The cron command-line utility, also known as cron job,[1][2] is a job scheduler on Unix-like operating systems. Users who set up and maintain software environments use cron to schedule jobs[3] (commands or shell scripts) to run periodically at fixed times, dates, or intervals.[4] It typically automates system maintenance or administration—though its general-purpose nature makes it useful for things like downloading files from the Internet and downloading email at regular intervals.[5]