cron_fail_alert

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Cron failures can lead to serious problems including outdated search indexes, unprocessed queue items, missed cache clearing, stale aggregated files, and unexecuted scheduled tasks.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 (@minutes and :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/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.