Task Scheduler

Setting up the Laravel cron scheduler for automated tasks.

The Laravel scheduler handles periodic tasks such as:

• Sending service expiration reminder emails
• Suspending overdue services
• Resetting monthly bandwidth counters
• Cleaning up expired WireGuard configurations

Cron job setup

Add a single cron entry that runs every minute:

sudo crontab -e -u www-data

Add this line:

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

This is the only cron entry you need. Laravel’s scheduler internally dispatches all timed tasks.

Verify the scheduler is running

php artisan schedule:list

This shows all registered scheduled commands and their next run time.

Test locally

php artisan schedule:work

This runs the scheduler in the foreground, executing due commands every minute — useful during development.