Setting Up the Cron Job

CoinTrail uses Laravel's task scheduler. You only need to add one cron entry to your server, and Laravel will handle all scheduled tasks.

Linux/Unix Servers

Add this entry to your server's crontab:

* * * * * cd /path-to-your-project && php artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

To edit crontab:

# Edit crontab for current user
crontab -e

# Or for www-data user (recommended)
sudo crontab -u www-data -e

Replace /path-to-your-project with your actual project path, e.g., /var/www/html/cointrail

Hostinger (hPanel)

Hostinger uses its own control panel (hPanel) for cron job management. Follow these steps:

1. Log in to hPanel
2. Navigate to Advanced → Cron Jobs
3. Click Create to add a new cron job
4. Configure the cron job:
   • Run cron every: 1 minute (use "Custom" and enter * * * * * if needed)
   • Command: Use one of the following based on your PHP version:

For PHP 8.4:

cd /home/YOUR_USERNAME/domains/YOUR_DOMAIN/public_html && /opt/alt/php84/usr/bin/php artisan schedule:run

For PHP 8.3:

cd /home/YOUR_USERNAME/domains/YOUR_DOMAIN/public_html && /opt/alt/php83/usr/bin/php artisan schedule:run

For PHP 8.2:

cd /home/YOUR_USERNAME/domains/YOUR_DOMAIN/public_html && /opt/alt/php82/usr/bin/php artisan schedule:run

Alternative: Using a Shell Script

If the direct command doesn't work, create a shell script:

1. Create a file named cron.sh in your project root with this content:

#!/bin/bash
cd /home/YOUR_USERNAME/domains/YOUR_DOMAIN/public_html
/opt/alt/php84/usr/bin/php artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

2. Make it executable via SSH: chmod +x cron.sh
3. Use this command in hPanel cron:

/home/YOUR_USERNAME/domains/YOUR_DOMAIN/public_html/cron.sh

Replace YOUR_USERNAME with your Hostinger username (e.g., u179766331) and YOUR_DOMAIN with your domain name.

cPanel Servers

1. Log in to cPanel
2. Navigate to Advanced → Cron Jobs
3. Under "Add New Cron Job", set:
   • Common Settings: Once Per Minute (* * * * *)
   • Command: cd /home/username/public_html && php artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1
4. Click Add New Cron Job

Plesk Servers

1. Log in to Plesk
2. Go to Websites & Domains → Scheduled Tasks
3. Click Add Task
4. Set task type to Run a command
5. Enter: cd /var/www/vhosts/yourdomain.com/httpdocs && php artisan schedule:run
6. Set schedule to "Every minute"

Windows Servers (Task Scheduler)

1. Open Task Scheduler
2. Create a new Basic Task
3. Set trigger to repeat every 1 minute
4. Action: Start a program
5. Program: php
6. Arguments: artisan schedule:run
7. Start in: C:\path\to\cointrail

Scheduled Tasks Overview

CoinTrail automatically runs the following tasks:

Price Updates (Tiered System)

News & Content

Market Data

User-Related Tasks

Maintenance Tasks

Configuring Update Intervals

You can configure price update intervals from the admin panel:

1. Go to Admin Panel → Cron Settings (or API Settings)
2. Configure the following options:

Manual Artisan Commands

You can run tasks manually via SSH for testing or immediate updates:

Price Updates

# Update all crypto prices
php artisan crypto:update-prices

# Update only top 100 coins
php artisan crypto:update-prices --tier=top --limit=100

# Update remaining coins
php artisan crypto:update-prices --tier=remaining --offset=100

# Fetch data from CoinGecko
php artisan coingecko:fetch

Market Data

# Update Fear & Greed Index
php artisan feargreed:update

# Update currency exchange rates
php artisan currency:update-rates

# Sync exchanges from CoinGecko
php artisan sync:exchanges

User Tasks

# Check and send price alerts
php artisan alerts:check

# Send portfolio summary emails
php artisan portfolio:send-summary

Maintenance

# Clear all caches
php artisan cache:clear
php artisan config:clear
php artisan view:clear
php artisan route:clear

# Optimize application
php artisan optimize

# View scheduled tasks
php artisan schedule:list

Monitoring Cron Jobs

Check Cron Logs

View price update logs:

# View recent price update logs
tail -f storage/logs/price-updates.log

# View Laravel application log
tail -f storage/logs/laravel.log

Verify Cron is Running

# Check if cron service is running
systemctl status cron

# View cron logs
grep CRON /var/log/syslog

# List scheduled tasks
php artisan schedule:list

Test Scheduler

# Run scheduler manually (for testing)
php artisan schedule:run

# Run scheduler in verbose mode
php artisan schedule:run --verbose

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

• Monitor logs regularly - Check storage/logs/ for errors
• Start with default settings - The defaults are optimized for free API plans
• Use tiered updates - Prioritize top coins for better user experience
• Set up monitoring - Use tools like UptimeRobot to monitor your site
• Backup before changes - Always backup before modifying cron settings