PulseProbe

Automation monitoring guides

Cron guide

How to Monitor Cron Jobs with Heartbeat URLs

Cron jobs are easy to schedule and easy to forget. A final heartbeat makes the absence of a successful run visible.

Short answer

Call a PulseProbe heartbeat URL at the end of a cron job only after the job succeeds. If the call is missing after the expected interval, PulseProbe alerts you.

Last reviewed: June 10, 2026

Job success vs server uptime

Server uptime only tells you the machine is reachable. Cron heartbeat monitoring tells you whether a specific scheduled job reached its successful end.

Safe shell pattern

Use a placeholder in docs and scripts until you paste the real URL in a private environment. Do not publish the real heartbeat URL.

  1. 1Run the job command.
  2. 2Check that it succeeded.
  3. 3Only then call YOUR_HEARTBEAT_URL with curl or wget.
  4. 4Log locally that the heartbeat was attempted, without printing the real URL.

Example with placeholders

A private script might use a structure like: run-report.sh && curl -fsS YOUR_HEARTBEAT_URL >/dev/null. Keep the real heartbeat URL out of source control.

Grace windows

  • For frequent jobs, allow for normal runtime variance before alerting.
  • For daily jobs, account for maintenance windows and slow upstream services.
  • For jobs that sometimes skip work intentionally, only send the heartbeat when the outcome should count as successful completion.

How to test

  1. 1Run the command manually and confirm a check-in.
  2. 2Let cron run normally once.
  3. 3Temporarily comment out the heartbeat or disable the job in a safe environment.
  4. 4Confirm the missed alert after the interval and grace window.
  5. 5Restore the job and confirm recovery.

When not to use PulseProbe

  • Do not use heartbeat monitoring as the only control for safety-critical, medical, emergency, financial trading, or regulated systems.
  • Do not send secrets, customer records, prompt text, API keys, or private payloads to the heartbeat URL.
  • Heartbeat monitoring proves a check-in arrived. It does not inspect the quality of the workflow output.

FAQ

Should the heartbeat run before or after the job?

After the job, and only after the job exits successfully. Otherwise a failed job can look healthy.

Can I put the heartbeat URL in Git?

No. Treat it like a secret. Use placeholders in source-controlled examples.

Does this replace server monitoring?

No. Use server monitoring for host health and heartbeat monitoring for job completion.