Crontab fails because shell path not found





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2















I am looking at the failure output of my crontab.



* * * * * user /usr/bin/python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py


I get the error /bin/sh: 1: caleb: not found.



This corresponds to



X-Cron-Env: <SHELL=/bin/sh>


which is part of the email the crontab sent me. I created the crontab using



crontab -e


All of it looks like a simple setup is there anything that I am missing?










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  • 3





    When you run crontab -e it is already using your username so there is no need to add your username to the beginning of the command. The only place on the system that you add the username is in the /etc/crontab file.

    – Terrance
    16 hours ago











  • @Terrance that fixed my problem. i got my solution from cyberciti.biz/faq/… And I looked at the format and paid no attention to the "for system jobs"

    – caleb baker
    16 hours ago




















2















I am looking at the failure output of my crontab.



* * * * * user /usr/bin/python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py


I get the error /bin/sh: 1: caleb: not found.



This corresponds to



X-Cron-Env: <SHELL=/bin/sh>


which is part of the email the crontab sent me. I created the crontab using



crontab -e


All of it looks like a simple setup is there anything that I am missing?










share|improve this question









New contributor




caleb baker is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
















  • 3





    When you run crontab -e it is already using your username so there is no need to add your username to the beginning of the command. The only place on the system that you add the username is in the /etc/crontab file.

    – Terrance
    16 hours ago











  • @Terrance that fixed my problem. i got my solution from cyberciti.biz/faq/… And I looked at the format and paid no attention to the "for system jobs"

    – caleb baker
    16 hours ago
















2












2








2








I am looking at the failure output of my crontab.



* * * * * user /usr/bin/python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py


I get the error /bin/sh: 1: caleb: not found.



This corresponds to



X-Cron-Env: <SHELL=/bin/sh>


which is part of the email the crontab sent me. I created the crontab using



crontab -e


All of it looks like a simple setup is there anything that I am missing?










share|improve this question









New contributor




caleb baker is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.












I am looking at the failure output of my crontab.



* * * * * user /usr/bin/python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py


I get the error /bin/sh: 1: caleb: not found.



This corresponds to



X-Cron-Env: <SHELL=/bin/sh>


which is part of the email the crontab sent me. I created the crontab using



crontab -e


All of it looks like a simple setup is there anything that I am missing?







16.04 cron






share|improve this question









New contributor




caleb baker is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|improve this question









New contributor




caleb baker is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 2 hours ago









Community

1




1






New contributor




caleb baker is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









asked 16 hours ago









caleb bakercaleb baker

132




132




New contributor




caleb baker is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





caleb baker is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






caleb baker is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.








  • 3





    When you run crontab -e it is already using your username so there is no need to add your username to the beginning of the command. The only place on the system that you add the username is in the /etc/crontab file.

    – Terrance
    16 hours ago











  • @Terrance that fixed my problem. i got my solution from cyberciti.biz/faq/… And I looked at the format and paid no attention to the "for system jobs"

    – caleb baker
    16 hours ago
















  • 3





    When you run crontab -e it is already using your username so there is no need to add your username to the beginning of the command. The only place on the system that you add the username is in the /etc/crontab file.

    – Terrance
    16 hours ago











  • @Terrance that fixed my problem. i got my solution from cyberciti.biz/faq/… And I looked at the format and paid no attention to the "for system jobs"

    – caleb baker
    16 hours ago










3




3





When you run crontab -e it is already using your username so there is no need to add your username to the beginning of the command. The only place on the system that you add the username is in the /etc/crontab file.

– Terrance
16 hours ago





When you run crontab -e it is already using your username so there is no need to add your username to the beginning of the command. The only place on the system that you add the username is in the /etc/crontab file.

– Terrance
16 hours ago













@Terrance that fixed my problem. i got my solution from cyberciti.biz/faq/… And I looked at the format and paid no attention to the "for system jobs"

– caleb baker
16 hours ago







@Terrance that fixed my problem. i got my solution from cyberciti.biz/faq/… And I looked at the format and paid no attention to the "for system jobs"

– caleb baker
16 hours ago












1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes


















5














If you are using crontab -e that set of Cron tasks runs as the user which crontab -e was executed as - that is, your user user.



Therefore, you should only provide the cron entry WITHOUT the user bits, i.e.:



* * * * * /usr/bin/python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py


The user definition you were attempting to use should only be used in the system crontab in /etc/crontab and in entries in cron definitions under /etc/cron.d/.






share|improve this answer


























  • Not to nitpick, but the "cron user" probably has /usr/bin in its $PATH. So, * * * * * python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py will probably work.

    – Seamus
    15 hours ago






  • 2





    @Seamus when using crontabs it's generally better to use full paths just to rule out that problem.

    – Thomas Ward
    15 hours ago











  • It's redundant... but I suppose that could be considered "generally better", for some. I'm only trying to point out that the "cron user" does have an environment, and it can be determined if it's not known.

    – Seamus
    15 hours ago








  • 1





    @Seamus I often have to explain to people why their jobs that run fine from a bash prompt don't work correctly under cron (or Autosys etc.). I tell them that it's best to use the full path to everything they can, and explicitly set PATH= what they want it to be, rather than rely on "probably".

    – Monty Harder
    12 hours ago












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1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes








1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









5














If you are using crontab -e that set of Cron tasks runs as the user which crontab -e was executed as - that is, your user user.



Therefore, you should only provide the cron entry WITHOUT the user bits, i.e.:



* * * * * /usr/bin/python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py


The user definition you were attempting to use should only be used in the system crontab in /etc/crontab and in entries in cron definitions under /etc/cron.d/.






share|improve this answer


























  • Not to nitpick, but the "cron user" probably has /usr/bin in its $PATH. So, * * * * * python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py will probably work.

