Schedules

OctoPress → Schedules lets you run PHP scripts once, hourly, daily or weekly. WordPress cron starts each run in a separate command-line PHP process with WordPress loaded.

Scheduled code is trusted, administrator-approved PHP. Process isolation protects your web requests, but it is not a security sandbox: the code keeps the permissions of the PHP user. Only schedule code you understand.

Before you start#

• Pro with an active licence.
• A working command-line PHP. See Runtime. If it is missing, the page shows "Scheduled PHP execution is unavailable." You can still manage schedules, but they will not run.
• WordPress cron must fire. On low-traffic sites use a real server cron job for wp-cron.php.

The schedule list#

The list has filters (All, Active, Paused, Failed, Completed, Deleted) and these columns: Title, Status, Recurrence, Next run, Last run, Failures, Author and Actions (Edit, Run now, Pause/Resume, Delete).

Create a schedule#

You can ask Octo ("Help me schedule a PHP script that runs weekly to …") or click Add schedule. Octo shows the code, recurrence and timing in an approval window before it creates anything.

Fields in the form:

• Title and Purpose (what the schedule does and why).
• Recurrence: Once, Hourly, Daily or Weekly.
• Starts at and Timezone. Named timezones such as Asia/Riyadh are preferred; fixed offsets such as +00:00 do not follow daylight saving time.
• Timeout (seconds): defaults to 60, at most 1,800 and never longer than the recurrence interval.
• PHP code: the body only, without <?php.

Click Create paused schedule.

Test before you activate#

New schedules always start paused. The success message says: "Schedule created paused. Run it manually and verify it before activation."

1. Click Run now and open the schedule's Recent runs.
2. Click View details to read the Script output and Runtime diagnostics, and download the full log if needed.
3. When a manual run succeeds, click Resume to activate the schedule.

What happens on failure#

• A schedule that fails three times in a row is set to Failed and stops running. A once schedule fails after its first failed run.
• Fix the code, save, then Resume.
• A once schedule that succeeds becomes Completed.
• Delete keeps the run history and logs. Queued runs are cancelled, and a run already in progress may finish.

Good to know#

• Octo's schedule tools always ask for approval. Approve all does not skip them.
• While the Schedules page is open it shows a notice when a run finishes.
• A schedule whose Next run date is in the past means cron is not running. Check your host's cron setup.