Nextcloud version 19.0.0
Operating system and version Ubuntu 20.04
Apache 2.4.41
PHP 7.4
Hello
I am new to Nextcloud but after several installs on Hyper-V first to fail my way to learning a little I the instance running on its own machine which runs pretty good. I have been battling the big red Square on last Cron job and have looked everywhere for a solution.
these are the 2 Cron line I inputted
m h dom mon dow command
*/5 * * * * php -f /var/www/nextcloud/cron.php
4 * * * * /usr/bin/php -f /var/www/nextcloud/occ preview:pre-generate
To be honest my main goal here is just to keep the installation clean and get the Green checkmark. which Cron scripts are necessary ?
var/www/nextcloud is where cron.php is stored.
Steps to replicate it: refresh the page
The cron.php file is here.
<?php
/**
* @copyright Copyright (c) 2016, ownCloud, Inc.
*
* @author Artem Sidorenko
* @author Christopher Schäpers
* @author Christoph Wurst
* @author Damjan Georgievski
* @author Daniel Kesselberg
* @author Jakob Sack
* @author Joas Schilling
* @author Jörn Friedrich Dreyer
* @author Ko-
* @author Michael Kuhn
* @author Morris Jobke
* @author Oliver Kohl D.Sc.
* @author Robin Appelman
* @author Roeland Jago Douma
* @author Steffen Lindner
* @author Thomas Müller
* @author Vincent Petry
*
* @license AGPL-3.0
*
* This code is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
* it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License, version 3,
* as published by the Free Software Foundation.
*
* This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
* but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
* MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
* GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
*
* You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License, version 3,
* along with this program. If not, see
*
*/
require_once __DIR__ . '/lib/versioncheck.php';
try {
require_once __DIR__ . '/lib/base.php';
if (\OCP\Util::needUpgrade()) {
\OC::$server->getLogger()->debug('Update required, skipping cron', ['app' => 'cron']);
exit;
}
if ((bool) \OC::$server->getSystemConfig()->getValue('maintenance', false)) {
\OC::$server->getLogger()->debug('We are in maintenance mode, skipping cron', ['app' => 'cron']);
exit;
}
// load all apps to get all api routes properly setup
OC_App::loadApps();
\OC::$server->getSession()->close();
// initialize a dummy memory session
$session = new \OC\Session\Memory('');
$cryptoWrapper = \OC::$server->getSessionCryptoWrapper();
$session = $cryptoWrapper->wrapSession($session);
\OC::$server->setSession($session);
$logger = \OC::$server->getLogger();
$config = \OC::$server->getConfig();
// Don't do anything if Nextcloud has not been installed
if (!$config->getSystemValue('installed', false)) {
exit(0);
}
\OC::$server->getTempManager()->cleanOld();
// Exit if background jobs are disabled!
$appMode = $config->getAppValue('core', 'backgroundjobs_mode', 'ajax');
if ($appMode === 'none') {
if (OC::$CLI) {
echo 'Background Jobs are disabled!' . PHP_EOL;
} else {
OC_JSON::error(['data' => ['message' => 'Background jobs disabled!']]);
}
exit(1);
}
if (OC::$CLI) {
// set to run indefinitely if needed
if (strpos(@ini_get('disable_functions'), 'set_time_limit') === false) {
@set_time_limit(0);
}
// the cron job must be executed with the right user
if (!function_exists('posix_getuid')) {
echo "The posix extensions are required - see http://php.net/manual/en/book.posix.php" . PHP_EOL;
exit(1);
}
$user = posix_getpwuid(posix_getuid());
$configUser = posix_getpwuid(fileowner(OC::$configDir . 'config.php'));
if ($user['name'] !== $configUser['name']) {
echo "Console has to be executed with the user that owns the file config/config.php" . PHP_EOL;
echo "Current user: " . $user['name'] . PHP_EOL;
echo "Owner of config.php: " . $configUser['name'] . PHP_EOL;
exit(1);
}
// We call Nextcloud from the CLI (aka cron)
if ($appMode !== 'cron') {
$config->setAppValue('core', 'backgroundjobs_mode', 'cron');
}
// Work
$jobList = \OC::$server->getJobList();
// We only ask for jobs for 14 minutes, because after 5 minutes the next
// system cron task should spawn and we want to have at most three
// cron jobs running in parallel.
$endTime = time() + 14 * 60;
$executedJobs = [];
while ($job = $jobList->getNext()) {
if (isset($executedJobs[$job->getId()])) {
$jobList->unlockJob($job);
break;
}
$job->execute($jobList, $logger);
// clean up after unclean jobs
\OC_Util::tearDownFS();
$jobList->setLastJob($job);
$executedJobs[$job->getId()] = true;
unset($job);
if (time() > $endTime) {
break;
}
}
} else {
// We call cron.php from some website
if ($appMode === 'cron') {
// Cron is cron :-P
OC_JSON::error(['data' => ['message' => 'Backgroundjobs are using system cron!']]);
} else {
// Work and success :-)
$jobList = \OC::$server->getJobList();
$job = $jobList->getNext();
if ($job != null) {
$job->execute($jobList, $logger);
$jobList->setLastJob($job);
}
OC_JSON::success();
}
}
// Log the successful cron execution
$config->setAppValue('core', 'lastcron', time());
exit();
} catch (Exception $ex) {
\OC::$server->getLogger()->logException($ex, ['app' => 'cron']);
} catch (Error $ex) {
\OC::$server->getLogger()->logException($ex, ['app' => 'cron']);
}
Thank you
Please execute the commands with the correct user manually and post errors.
