Node.js Cron Jobs and Scheduled Tasks

What is Cron Jobs and Scheduled Tasks in Node.js?

Scheduled work — nightly reports, cleanup, email digests — can run inside Node with node-cron, or outside it with the system crontab. Which you choose depends on whether the job must share application code.

Cron Jobs and Scheduled Tasks example

import cron from 'node-cron';

// 02:30 every day, in a specific timezone
cron.schedule('30 2 * * *', async () => {
  try {
    await archiveExpiredJobs();
    logger.info('archive job complete');
  } catch (err) {
    logger.error({ err }, 'archive job failed');
  }
}, { timezone: 'Asia/Kolkata' });

System crontab alternative

# m h dom mon dow  command
30 2 * * *  cd /var/www/api && /usr/bin/node scripts/archive.js >> /var/log/archive.log 2>&1

Key points to remember

• Always set the timezone explicitly — servers commonly run in UTC.
• Wrap the job body in try/catch; an unhandled rejection can kill the process.
• Under clustering, guard so only one worker runs the job.
• Long or critical jobs belong in a queue such as BullMQ, not a cron callback.

Common mistakes with Cron Jobs and Scheduled Tasks

• Running an in-process cron under PM2 cluster mode, so every worker executes it.
• Assuming server time is local time and scheduling five and a half hours off.