Scheduled tasks (also called cron jobs) let you run scripts or commands automatically at set times — for example, running a WordPress cron script every hour, generating a daily backup, or sending automated email reports. Plesk provides a built-in task scheduler so you can set this up without command-line access.

## Step 1: create a new scheduled task

1. Log in to your **Plesk control panel**.
2. Go to **Websites & Domains**.
3. Find your domain, then click **Scheduled Tasks** (under "Dev Tools" or "More").
4. Click **Add Task**.
5. Choose the **task type**:
   - **Run a command** — execute a shell command or script (e.g., a backup script)
   - **Fetch a URL** — visit a URL on a schedule (no need for curl or wget, just enter the URL)
   - **Run a PHP script** — execute a PHP file directly, with a PHP version selector
6. Enter the **command, URL, or script path** depending on the type you selected.
7. Set the **schedule**:
   - Choose a preset (every hour, every day, every week, every month) or
   - Select **Cron style** to enter a custom schedule using cron syntax (e.g., `*/5 * * * *` for every 5 minutes)
8. Make sure **Active** is ticked.
9. Click **OK** or **Run Now** to test the task immediately.

## Common cron schedule examples

- Every 5 minutes: `*/5 * * * *`
- Once per hour: `0 * * * *`
- Once per day at midnight: `0 0 * * *`
- Once per day at 3:15 AM: `15 3 * * *`
- Once per week on Monday at 6 AM: `0 6 * * 1`
- Once per month on the 1st at midnight: `0 0 1 * *`

The format is: `minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week`. Use a tool like **crontab.guru** to build and test expressions if you are not familiar with cron syntax.

## Managing scheduled tasks

All your tasks are listed on the **Scheduled Tasks** page. From there you can:

- **Edit** — click the task name to modify its settings
- **Enable/disable** — click the toggle icon next to the task
- **Run now** — click the play icon to execute the task immediately (useful for testing)
- **Remove** — select the checkbox and click **Remove**

## Important notes

- **Run a PHP script** is the easiest option for WordPress cron. Just enter the path to your script relative to the domain root (e.g., `httpdocs/wp-cron.php`) and select the PHP version.
- **Fetch a URL** is ideal for triggering webhooks or visiting endpoints on a schedule. Plesk handles the HTTP request — no need to write curl commands.
- Avoid scheduling resource-intensive tasks at peak hours. Off-peak times (early morning) are better for backups and heavy scripts.
- If a task fails, Plesk will show the error output. Check this to diagnose issues.
- By default, scheduled tasks run in a **chrooted environment** on Linux — this means the task can only access files within the domain directory, which is a security feature.
- The system user context for the task is set automatically based on your subscription.

## Troubleshooting

- **Task runs but does not seem to work?** Click **Run Now** and check the output. If there is an error, it will appear in the task details.
- **Cannot find "Scheduled Tasks" for my domain?** In Power User view, look under **Websites & Domains** > your domain > **Scheduled Tasks**. In Service Provider view, go to **Domains** > your domain > **Scheduled Tasks**.
- **Task times out?** Some hosting providers limit cron execution time. If your script takes too long, contact support to check if there is a time limit.
- **PHP script path not working?** Make sure the path starts from the domain root, not from the server root. For example, use `httpdocs/myscript.php`, not `/var/www/vhosts/domain/httpdocs/myscript.php`.

### Related Guides

- [Set the document root](/hc/help/en/articles/how-to-change-the-document-root-for-your-domain-in-plesk)
- [For DB tasks](/hc/help/en/articles/how-to-allow-remote-connections-to-a-mysql-database-in-plesk)