[SOLVED] Why doesn't this rsync command run within a Cron job?

regervin · 05-11-2021, 12:33 AM

I can run this command without a problem from the command line:

Quote:

rsync -rtpogvlbs --progress --delete --ignore-existing --delete --delete-before --delete-excluded --exclude-from=/home/xxxxx/.ignorelist --force /home/xxxxx/ xxxxx@192.168.0.250:/volume1/Backups/Xxxxxx

However when try to run it from a corn job, I get this error:

Quote:

rsync: [client] failed to open exclude file /home/xxxxx/.ignorelist: Permission denied (13)
rsync error: error in file IO (code 11) at exclude.c(1188) [client=3.2.3]

I have checked the folder and file permissions but can't seem to find the problem.

Any help will be appreciated‼

pan64 · 05-11-2021, 02:18 AM

I can only guess: you use a different account for crontab (for example root?), which has no .ignorelist in the home dir (or has no right to access that file).

michaelk · 05-11-2021, 03:48 AM

The error shows a hidden file but command run from the CLI does not.
Are you using a running script or the command is a single cron job?

regervin · 05-11-2021, 07:04 AM

@michaelk - thanks for pointing that out (it was actually a typo) but after correcting it, the problem is still the same.

michaelk · 05-11-2021, 07:17 AM

You did not answer pan64's question. Which user is running the cron job?

Is it your xxxxx or something else?

regervin · 05-11-2021, 07:22 AM

I tried it as myself and as root.

frankbell · 05-11-2021, 08:37 PM

I'm not sure it's relevant, but what are the permissions on the file, "ignorelist"?

scasey · 05-11-2021, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankbell

I'm not sure it's relevant, but what are the permissions on the file, "ignorelist"?

Yup. That’d be the first thing to look at when getting a “permission denied” error

Also wondering why it is hidden?

jefro · 05-12-2021, 02:46 PM

Cron usually has to be treated like a user. All permissions you have to run it from command line also need to be allowed in cron either by user or group.

regervin · 05-14-2021, 11:39 AM

The current file permissions are 644, although for the sake of testing, I changed them to 777 with the same effect.

It's hidden so that I don't accidentally delete it or move it at some point in the future.

pan64 · 05-14-2021, 01:00 PM

this is not about the permission on the file, 644 should be enough. Probably it is a permission issue on the dir or it is a completely different file (or user).
Or something which is still unknown for us.

regervin · 05-14-2021, 08:08 PM

The directory permissions are 744; I changed it to 777 for testing and got the same message.

pan64 · 05-15-2021, 12:55 PM

ok, so it is your job now to find out what is wrong.

Quote:

rsync: [client] failed to open exclude file /home/xxxxx/.ignorelist: Permission denied (13)

is quite clear, the user who started to execute that rsync command is not allowed to read that file (or dir).
Either you specified a different file/path, or used a different user or something was just mistyped.
What you posted is not really enough to point out that mistake and what you tried (and posted) was not effective, so you need to check carefully these settings again.

regervin · 05-15-2021, 04:08 PM

That's just it...I have verified the ownership of both the directory and the file:

Directory: drwxr-x--x. 75 xxxxx xxxxx 4096 May 13 15:01 xxxxx

File: -rw-r--r--. 1 xxxxx xxxxx 7646 May 9 18:57 /home/xxxxx/.ignorelist

I have also verified that the same user (which is me) runs the cron job...

At this point, I've run out of ideas.

pan64 · 05-16-2021, 04:49 AM

-rw-r--r--. the dot means at the end: SELinux is enabled.
Also checking these permissions is not enough, you need to check that too: https://tekneed.com/understand-what-...-troubleshoot/