my cron command doesn't work!

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Level 2

181 points

my cron command doesn't work!

I have manually added a command to my crontab file. Pretty simple. Something like "0 10 * * * mv /Users/me/Desktop/test /Users/me/Desktop/test2". Simply doesn't work. Other commands in my crontab file work fine, which suggests that cron IS actually executing. I HAVE given the cron app "Full Disk Access" in Security & Privacy. I'm using Monterey. Not sure where the cron log is, so I haven't pieced together what is happening. This is confusing. Advice?

iMac, OS X 10.11

Posted on Sep 11, 2023 08:07 AM

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Answer 1

Sep 12, 2023 07:54 AM in response to Dannymac22

Hi Dannymac22,

It sounds like you're having an issue with a command for a third-party app. You may need to contact the app developer to view or find log information to help execute. To further isolate you can test the command in a new user account. Add a user or group on Mac - Apple Support

However, you can also double check your permissions with the guide page here: Change permissions for files, folders, or disks on Mac - Apple Support

Best.

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Answer 2

Dannymac22 Author

Level 2

181 points

Sep 12, 2023 11:11 AM in response to HWTech

I said I already did that.

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Answer 3

Dannymac22 Author

Level 2

181 points

Sep 12, 2023 09:49 AM in response to OrigamiFan1

No. No third party app here. I'm dealing ENTIRELY with MacOS 12.6.8 Monterey. This is about the cron function in that operating system not being able to execute a simple OS terminal command. What permissions are you talking about?? I can't get this cron command to work on either of two machines (the second with Mountain Lion). Where is the cron log?

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Answer 4

HWTech

Level 9

66,698 points

Sep 12, 2023 10:46 AM in response to Dannymac22

You may need to give "cron" Full Disk Access in the System & Security Privacy Preferences. I seem to recall a couple other thread where this may have been necessary, but it has been a while since I saw those posts.

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Answer 5

Dannymac22 Author

Level 2

181 points

Sep 13, 2023 07:20 AM in response to OrigamiFan1

Here's another piece of evidence. When I run cron manually, I get

mycomputer$ /usr/sbin/cron ; exit;

cron: can't open or create /var/run/cron.pid: Permission

denied

logout

Um, what's that telling me? Why is that permission being denied? Now, as I said, I have other stuff running in my crontab file, and it works perfectly. So this error message must pertain to just one line out of many in my crontab file.

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