Substitute the nextcloud-user www-data with your nextclouduser.
sudo -u www-data php -f /var/www/nextcloud/cron.php
sudo -u www-data /usr/bin/php -f /var/www/nextcloud/occ preview:pre-generate
Post also
sudo -u www-data which php
Hi Devnull
I ran the Command–> sudo -u www-data php -f /var/www/nextcloud/cron.php
which returned --> Background jobs Last job ran 2 minutes ago 
now I ran these commands as Root/ I dont quite understand what you mean Substitute the nextcloud-user .
I entered the Command: sudo -u www-data /usr/bin/php -f /var/www/nextcloud/occ preview:pre-generate. which returned–> There are no commands defined in the “preview” namespace. That was totally my fault and not understanding Cron tab.
I believe installing the Preview generator fixed that.
Now : I ran the command: sudo -u www-data which php .
Which returns–>/usr/bin/php
Now the mystery today is I ran : crontab -l and there were no cron jobs listed??
If I run the Command: sudo crontab -e -u www-data
It returns–>m h dom mon dow command
*/5 * * * * php -f /var/www/nextcloud/cron.php
4 * * * * /usr/bin/php -f /var/www/nextcloud/occ preview:pre-generate
If I run the Command: crontab -e there are no cron jobs listed and at this time I still do not have an active cron job Running . If I enter the command sudo -u www-data php -f /var/www/nextcloud/cron.php.That command resets the background job timer.
your help is most welcomed
Thank you
They are not listed because you missed the nextcloud-user www-data.
Learn more about cron and crontab.
Hello
I never did figure out how to get Crontab working properly, With the installation of Nextcloud I had to do several installs to get it right. I followed the Tutorial on Linuxbabe and read everything I could find. So the Tutorial on Linuxbabe dealt with the known installation errors but now that got me into the Forest of Nextcloud with a nice green checkmark and an A+ rated TLS but did not prepare me what was next, learning how to maintain Nextcloud with a log file full of errors and warnings also a crontab that I cannot find enough information. The server runs fine but I have to manually reset Preview:pre-generate every couple of days. Is there a source where I can gain a better understanding of the backstory of how to maintain this server.
Below is my current most prominent PHP error:
[PHP] Error: Undefined offset: 1 at /var/www/nextcloud/apps/files_external/lib/Lib/Storage/SMB.php#219
{“reqId”:“JUtixaMZZceS0VCj3TM2”,“level”:3,“time”:“2020-07-13T00:11:52+00:00”,“remoteAddr”:“Ip Address”,“user”:“my username”,“app”:“PHP”,“method”:“PROPFIND”,“url”:"/remote.php/webdav/Myserver domain/",“message”:“Undefined offset: 1 at /var/www/nextcloud/apps/files_external/lib/Lib/Storage/SMB.php#219”,“userAgent”:“Mozilla/5.0 (Android) Nextcloud-android/3.12.1”,“version”:“19.0.0.12”,“id”:“5f0ba6c8a9460”}
From what I see here it looks like My Android DAVx5 app???
Also, I’m all googled out on the Crontab Mystery??? “lost in the Linux forest”
I’ve run a Win 2012 r2 for almost 8 years it never gives grief it is the foundation for all things sync and cloud backup and Hyper-v, does everything right so I’m bored with it!!!
Now I’m here to learn.
Below is the kitchen sink of crontab:
m h dom mon dow command
# 0 4 * * * /usr/bin/php -f /var/www/nextcloud/occ preview:pre-generate
# 0 3 * * * www-data /usr/bin/php -f /var/www/nextcloud/occ preview:pre-generate
# 0 1 * * * php /var/www/nextcloud/occ preview:pre-generate
terminal command: sudo -u www-data php -f /var/www/nextcloud/cron.php
then I run : sudo -u www-data /usr/bin/php -f /var/www/nextcloud/occ preview:pre-generate
Gives me a Green: All checks passed.
also commands return:“Command is already running”
terminal command: sudo -u www-data which php
returns: /usr/bin/php I tried to open /usr/bin/php (it is not readable or encrypted)
I am at a loss of what else to do to get this to roll like a… crontab clock.
Thank you all !!
Solved
when adding your cron job I removed the # in front of the line 0 1 * * * php /var/www/nextcloud/occ preview:pre-generate which I saw in someone’s post and now CRON works perfectly.
Thank you