    – Seamus
    15 hours ago






  • 2





    @Seamus when using crontabs it's generally better to use full paths just to rule out that problem.

    – Thomas Ward
    15 hours ago











  • It's redundant... but I suppose that could be considered "generally better", for some. I'm only trying to point out that the "cron user" does have an environment, and it can be determined if it's not known.

    – Seamus
    15 hours ago








  • 1





    @Seamus I often have to explain to people why their jobs that run fine from a bash prompt don't work correctly under cron (or Autosys etc.). I tell them that it's best to use the full path to everything they can, and explicitly set PATH= what they want it to be, rather than rely on "probably".

    – Monty Harder
    12 hours ago
















5














If you are using crontab -e that set of Cron tasks runs as the user which crontab -e was executed as - that is, your user user.



Therefore, you should only provide the cron entry WITHOUT the user bits, i.e.:



* * * * * /usr/bin/python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py


The user definition you were attempting to use should only be used in the system crontab in /etc/crontab and in entries in cron definitions under /etc/cron.d/.






share|improve this answer


























  • Not to nitpick, but the "cron user" probably has /usr/bin in its $PATH. So, * * * * * python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py will probably work.

    – Seamus
    15 hours ago






  • 2





    @Seamus when using crontabs it's generally better to use full paths just to rule out that problem.

    – Thomas Ward
    15 hours ago











  • It's redundant... but I suppose that could be considered "generally better", for some. I'm only trying to point out that the "cron user" does have an environment, and it can be determined if it's not known.

    – Seamus
    15 hours ago








  • 1





    @Seamus I often have to explain to people why their jobs that run fine from a bash prompt don't work correctly under cron (or Autosys etc.). I tell them that it's best to use the full path to everything they can, and explicitly set PATH= what they want it to be, rather than rely on "probably".

    – Monty Harder
    12 hours ago














5












5








5







If you are using crontab -e that set of Cron tasks runs as the user which crontab -e was executed as - that is, your user user.



Therefore, you should only provide the cron entry WITHOUT the user bits, i.e.:



* * * * * /usr/bin/python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py


The user definition you were attempting to use should only be used in the system crontab in /etc/crontab and in entries in cron definitions under /etc/cron.d/.






share|improve this answer















If you are using crontab -e that set of Cron tasks runs as the user which crontab -e was executed as - that is, your user user.



Therefore, you should only provide the cron entry WITHOUT the user bits, i.e.:



* * * * * /usr/bin/python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py


The user definition you were attempting to use should only be used in the system crontab in /etc/crontab and in entries in cron definitions under /etc/cron.d/.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 15 hours ago

























answered 16 hours ago









Thomas WardThomas Ward

45.1k23125178




45.1k23125178













  • Not to nitpick, but the "cron user" probably has /usr/bin in its $PATH. So, * * * * * python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py will probably work.

    – Seamus
    15 hours ago






  • 2





    @Seamus when using crontabs it's generally better to use full paths just to rule out that problem.

    – Thomas Ward
    15 hours ago











  • It's redundant... but I suppose that could be considered "generally better", for some. I'm only trying to point out that the "cron user" does have an environment, and it can be determined if it's not known.

    – Seamus
    15 hours ago








  • 1





    @Seamus I often have to explain to people why their jobs that run fine from a bash prompt don't work correctly under cron (or Autosys etc.). I tell them that it's best to use the full path to everything they can, and explicitly set PATH= what they want it to be, rather than rely on "probably".

    – Monty Harder
    12 hours ago



















  • Not to nitpick, but the "cron user" probably has /usr/bin in its $PATH. So, * * * * * python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py will probably work.

    – Seamus
    15 hours ago






  • 2





    @Seamus when using crontabs it's generally better to use full paths just to rule out that problem.

    – Thomas Ward
    15 hours ago











  • It's redundant... but I suppose that could be considered "generally better", for some. I'm only trying to point out that the "cron user" does have an environment, and it can be determined if it's not known.

    – Seamus
    15 hours ago








  • 1





    @Seamus I often have to explain to people why their jobs that run fine from a bash prompt don't work correctly under cron (or Autosys etc.). I tell them that it's best to use the full path to everything they can, and explicitly set PATH= what they want it to be, rather than rely on "probably".

    – Monty Harder
    12 hours ago

















Not to nitpick, but the "cron user" probably has /usr/bin in its $PATH. So, * * * * * python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py will probably work.

– Seamus
15 hours ago





Not to nitpick, but the "cron user" probably has /usr/bin in its $PATH. So, * * * * * python3 /home/user/src/code/prod.py will probably work.

– Seamus
15 hours ago




2




2





@Seamus when using crontabs it's generally better to use full paths just to rule out that problem.

– Thomas Ward
15 hours ago





@Seamus when using crontabs it's generally better to use full paths just to rule out that problem.

– Thomas Ward
15 hours ago













It's redundant... but I suppose that could be considered "generally better", for some. I'm only trying to point out that the "cron user" does have an environment, and it can be determined if it's not known.

– Seamus
15 hours ago







It's redundant... but I suppose that could be considered "generally better", for some. I'm only trying to point out that the "cron user" does have an environment, and it can be determined if it's not known.

– Seamus
15 hours ago






1




1





@Seamus I often have to explain to people why their jobs that run fine from a bash prompt don't work correctly under cron (or Autosys etc.). I tell them that it's best to use the full path to everything they can, and explicitly set PATH= what they want it to be, rather than rely on "probably".

– Monty Harder
12 hours ago





@Seamus I often have to explain to people why their jobs that run fine from a bash prompt don't work correctly under cron (or Autosys etc.). I tell them that it's best to use the full path to everything they can, and explicitly set PATH= what they want it to be, rather than rely on "probably".

– Monty Harder
12 hours ago










caleb baker is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










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