Cron Jobs let you run a command or script automatically at set intervals — no manual triggering required. DirectAdmin exposes this under Advanced Features.
1. Open Cron Jobs
From the main menu, click Advanced Features, then Cron Jobs.
2. Add a new cron job
Select the schedule (minute, hour, day, month, weekday) and enter the command you want to run, such as a PHP script path or a curl request to a specific URL.
3. Use the preset schedules
DirectAdmin offers common presets like "Every 15 minutes" or "Once a day" from a dropdown, so you don't need to remember cron's minute/hour syntax.
4. Common use cases
Popular cron jobs include triggering a nightly UpdraftPlus backup, clearing an old cache folder, or running WordPress's own wp-cron.php reliably on high-traffic sites.
Key takeaway: If your WordPress site gets heavy traffic, disable the default wp-cron trigger in wp-config.php and replace it with a real Cron Job — it runs more reliably and doesn't slow down page loads.
5. Set the notification email
DirectAdmin can email the output of each cron job to an address you specify — useful for confirming a backup script ran, but worth turning off once you trust it's working, to avoid inbox clutter.
6. Test before relying on it
Run the command manually via SSH or a browser first, if possible, to confirm it works correctly before waiting for the schedule to trigger it for the first time.
7. Review jobs periodically
Check your Cron Jobs list every few months — leftover jobs from an old plugin or migrated site can quietly keep running and use server resources unnecessarily.