1ANACRONTAB(5)                    File Formats                    ANACRONTAB(5)
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NAME

6       /etc/anacrontab - configuration file for Anacron
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DESCRIPTION

9       The /etc/anacrontab configuration file describes the jobs controlled by
10       anacron(8).  It can  contain  three  types  of  lines:  job-description
11       lines, environment assignments, or empty lines.
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13       Job-description lines can have the following format:
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15          period in days   delay in minutes   job-identifier   command
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17       The  period  in days variable specifies the frequency of execution of a
18       job in days.  This variable can be represented by an integer or a macro
19       (@daily, @weekly, @monthly), where @daily denotes the same value as the
20       integer 1, @weekly the same as 7, and @monthly specifies that  the  job
21       is run once a month, independent on the length of the month.
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23       The  delay  in minutes variable specifies the number of minutes anacron
24       waits, if necessary, before executing a job.  This variable  is  repre‐
25       sented by an integer where 0 means no delay.
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27       The  job-identifier  variable specifies a unique name of a job which is
28       used in the log files.
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30       The command variable specifies the command to execute.  The command can
31       either  be a command such as ls /proc >> /tmp/proc or a command to exe‐
32       cute a custom script.
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34       Environment assignment lines can have the following format:
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36          VAR=VALUE
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38       Any spaces around VAR are removed.  No spaces around VALUE are  allowed
39       (unless  you want them to be part of the value).  The specified assign‐
40       ment takes effect from the next line until the end of the file,  or  to
41       the next assignment of the same variable.
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43       The  START_HOURS_RANGE  variable  defines  an  interval (in hours) when
44       scheduled jobs can be run.  In case this time interval is  missed,  for
45       example, due to a power down, then scheduled jobs are not executed that
46       day.
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48       The RANDOM_DELAY variable denotes the maximum number  of  minutes  that
49       will  be  added to the delay in minutes variable which is specified for
50       each job.  A RANDOM_DELAY set to  12  would  therefore  add,  randomly,
51       between  0  and 12 minutes to the delay in minutes for each job in that
52       particular anacrontab.  When set to 0, no random delay is added.
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54       If MAILTO is defined (and non-empty), mail is  sent  to  the  specified
55       address, otherwise, system user is used.
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57       If  MAILFROM  is  defined  (and  non-empty), it is used as the envelope
58       sender address, otherwise, system user is used.
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60       (Note: Both MAILFROM and MAILTO variables are expanded, so setting them
61       as    in    the    following   example   works   as   expected:   MAIL‐
62       FROM=cron-$USER@cron.com ($USER is replaced by the system user) )
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64       Empty lines are either blank lines, line containing white spaces  only,
65       or  lines  with white spaces followed by a '#' followed by an arbitrary
66       comment.
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68       You can continue a line onto the next line by adding a '\' at  the  end
69       of it.
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71       In  case you want to disable Anacron, add a line with 0anacron which is
72       the   name   of   the   script   running   the   Anacron    into    the
73       /etc/cron.hourly/jobs.deny file.
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EXAMPLE

76       This  example shows how to set up an Anacron job similar in functional‐
77       ity to /etc/crontab which starts all regular jobs between 6:00 and 8:00
78       only.  A RANDOM_DELAY which can be 30 minutes at the most is specified.
79       Jobs will run serialized in a queue where  each  job  is  started  only
80       after the previous one is finished.
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82       # environment variables
83       SHELL=/bin/sh
84       PATH=/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin
85       MAILTO=root
86       RANDOM_DELAY=30
87       # Anacron jobs will start between 6am and 8am.
88       START_HOURS_RANGE=6-8
89       # delay will be 5 minutes + RANDOM_DELAY for cron.daily
90       1         5    cron.daily          nice run-parts /etc/cron.daily
91       7         0    cron.weekly         nice run-parts /etc/cron.weekly
92       @monthly  0    cron.monthly        nice run-parts /etc/cron.monthly
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SEE ALSO

95       anacron(8), crontab(1)
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97       The Anacron README file.
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AUTHOR

100       Itai Tzur ⟨itzur@actcom.co.il⟩
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102       Currently  maintained  by  Pascal  Hakim  ⟨pasc@(debian.org|redellipse.
103       net)⟩.
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105       For Fedora, maintained by Marcela Mašláňová ⟨mmaslano@redhat.com⟩.
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109cronie                            2012-11-22                     ANACRONTAB(5)
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