Skip to content

WordPress notes

External cron jobs for WordPress, the right way

By Hannah Voss, Editor · Reviewed September 2026 · 3 min read

Quick answer

WP-Cron runs scheduled tasks only when someone visits the site, so on quiet or fully cached sites tasks run late or not at all. Set DISABLE_WP_CRON to true in wp-config.php, then have your server or host call wp-cron.php, or run WP-CLI's cron command, every five to fifteen minutes. Check the schedule with WP-CLI afterwards.

On this page
  1. Why WP-Cron misses tasks
  2. Set up a real cron job
  3. Choosing between the two
  4. Check tasks are healthy
  5. Questions

Why WP-Cron misses tasks

WordPress has no background process of its own. On each page load it checks whether any scheduled task is due and, if so, starts it. On a busy site that works. On a quiet site, or one where a page cache answers most visits before WordPress runs, due tasks wait until the next uncached visit. Share count refreshes, scheduled posts, backups and email digests all depend on this. The old post on this domain about using external cron jobs was written because share counts stopped updating for exactly this reason.

Why a cached, quiet site misses WP-Cron tasks01Visitor arrivescached page02WordPress not runno cron check03Tasks waitcounts go stale
A real cron job removes the dependency on visitors.

Set up a real cron job

  1. Disable the visit trigger

    Add define( 'DISABLE_WP_CRON', true ); to wp-config.php, above the line that says to stop editing.

  2. Choose a schedule

    Every 5 to 15 minutes suits most sites. More often wastes resources.

  3. Add the job

    In your host's cron panel or crontab, call the cron endpoint or WP-CLI (examples below).

  4. Verify

    Run wp cron event list and confirm the next run times move forward.

# crontab: call wp-cron.php every 15 minutes
*/15 * * * * curl -s https://example.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron > /dev/null 2>&1

# or, with shell access, use WP-CLI
*/15 * * * * cd /path/to/site && wp cron event run --due-now > /dev/null 2>&1

Choosing between the two

MethodProsCons
HTTP call to wp-cron.phpWorks on any host with a cron panelGoes through the web server and its timeouts
WP-CLI on the serverNo web timeouts, runs as a processNeeds shell access and WP-CLI
Host's built-in schedulerNo setupCheck the interval it uses

Check tasks are healthy

  • wp cron event list shows every scheduled hook and when it next runs.
  • Hooks with next-run times in the past mean cron is not running.
  • Site Health in the dashboard warns when scheduled events are late.

Questions

Should I disable WP-Cron?

On low-traffic or heavily cached sites, yes, as long as you replace it with a real cron job.

How often should WordPress cron run?

Every 5 to 15 minutes is enough for most sites.

How do I know cron is working?

Run wp cron event list and check that next-run times are in the future and advancing.

Share this guide

XLinkedInFacebookEmail

Hannah Voss, Editor. Checks every guide against a working WordPress install and the networks' current documentation. Last reviewed September 2026.

About the editor and our methods

  1. Share count not updating or not accurate: a fix listShare counts stuck, stuck at zero or wrong? Work through tokens, caches, cron, URL variants and rate limits in order, and why you should never add fake shares.3 min read
  2. Plugin troubleshooting: what to try firstTroubleshoot a WordPress plugin problem in a safe order: caches, conflicts, debug logging, recovery mode, and disabling a plugin when the admin is down.3 min read
  3. Fixing the get_currentuserinfo() is deprecated noticeWhat the get_currentuserinfo() is deprecated notice means, how to find the plugin or theme calling it, and the one-line fix using wp_get_current_user().3 min read