Cron don't start a batch

Support AUR
1

Hello, to all,
i’m really happy using Manjaro,k after used Windows and Mac,tired of updates,block, resource hungry, slowing the system and etcc…
Manjaro works great, office, sync data, Davinci Resolve,wine,mail, …and others,the list is long… :slight_smile:
Now i’m trying to make the Freefilesync batch created to start automatic everyday at 20:00,
the batch itself works, i mean if i double click it, will start the software and start the sync,but automatic…nothing.
What i write on cron after reading posts, some tutorials online and from other users is;
00 20 * * * /home/gmva/Documents/Batch/Backup_GMVA.ffs_batch
if someone can help me ,giving me a tip…

Thank You alot

2

Hello,

Please be aware that cron jobs are, by default, triggered in a very limited environment: very few environment variables are set up, the PATH is very limited, etc. Therefore, you may need to specify some variables before your command, for instance:
00 20 * * * PATH=$PATH:/some/path/bin /home/gmva/Documents/Batch/Backup_GMVA.ffs_batch

3

Instead of a Cron job, I recommend a systemd user service and a timer: systemd/Timers - ArchWiki

Also, I guess that the ffs-batch file is not runnable on its own. You’ll probably need to prepend the actual executable file.

2 Likes
4

Documentation for Freefilesync advises that a Scheduled Task should be configured to run the .ffs_batch file as an X-application
Schedule batch jobs - Linux | freefilesync.org/manual

5

Meh, it could still work with a systemd service but will need more work if it needs access to X. Thanks for looking it up.

1 Like
6

Thank You all for fast response,
before,i’ve tried to put the path where the freefile sync is …like this:
00 20 * * * /home/gmva/bin/FreeFileSync /home/gmva/Documents/Batch/Backup_GMVA.ffs_batch
didn’t work, …
i will try again…and i will see for the systemd/timers…
but what i write for 20:00 and the path they are right?

Thanks again

7

In general that seems to be the correct syntax, albeit I have seen a single 0 to indicate the full hour.
You can check the journal to see if the task had run at the correct tine and what kind of problem there was e.g.

journalctl | grep GMVS.ffs
8

As posted above Cron don't start a batch - #4 by nikgnomic FreeFileSync doesn’t run headlessly and probably not that easily as a cron job.

You might get more help on the FFS support, most likely someone already has a solution for unattended syncs as Cron jobs.

9