Scheduled Tasks - NutriFit

Overview

NutriFit uses Laravel’s Task Scheduler to automate recurring tasks such as sending appointment reminders. This eliminates the need to configure individual cron jobs for each task.

Task Scheduler Configuration

Current Scheduled Tasks

Tasks are defined in routes/console.php:

routes/console.php

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schedule;

// Send appointment reminders daily at 9:00 AM
Schedule::command('appointments:send-reminders')->dailyAt('09:00');

Active Scheduled Tasks:

Task	Schedule	Command	Purpose
Appointment Reminders	Daily at 9:00 AM	`appointments:send-reminders`	Sends email reminders 24 hours before appointments

Server Cron Configuration

Single Cron Entry

Laravel’s scheduler requires only one cron entry on your server. This entry runs every minute and Laravel determines which tasks to execute.

Production Setup (Linux/Unix)

Open your server’s crontab:
```
crontab -e
```

Add this single line (adjust path to your NutriFit installation):

* * * * * cd /path/to/nutrifit && php artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

Save and exit. The scheduler will now run every minute.

Example with Full Path:

* * * * * cd /var/www/nutrifit && /usr/bin/php artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

Development Testing

Test scheduled tasks without waiting for the cron schedule:

# Manually trigger the scheduler
php artisan schedule:run

Output Example:

Running scheduled command: php artisan appointments:send-reminders

To test a specific command directly:

php artisan appointments:send-reminders

Schedule Frequency Options

Laravel provides multiple scheduling options beyond dailyAt():

Time-Based Schedules

// Every minute
Schedule::command('command')->everyMinute();

// Every 5 minutes
Schedule::command('command')->everyFiveMinutes();

// Hourly
Schedule::command('command')->hourly();

// Hourly at 15 minutes past
Schedule::command('command')->hourlyAt(15);

// Daily at midnight
Schedule::command('command')->daily();

// Daily at specific time
Schedule::command('command')->dailyAt('13:00');

// Twice daily
Schedule::command('command')->twiceDaily(9, 21);

// Weekly
Schedule::command('command')->weekly();

// Weekly on Sunday at 1 AM
Schedule::command('command')->weeklyOn(0, '1:00');

// Monthly
Schedule::command('command')->monthly();

// Monthly on specific day and time
Schedule::command('command')->monthlyOn(15, '09:00');

// Quarterly
Schedule::command('command')->quarterly();

// Yearly
Schedule::command('command')->yearly();

Day-Specific Schedules

// Weekdays only (Monday-Friday)
Schedule::command('command')->weekdays();

// Weekends only
Schedule::command('command')->weekends();

// Specific days
Schedule::command('command')->mondays();
Schedule::command('command')->tuesdays();
Schedule::command('command')->wednesdays();
// ... and so on

Adding New Scheduled Tasks

Example: Daily Database Cleanup

Create the command:

php artisan make:command CleanupOldData

Define the command in app/Console/Commands/CleanupOldData.php:

protected $signature = 'data:cleanup';
protected $description = 'Remove old cancelled appointments';

public function handle()
{
    // Cleanup logic
    $deleted = Appointment::where('estado', 'cancelada')
        ->where('created_at', '<', now()->subMonths(6))
        ->delete();

    $this->info("Deleted {$deleted} old appointments");
}

Schedule it in routes/console.php:

Schedule::command('data:cleanup')->weekly();

Production Configuration

Using Supervisor (Recommended)

While cron handles scheduled tasks, use Supervisor to ensure queue workers run continuously:

Install Supervisor

sudo apt-get install supervisor

Create Supervisor Configuration

File: /etc/supervisor/conf.d/nutrifit-worker.conf

[program:nutrifit-worker]
process_name=%(program_name)s_%(process_num)02d
command=php /var/www/nutrifit/artisan queue:work --sleep=3 --tries=3 --max-time=3600
autostart=true
autorestart=true
stopasgroup=true
killasgroup=true
user=www-data
numprocs=1
redirect_stderr=true
stdout_logfile=/var/www/nutrifit/storage/logs/worker.log
stopwaitsecs=3600

