Creating a cron job is quite simple once you know how. It all depends on your server config. Usually (if there isn’t a way to do it on your host providers website) you log in to your server using shell access (SSH) using a program like Putty.

Once you’re there type crontab -e & the server should automatically create a new cronjob for you. Then to set it up so the script runs every day at 1 in the morning type this in the file:

0 1 * * * /full/nix/path/to/php/binary -q /full/nix/path/to/php/script.php

Once you are done hit Ctrl+o then Ctrl+x that saves & exits.

I hope that helps. If not let me know who you are hosted on & if they give you SSH access (if you don’t know you can always send them an email to ask).

I need your help and looking at your post I see you know what you are talking about. I want to delete all files in my cache folder every day at 1 in the morning. It is located at /public_html/wp-content/themes/college/cache on my server. I don’t understand how to create a cron job for this. Can you help me please?

Bridarian

Thanks for the tips in making the code neater too.

should be
$del_date=time()-($ret_hr * 60 * 60);

Also I changed
if ($handle = opendir($dir)) {

to
if (is_readable($dir) && $handle = opendir($dir)) {

Thanks for this script though. It was just what i needed.

Thanks for the improvement though. That’s why I love the coding world. Although I believe there might be a mistake in your code. You require the setting of the variable $ret_hr in the function call & then never use it?

/*
Cleanup a directory, deleteing any files older then set amount of hours.
@dir-     The directory to cleanup
@ret_hr-  Files older then this will be deleted

Call like-
  cleanup_dir("test_data/",24)
*/
function cleanup_dir($dir,$ret_hr) {
  $del_date=time()-(2 * 60 * 60);                                               //Get retention in epoch (hours * 60 min * 60 seconds)

  if ($handle = opendir($dir)) {                                                //Get a handle of the directory
      clearstatcache();                                                         //Clear cached dir data
      while (false !== ($file = readdir($handle))) {                            //If there are still files
        $t=filemtime( $dir.$file );                                             //Get the file time
        if ($file != "." && $file != ".." & $t < $del_date) {                   //If this is older then retention
            @unlink($dir.$file);
        }
      }
      closedir($handle);
  }
}

I have wrote the following which will empty out all files (since folders can’t be deleted with PHP without first deleting the files) from folders older than 3 days, then delete the mothly named folders older than 3 days & then delete the cam folder if it is older than 3 days. You can stop the deletion of the cam folder if you comment out the 7 lines indicated in the code.

Just change the $deletion_path variable to the full *nix path to the folder with the cam folders in. The full *nix path is usually something like /mnt/home/username or something, and do not add a trailing slash (that’s a slash on the end of the path). Anyway here is the code.

<?php
//path to the folder that conatins the cam01, cam02 etc folders... WITHOUT trailing slash
$deletion_path = '/full/path/to/folder';
$rm_time = strtotime('-3 day');

//Main function & rest of code
function get_file_list($path) {
	$files = array();
	$index = array();

	if ($handle = opendir($path)) {
		clearstatcache();
		while (false !== ($file = readdir($handle))) {
			if ($file != "." && $file != "..") {
				$files[] = $file;
				$index[] = filemtime( $path.'/'.$file );
			}
		}
		closedir($handle);
	}

	return array($files, $index);
}
$folders = get_file_list($deletion_path);

foreach($folders[0] as $folder) {
	$date_entries = get_file_list($deletion_path.'/'.$folder);
	asort($date_entries[1]);
	foreach($date_entries[0] as $date_folder) {
		$date_files = get_file_list($deletion_path.'/'.$folder.'/'.$date_folder);
		foreach($date_files[0] as $file) {
			if(!is_dir($deletion_path.'/'.$folder.'/'.$date_folder.'/'.$file)) {
				foreach($date_files[1] as $t) {
					if($t < $rm_time) {
						@unlink($deletion_path.'/'.$folder.'/'.$date_folder.'/'.$file);
					}
				}
			}
		}
		if(is_dir($deletion_path.'/'.$folder.'/'.$date_folder)) {
			foreach($date_entries[1] as $t_f) {
				if($t_f < $rm_time) {
					@rmdir($deletion_path.'/'.$folder.'/'.$date_folder);
				}
			}
		}
	}
	//comment out the next 7 lines useing // if you don't want to delete the cam folders that the date folders are in after 3 days
	if(is_dir($deletion_path.'/'.$folder)) {
		foreach($folders[1] as $t_c) {
			if($t_c < $rm_time) {
				@rmdir($deletion_path.'/'.$folder);
			}
		}
	}
}
?>

Thanks