can't get cron working on debian
 

i'm trying to set up a cron to run a simple command and yet anything i try never actually works

i'm on debian 7 and i've checked that crond is running

the test cron i've been using is this:

file: /etc/crontab
the above should of course made a text file containing 'testing cron' saved to '/home/test.txt' and to do that every 1min but it's failing to do so

any tip on getting cron working?

is there anything logged in your log files? if you haven't modified your (r)syslog configuration then check syslog for any messages. also, if you use /etc/crontab the syntax you need to use is:

you can also use 'crontab -u <USER> -e' to manage cron jobs for particular <USER> .

'Missing newline before EOF, this crontab file will be ignored'

i swear that wasn't there last time i checked.. i've added the EOF line and its' working now... :(

You'll also find that */1 is technically not required, * indicates every minute.

"/home/test.txt" - does this file exist and is it writable by the user with whose privileges the cron job runs?