Set up the phpVMS cron job

phpVMS needs a cron job, a task that runs every minute. Without it, these features don't work:

• Emails and notifications
• Finances
• vaCentral features

Add the cron job in cPanel

1. Open your hosting plan in the client area. On the Management tab, click Cron Jobs.
2. Under Common Settings, select Once Per Minute.
3. In Command, type the command below, with the path to your phpVMS folder.
4. Click Add New Cron Job.

/usr/local/bin/php -q /home/youruser/phpvms/bin/cron

Change /home/youruser/phpvms to the folder that holds phpVMS, not the public folder. If you used the automated installer, it's the folder that ends in .phpvms.

/usr/local/bin/php runs the server's default PHP version. If you chose a different PHP version for your site, use that version instead: /usr/local/bin/ea-php83 for PHP 8.3, /usr/local/bin/ea-php84 for PHP 8.4, and so on. See Change your PHP version and settings.

phpVMS can suggest the command for you. In the phpVMS admin panel, go to Maintenance.

If you can't run the job every minute, use 5, 15 or 30 minutes. Some phpVMS tasks run at those intervals.

Web cron

If you can't get the cron job to work, use the web cron instead. In the phpVMS admin panel, go to Maintenance and click Enable/Change ID under Web Cron. phpVMS shows a private URL:

Use an external web cron service to open that URL every minute. Keep the URL private. If someone else gets it, click Enable/Change ID to make a new one.