slackware-current/source/a/dcron/run-parts.8

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.TH RUN-PARTS 8 "05 Aug 2022" "Slackware Version 15.1"
.SH NAME
run-parts \- run scripts found in a directory
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B run-parts [ --list | --test ] <directory>
.LP
.SH DESCRIPTION
.B run-parts
is a utility that will run scripts that are found in a directory.  For example,
it might be useful to create an /etc/cron.daily directory and put scripts in
there for daily cron jobs.  Then
.B run-parts
can be called once a day from root's crontab to run all the scripts found in
/etc/cron.daily:

40 4 * * * run-parts /etc/cron.daily

.B run-parts
automatically skips files with certain suffixes that are generally associated
with backup or extra files.  Any file that ends in one of these will be silently
ignored:  ~ ^ , .bak .new .rpmsave .rpmorig .rpmnew .swp

The execution of files can be allowed or denied by creating file
.B jobs.allow
or
.B jobs.deny
which work similarly to other allow/deny config files. The file must be
created in the specified directory.

Randomization of jobs can be configured in the
.IR /etc/default/run-parts
file. To enable randomization of jobs, set the RANDOMIZE parameter to 1
and set the RANDOM parameter to an integer which determines a random
seed. Additionally, you may configure the RANDOMTIME parameter (again,
by specifying an integer) to provide an additional level of
randomization. Jobs are not randomized when the RANDOM and RANDOMTIME
parameters are set to 0. Values in these two parameters must be set to
1 or larger to provide a good enough randomization.

Randomization of cron jobs can be useful for shared networks, where
multiple cron jobs executed at once can cause spikes in traffic,
especially during daily jobs. With randomized jobs, the workload is
evenly distributed throughout the day.

.TP
.B --list
print names of all files (not limited to executables), but don't run
them. This option can't be used with
.B test
option.
.TP
.B --test
print names of files, which would be run.

.SH EXAMPLE OF CONFIGURATION FILE
.nf
RANDOMIZE=1
RANDOM=4
RANDOMTIME=8
.fi

.SH AUTHOR
Written for Fedora by Marcela Ma■lá■ová, modified slightly for Slackware by
Patrick J. Volkerding <volkerdi@slackware.com>.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.BR crond(8),
.BR crontab(8).