Execute php file from bash script as www-data using crontab

Question

I am trying to run a php file every night at a certain time using crontab, however the php needs to be running as a www-data because of the directory permissions. To run it as www-data I am using the root crontab and changing the user in there, like so:

* 20 * * * sudo -u www-data /usr/bin/env TERM=xterm /path/to/dailyProc.sh

dailyProc is as follows

today=`date +"%d%m%y"`

year=`date +"%y"`

dm=`date +"%m%d"`

`tar -zxf /path/to/input/$today.tgz -C /path/to/output`

echo "starting data proc"

`/usr/bin/php5 -f /path/to/dataproc.php date=$dm year=$year`

echo "data proc done"

All other commands in dailyProc.sh work but the php doesnt run. The php is using an output buffer and writing it to a file, which works fine calling it from the command line but doesnt work when calling by cron.

I can also definitely run dailyProc.sh from the command line as www-data using

sudo -u www-data dailyProc.sh

and everything works as expected.

Is there any reason I would not be able to run this php file in dailyProc.sh using crontab when everything else in it works?

There are two crontab files that run with root privileges. One is /etc/crontab, the other is /var/spool/cron/crontabs/root. Are you using one of these? — Alex
– Alex, Commented May 25, 2015 at 12:52
Check crontab -l to make sure your crontab is registered. Also, check the logs, probably at /var/log/syslog — John Cartwright
– John Cartwright, Commented May 25, 2015 at 13:17
@alex no but everything else in the script runs fine, do I need it or is it just better practice? To edit the crontab I used sudo contab -e I read that editing etc/crontab is not a good idea beacuse the system can overwrite it? — Cob50nm
– Cob50nm, Commented May 25, 2015 at 13:40
@JohnCartwright both of those indicate that dailyProc.sh is being run, which it is, however the php inside it is not. — Cob50nm
– Cob50nm, Commented May 25, 2015 at 13:42

DanielBarbarian · Accepted Answer · 2016-12-09 12:34:36Z

2

Cron can be run per user too.

crontab -u www-data -e

edited Dec 9, 2016 at 12:34

DanielBarbarian

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answered Dec 9, 2016 at 12:13

user7272596

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Comments

Richard · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-25 12:22:27Z

1

This works for me:

* 20 * * * su - www-data -C "/path/to/dailyProc.sh"

answered May 25, 2015 at 12:22

Richard

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1 Comment

Cob50nm Over a year ago

This returned the following error /usr/bin/env: Syntax error: word unexpected (expecting ")")

lxg · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-25 19:46:08Z

1

You do not need to use su or sudo in a crontab entry, because the 6th column is for the user name anyway. And you don't need to start a terminal, because you won't see it anyway. Hence, the following should do:

* 20 * * * www-data /path/to/dailyProc.sh

The Syntax error: word unexpected… you mentioned in a comment appears to be inside your code. Try running the script from the command line and start debugging from there.

answered May 25, 2015 at 19:46

lxg

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2 Comments

Cob50nm Over a year ago

Is the user only a parameter if you edit /etc/crontab directly ? when trying this using sudo crontab -e I get the following error /bin/sh: 1: www-data: not found

lxg Over a year ago

When you use crontab -e, you're creating/editing a personal crontab. Then the user column is not being used and the 6th column is already the command. Edit /etc/crontab directly if you want the script to be executed by a different user.

Cob50nm · Accepted Answer · 2015-07-27 14:13:04Z

0

To do this I used curl inside dailyProc.sh

today=`date +"%d%m%y"`

year=`date +"%y"`

dm=`date +"%m%d"`

`tar -zxf /path/to/input/$today.tgz -C /path/to/output`

echo "starting data proc"

`/usr/bin/curl "myserver.com/dataproc.php?date=$dm?year=$year"`

echo "data proc done"

answered Jul 27, 2015 at 14:13

Cob50nm

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