exists('/tmp/run_task');
    });

// Skip if condition is true
$schedule->command('normal task')
    ->hourly()
    ->skip(function () {
        return app()->isDownForMaintenance();
    });

Preventing Task Overlaps ​

Prevent tasks from running if the previous instance is still executing:

php
$schedule->command('long running task')
    ->everyMinute()
    ->withoutOverlapping();

// Custom overlap timeout (in minutes)
$schedule->command('data import')
    ->everyFiveMinutes()
    ->withoutOverlapping(10);

Single-Server Execution ​

Ensure tasks run on only one server in multi-server environments:

php
$schedule->command('backup database')
    ->daily()
    ->onOneServer();

// Named single-server tasks
$schedule->command('process queue high')
    ->everyMinute()
    ->onOneServer()
    ->name('process-high-priority');

Background Execution ​

Run tasks in the background to prevent blocking:

php
$schedule->command('heavy processing')
    ->everyFiveMinutes()
    ->runInBackground();

Task Hooks ​

Before and After Hooks ​

php
$schedule->command('data processing')
    ->hourly()
    ->before(function () {
        // Log task start
        \Cake\Log\Log::info('Starting data processing');
    })
    ->after(function () {
        // Log task completion
        \Cake\Log\Log::info('Data processing completed');
    });

Success and Failure Hooks ​

php
$schedule->command('critical task')
    ->daily()
    ->onSuccess(function () {
        // Send success notification
        \Cake\Log\Log::info('Critical task completed successfully');
    })
    ->onFailure(function () {
        // Send failure alert
        \Cake\Log\Log::error('Critical task failed');
    });

Sub-Minute Tasks ​

The plugin supports sub-minute scheduling for high-frequency tasks:

php
// Process queue items every 5 seconds
$schedule->command('queue work')
    ->everyFiveSeconds()
    ->withoutOverlapping(1);

// Monitor system health every 10 seconds
$schedule->call(function () {
    // Check system metrics
})->everyTenSeconds();

Repeatable Tasks ​

For tasks that need to run multiple times within a minute:

php
$schedule->command('monitor check')
    ->everyMinute()
    ->repeatEvery(5); // Repeat every 5 seconds within the minute

Event Integration ​

The plugin dispatches events during task execution that you can listen to:

php
use Cake\Event\EventManager;
use Scheduling\Event\ScheduledTaskStarting;
use Scheduling\Event\ScheduledTaskFinished;

$eventManager = EventManager::instance();

$eventManager->on('Scheduling.taskStarting', function ($event) {
    $task = $event->getData('event');
    \Cake\Log\Log::info('Task starting: ' . $task->getSummaryForDisplay());
});

$eventManager->on('Scheduling.taskFinished', function ($event) {
    $task = $event->getData('event');
    $output = $event->getData('output');
    \Cake\Log\Log::info('Task finished: ' . $task->getSummaryForDisplay());
});

Running the Scheduler ​

Production Setup ​

Add a single cron entry to run the scheduler:

bash
* * * * * cd /path/to/your/project && bin/cake schedule run >> /dev/null 2>&1

Development Mode ​

For development, use the work command that runs continuously:

bash
bin/cake schedule work

This command will:

  • Run scheduled tasks as they become due
  • Handle sub-minute tasks properly
  • Provide verbose output for debugging
  • Support graceful termination with Ctrl+C

Testing Scheduled Tasks ​

Test your scheduled tasks without waiting:

bash
# List all scheduled tasks
bin/cake schedule list

# Test a specific task
bin/cake schedule test "cache clear"

# Run all due tasks immediately
bin/cake schedule run

Configuration Options ​

Timezone Configuration ​

Set a default timezone for all scheduled tasks:

php
$schedule->useTimezone('America/New_York');

// Or set per task
$schedule->command('reports generate')
    ->dailyAt('09:00')
    ->timezone('Europe/London');

Cache Configuration ​

Configure cache store for task overlap prevention:

php
$schedule->useCache('redis');

Mutex Configuration ​

Custom mutex implementation for single-server execution:

php
$schedule->useMutex(new \App\Scheduling\CustomMutex());

Task Output ​

The scheduler provides several convenient methods for working with the output generated by scheduled tasks. First, using the sendOutputTo method, you may send the output to a file for later inspection:

php
$schedule->command('emails send')
    ->daily()
    ->sendOutputTo($filePath);

If you would like to append the output to a given file, you may use the appendOutputTo method:

php
$schedule->command('emails send')
    ->daily()
    ->appendOutputTo($filePath);

Note The sendOutputTo and appendOutputTo methods are exclusive to the command and exec methods.