Start Supervisor

sudo supervisorctl reread
sudo supervisorctl update
sudo supervisorctl start nutrifit-worker:*

Monitor Queue Workers

sudo supervisorctl status nutrifit-worker:*

Monitoring Scheduled Tasks

View Scheduled Tasks List

php artisan schedule:list

Output Example:

0 9 * * *  php artisan appointments:send-reminders ... Next Due: 1 day from now

Task Logging

Add logging to scheduled tasks:

Schedule::command('appointments:send-reminders')
    ->dailyAt('09:00')
    ->sendOutputTo(storage_path('logs/scheduler.log'));

Or append to log:

Schedule::command('appointments:send-reminders')
    ->dailyAt('09:00')
    ->appendOutputTo(storage_path('logs/scheduler.log'));

Email Task Output

Receive email notifications when tasks complete:

Schedule::command('appointments:send-reminders')
    ->dailyAt('09:00')
    ->emailOutputTo('[email protected]');

Task Constraints

Prevent Overlaps

Ensure a task doesn’t run if the previous execution is still active:

Schedule::command('appointments:send-reminders')
    ->dailyAt('09:00')
    ->withoutOverlapping();

Run in Maintenance Mode

Allow tasks to run even when the application is in maintenance mode:

Schedule::command('data:cleanup')
    ->daily()
    ->evenInMaintenanceMode();

Conditional Execution

Run tasks only when conditions are met:

Schedule::command('appointments:send-reminders')
    ->dailyAt('09:00')
    ->when(function () {
        return config('app.env') === 'production';
    });

Development Environment

Local Development

During development, you typically don’t need to set up cron. Instead:

Run tasks manually:
```
php artisan schedule:run
```

Or test commands directly:

php artisan appointments:send-reminders

Alternative: Laravel Schedule Monitor

For advanced monitoring, consider packages like spatie/laravel-schedule-monitor.

Troubleshooting

Tasks Not Running

Verify cron is configured:
```
crontab -l
```
Should show the * * * * * entry.
Check scheduler is working:
```
php artisan schedule:run
```
Verify task is registered:
```
php artisan schedule:list
```

Check file permissions:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/nutrifit

Cron Logs

View cron execution logs:

sudo tail -f /var/log/syslog | grep CRON

Scheduler Output

Capture output for debugging:

* * * * * cd /path/to/nutrifit && php artisan schedule:run >> /var/log/laravel-scheduler.log 2>&1

Best Practices

Use Single Cron Entry

Never create multiple cron entries for individual Laravel commands. Use Laravel’s scheduler and one cron entry.

Monitor Task Execution

Use logging and monitoring to track successful and failed task executions.

Prevent Overlapping

Use withoutOverlapping() for long-running tasks to prevent concurrent executions.

Restart Queue Workers After Deployments

Always restart queue workers after code deployments:

php artisan queue:restart

Artisan Commands

Available Artisan commands and usage

Database Backups

Automated backup strategies

Production

Maintenance

​Overview

​Task Scheduler Configuration

​Current Scheduled Tasks

​Server Cron Configuration

​Single Cron Entry

​Production Setup (Linux/Unix)

​Development Testing

​Schedule Frequency Options

​Time-Based Schedules

​Day-Specific Schedules

​Adding New Scheduled Tasks

​Example: Daily Database Cleanup

​Production Configuration

​Using Supervisor (Recommended)

​Install Supervisor

​Create Supervisor Configuration

​Start Supervisor

​Monitor Queue Workers

​Monitoring Scheduled Tasks

​View Scheduled Tasks List

​Task Logging

​Email Task Output

​Task Constraints

​Prevent Overlaps

​Run in Maintenance Mode

​Conditional Execution

​Development Environment

​Local Development

​Alternative: Laravel Schedule Monitor

​Troubleshooting

​Tasks Not Running

​Cron Logs

​Scheduler Output

​Best Practices

​Related Documentation