Step-by-step

1
Create an Artisan command

Generate a new Artisan command with make:command. Give it a descriptive name. The command's $signature becomes the string you use to call it from the scheduler and the terminal.
bash
```
php artisan make:command SendDailyReport
```

Write the command logic

Open app/Console/Commands/SendDailyReport.php. Set the $signature and $description, then write your task logic in the handle() method. Return Command::SUCCESS at the end so the scheduler knows the command completed without errors.

php

<?php

namespace App\Console\Commands;

use Illuminate\Console\Command;

class SendDailyReport extends Command
{
    protected $signature = 'report:daily';
    protected $description = 'Send the daily summary report to admins';

    public function handle(): int
    {
        // Your task logic here
        $this->info('Generating daily report...');

        // e.g. Mail::to('admin@example.com')->send(new DailyReport());

        $this->info('Report sent successfully.');

        return Command::SUCCESS;
    }
}

3
Register the schedule in routes/console.php (Laravel 11+)

In Laravel 11 and newer, scheduled tasks are defined in routes/console.php using the Schedule facade. This file is automatically loaded — no service provider registration needed.
In Laravel 10 and older, you define the schedule in the schedule() method of app/Console/Kernel.php instead. The frequency methods are identical in both versions.
php
```
<?php
// routes/console.php (Laravel 11+)

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schedule;

Schedule::command('report:daily')->dailyAt('07:00');

// Laravel 10 — app/Console/Kernel.php
// protected function schedule(Schedule $schedule): void
// {
//     $schedule->command('report:daily')->dailyAt('07:00');
// }
```

Use the right frequency method

Laravel ships with fluent frequency helpers for almost every interval. A few of the most useful ones are shown below. Chain multiple constraints to compose precise schedules — for example ->weekdays()->hourly().

php

Schedule::command('report:daily')->daily();           // midnight
Schedule::command('report:daily')->dailyAt('08:00');   // 08:00 every day
Schedule::command('sync:data')->everyFiveMinutes();     // every 5 min
Schedule::command('sync:data')->everyFifteenMinutes();  // every 15 min
Schedule::command('cleanup')->weekly()->sundays()->at('03:00');
Schedule::command('newsletter')->monthlyOn(1, '09:00'); // 1st of month
Schedule::command('ping')->everyMinute();               // every minute
Schedule::command('report')->weekdays()->at('09:00');   // Mon–Fri at 9am

5
Prevent overlapping runs

By default, if a scheduled command is still running when the next execution fires, both instances run simultaneously. Add ->withoutOverlapping() to ensure only one instance runs at a time. Laravel uses an atomic lock to enforce this.
php
```
Schedule::command('sync:orders')
    ->everyFiveMinutes()
    ->withoutOverlapping()  // skip if previous run is still active
    ->runInBackground();    // run the command without blocking the scheduler process
```
6
Log command output to a file

Use ->appendOutputTo() to capture the command's output (everything printed via $this->info() or echoed) to a log file. This is invaluable for debugging cron failures silently swallowed by the scheduler.
php
```
Schedule::command('report:daily')
    ->daily()
    ->appendOutputTo(storage_path('logs/daily-report.log'));
```
7
Add the single cron entry on the server

On your production server, add exactly one cron entry — it runs schedule:run every minute. Laravel reads all your scheduled tasks from that single command and decides which ones to fire based on the current time.
Open the crontab with crontab -e and add the line below. Replace the path with your actual project path and the PHP binary path (find it with which php).
bash
```
* * * * * cd /var/www/myapp.com && php artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1
```
8
Test the schedule locally

You don't need to wait for cron to test your tasks. Use schedule:run manually to fire all tasks due right now, or schedule:work to run the scheduler in the foreground every minute (useful during development).
bash
```
# Trigger all due tasks once (same as what cron does)
php artisan schedule:run

# Run scheduler in foreground, polling every minute
php artisan schedule:work

# List all registered tasks and their next run time
php artisan schedule:list
```

Tips & gotchas

Always use `->withoutOverlapping()` on any task that touches external APIs or runs database-heavy operations — duplicate runs cause subtle data corruption that's hard to debug.
Run `php artisan schedule:list` to verify the next expected run time for each task before deploying to production.
Set the cron entry to run as the web server user (e.g., `www-data`) not root, so file permissions created during the task match what the app expects.
Use `->onSuccess()` and `->onFailure()` callbacks to send a notification or write to a log when a scheduled task completes or fails.

Wrapping up

You now have a fully working task scheduler — a single cron entry drives all your scheduled commands, with overlap protection and log output. From here, explore ->sendOutputTo() combined with a Slack or email notification on failure, or look at running closures and anonymous jobs directly in the scheduler for lightweight one-off tasks.

#Laravel #Cron #Scheduler

Back to all guides

How to Schedule Recurring Tasks in Laravel

Step-by-step

Create an Artisan command

Write the command logic

Register the schedule in routes/console.php (Laravel 11+)

Use the right frequency method

Prevent overlapping runs

Log command output to a file

Add the single cron entry on the server

Test the schedule locally

Tips & gotchas

Wrapping up

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