Task Hooks ​

Using the before and after methods, you may specify code to be executed before and after the scheduled task is executed:

php
$schedule->command('emails send')
    ->daily()
    ->before(function () {
        // The task is about to execute...
    })
    ->after(function () {
        // The task has executed...
    });

The onSuccess and onFailure methods allow you to specify code to be executed if the scheduled task succeeds or fails. A failure indicates that the scheduled console or system command terminated with a non-zero exit code:

php
$schedule->command('emails send')
    ->daily()
    ->onSuccess(function () {
        // The task succeeded...
    })
    ->onFailure(function () {
        // The task failed...
    });

If output is available from your command, you may access it in your after, onSuccess or onFailure hooks by type-hinting a string parameter as the $output argument of your hook's closure definition:

php
$schedule->command('emails send')
    ->daily()
    ->onSuccess(function (string $output) {
        // The task succeeded...
    })
    ->onFailure(function (string $output) {
        // The task failed...
    });

Task Monitoring ​

The Scheduling plugin includes comprehensive monitoring capabilities to track task execution, performance, and status.

Enabling Monitoring ​

Enable monitoring for individual tasks using the useMonitoring() method:

php
$schedule->command('emails send')
    ->daily()
    ->useMonitoring()
    ->monitorName('Email Sending Task')
    ->graceTimeInMinutes(10);

Monitoring Configuration ​

Configure monitoring behavior for tasks:

php
$schedule->command('data processing')
    ->hourly()
    ->useMonitoring()
    ->monitorName('Data Processing')
    ->graceTimeInMinutes(30)
    ->storeOutputInDb(true);

Monitoring Methods ​

MethodDescription
useMonitoring()Enable monitoring for this task
disableMonitoring()Disable monitoring for this task
monitorName(string $name)Set a custom monitor name
graceTimeInMinutes(int $minutes)Set grace time for overdue detection
storeOutputInDb(bool $store)Enable storing command output in database

Monitoring Commands ​

bash
# Sync schedule with monitoring database
bin/cake schedule monitor sync

# List all monitored tasks
bin/cake schedule monitor list

# Filter by status
bin/cake schedule monitor list --status=running
bin/cake schedule monitor list --status=failed
bin/cake schedule monitor list --status=overdue

# Filter by type
bin/cake schedule monitor list --type=cake_command

# Show recent activity
bin/cake schedule monitor list --recent=24

# Output as JSON
bin/cake schedule monitor list --format=json

# Clean up old log data
bin/cake schedule monitor prune --days=7

Monitoring Configuration ​

Configure monitoring behavior in config/scheduling.php:

php
return [
    'Scheduling' => [
        'delete_log_items_older_than_days' => 30,
        'date_format' => 'Y-m-d H:i:s',
        'grace_time_in_minutes' => 5,
        'store_output_in_db' => false,
    ],
];

Events ​

The scheduler dispatches a variety of events during the scheduling process. You may define listeners for any of the following events:

Event Name
Scheduling\Event\ScheduledTaskStarting
Scheduling\Event\ScheduledTaskFinished
Scheduling\Event\ScheduledTaskSkipped
Scheduling\Event\ScheduledTaskFailed

You may register event listeners for these events in your application's event manager:

php
use Cake\Event\EventManager;
use Scheduling\Event\ScheduledTaskStarting;
use Scheduling\Event\ScheduledTaskFinished;

$eventManager = EventManager::instance();

$eventManager->on('Scheduling.taskStarting', function ($event) {
    $task = $event->getData('event');
    \Cake\Log\Log::info('Task starting: ' . $task->getSummaryForDisplay());
});

$eventManager->on('Scheduling.taskFinished', function ($event) {
    $task = $event->getData('event');
    $output = $event->getData('output');
    \Cake\Log\Log::info('Task finished: ' . $task->getSummaryForDisplay());
});

This integration guide covers all major features of the Scheduling plugin. For detailed API documentation, see the API Reference.

Released under the MIT License.

Copyright © 2008-2025 Evgeny Tomenko