Cron GUI

A modern, beautiful Linux desktop application for managing cron jobs with a graphical interface. Built with Python and GTK4.

Features

✨ Modern GTK4 Interface - Beautiful, native Linux look with Adwaita styling
📋 Easy Job Management - View, add, edit, and delete cron jobs with a few clicks
🔍 Search & Filter - Quickly find jobs with the built-in search
⏰ Cron Expression Builder - No need to remember cron syntax
✅ Real-time Validation - Instant feedback on cron expressions
🔮 Next Run Preview - See when your jobs will execute next
🎨 Quick Presets - Common schedules (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly)
🔄 Enable/Disable Jobs - Toggle jobs on and off without deleting
💬 Job Comments - Add descriptions to your cron jobs

Screenshots

Coming soon - run the app to see the beautiful interface!

Requirements

• OS: Linux (tested on Ubuntu/Debian-based distributions)

• Python: 3.8 or higher

• GTK: GTK4 and libadwaita

• System packages:

  sudo apt install python3-gi python3-gi-cairo gir1.2-gtk-4.0 gir1.2-adw-1

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/cron_gui.git
   cd cron_gui

2. Create and activate virtual environment:

   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate

3. Install Python dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Run the application:

   python3 main.py

Usage

Running the Application

Simply execute:

python3 main.py

Or if you want to add it to your application menu:

# Copy the desktop file to your local applications directory
cp cron-gui.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/
# Update the Exec path in the file to match your installation location

Managing Cron Jobs

Adding a Job:

1. Click the + button in the header bar
2. Enter the command to execute
3. Choose a preset or build a custom schedule
4. Add an optional comment
5. Click "Save"

Editing a Job:

1. Click the edit button (pencil icon) on any job
2. Modify the fields as needed
3. Click "Save"

Deleting a Job:

1. Click the delete button (trash icon) on any job
2. Confirm the deletion

Enabling/Disabling a Job:

• Use the toggle switch on each job row

Searching:

• Click the search icon or press Ctrl+F
• Type to filter jobs by command, schedule, or comment

Cron Expression Guide

Cron expressions consist of 5 fields:

* * * * *
│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ └─── Day of week (0-6, 0=Sunday)
│ │ │ └───── Month (1-12)
│ │ └─────── Day of month (1-31)
│ └───────── Hour (0-23)
└─────────── Minute (0-59)

Examples:

• * * * * * - Every minute
• 0 * * * * - Every hour
• 0 0 * * * - Daily at midnight
• 0 0 * * 0 - Weekly on Sunday at midnight
• 0 0 1 * * - Monthly on the 1st at midnight
• */5 * * * * - Every 5 minutes
• 0 */2 * * * - Every 2 hours

What Can You Do With Cron Jobs?

Here are some powerful ways to use Cron GUI:

🚀 System Maintenance

• Backups: Automatically zip and move files to a backup drive every night
  • 0 3 * * * /scripts/backup.sh
• Cleanup: Delete temporary files older than 7 days
  • 0 4 * * * find /tmp -mtime +7 -delete
• Log Rotation: Archive and clear log files to save space

🌐 Web & Development

• Status Checks: Ping your website every 5 minutes
  • */5 * * * * curl -s https://mysite.com > /dev/null
• Data Fetching: Run a script to scrape a website or fetch API data every hour
• Certificate Renewal: Auto-renew SSL certificates

🏠 Personal Automation

• Reminders: Send yourself a desktop notification
  • 0 9 * * 1 notify-send "Weekly Meeting"
• Downloads: Schedule heavy downloads for off-peak hours (e.g., 2 AM)
• Wallpaper Switcher: Change your desktop wallpaper every hour

Building and Distribution

Building the Package

To build a distributable Python package (wheel and source distribution):

1. Install build tools:

   pip install build

2. Build the package:

   python3 -m build

   Or using setup.py directly (legacy):

   python3 setup.py sdist bdist_wheel

3. Artifacts: The built packages will be in the dist/ directory:

   • cron_gui-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl (Wheel)
   • cron_gui-0.1.0.tar.gz (Source tarball)

Installing from Build

You can install the built package using pip:

pip install dist/cron_gui-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl

This will install the cron-gui command globally (or in your active environment).

Creating a Debian Package (.deb)

To create a native Debian package for easy installation on Ubuntu/Debian/Kali:

1. Run the build script:

   ./build_deb.sh

2. Install the package:

   sudo dpkg -i dist/cron-gui_0.1.0_all.deb
   sudo apt-get install -f  # Install dependencies if needed

3. Run: You can now launch "Cron GUI" from your system menu!

Development

Project Structure

cron_gui/
├── cron_gui/
│   ├── __init__.py          # Package initialization
│   ├── cron_manager.py      # Backend cron management
│   ├── cron_parser.py       # Cron expression utilities
│   ├── job_dialog.py        # Add/Edit dialog
│   ├── job_list.py          # Job list view
│   └── window.py            # Main application window
├── main.py                  # Application entry point
├── requirements.txt         # Python dependencies
├── setup.py                 # Package setup
├── cron-gui.desktop        # Desktop entry file
└── README.md               # This file

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for details.

Troubleshooting

"Failed to initialize crontab"

• Make sure you have cron installed: sudo apt install cron
• Check if the cron service is running: systemctl status cron

GTK/Adwaita import errors

• Install system packages: sudo apt install python3-gi gir1.2-gtk-4.0 gir1.2-adw-1

Permission errors

• The app manages your user's crontab by default
• For system-wide cron jobs, you may need elevated privileges

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Built with GTK4 and libadwaita
• Uses python-crontab for cron management
• Uses croniter for cron expression parsing

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions, please open an issue on GitHub.