Cron Fail Alert
This module alerts administrators via email when Drupal's cron jobs fail to run within a configurable time period. It helps prevent issues caused by outdated information, unprocessed tasks, and other problems that arise from malfunctioning cron jobs.
Overview
The Cron Fail Alert module provides proactive monitoring of your Drupal site's cron execution. It automatically detects when cron fails to run within a specified tolerance period and sends email notifications to site administrators, helping you catch and resolve cron issues before they impact your site.
Cron failures can lead to serious problems including outdated search indexes, unprocessed queue items, missed cache clearing, stale aggregated files, and unexecuted scheduled tasks. This module ensures you're immediately notified when cron stops functioning properly.
Key Features
- Configurable Monitoring Frequency: Set how often to check if cron has failed (1–1440 minutes), preventing excessive checks on every page load
- Customizable Tolerance Period: Define the maximum time allowed (1–10080 minutes) before considering cron failed, with smart validation to avoid false positives
- Email Notifications: Automatic alerts sent to configured recipients when cron failures are detected
- Flexible Configuration: Customize email subject lines and message templates with token support (
@minutesand:site) - Organized Settings Interface: Intuitive configuration form with separate sections for monitoring and notification settings
- Smart Validation: Built-in validation ensures tolerance is always greater than check frequency to prevent false alerts
- Default Values: Sensible defaults (15-minute check frequency, 20-minute tolerance) work out of the box
- Performance Conscious: Checks run at configurable intervals rather than on every page load
Use Cases
- Production sites where cron reliability is critical
- Sites with complex cron jobs processing important business logic
- Multi-site installations requiring centralized cron monitoring
- Sites with external dependencies that need timely cron execution
- Any Drupal site where cron failures could impact user experience or data integrity
Configuration
After installation, navigate to Configuration > System > Cron > Cron Fail Alert settings or visit /admin/config/system/cron-fail-alert.
Monitoring Settings:
- Check frequency: How often to verify cron status (default: 15 minutes)
- Cron failure tolerance: Maximum allowed time since last successful cron run (default: 20 minutes)
Email Notification Settings:
- Recipient email address (defaults to site email)
- Custom subject line
- Custom message body with token support
Requirements
- Drupal 10 or 11
- PHP 8.1 or higher
Similar Modules
While there are other monitoring solutions available, Cron Fail Alert focuses specifically on cron execution monitoring with a simple, lightweight implementation that doesn't require external services or complex setup.
Maintainers
This module is actively maintained. Bug reports, feature requests, and patches are welcome in the issue queue.