chillichalli

<p>Cron Guard is a comprehensive monitoring solution for WordPress cron jobs. It helps you detect when cron jobs are failing, identify stalled or missed scheduled tasks, and provides host-specific instructions to fix common issues.</p>
<h4>Features</h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>Health Monitoring</strong> – Detect if WP Cron has executed within a configurable time threshold</li>
<li><strong>Scheduled Events List</strong> – View all scheduled cron hooks with last run time, next run time, and interval</li>
<li><strong>Overdue Detection</strong> – Flag overdue or stalled hooks with clear visual indicators</li>
<li><strong>Rolling Log</strong> – Lightweight logging of cron execution events</li>
<li><strong>Admin Dashboard</strong> – Clear, non-technical UI showing overall health status and detailed hook information</li>
<li><strong>Fix Assistant</strong> – Host-specific instructions for setting up real cron jobs</li>
<li><strong>Admin Bar Indicator</strong> – Quick status indicator in the WordPress admin bar</li>
</ul>
<h4>Premium Features</h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>Email Alerts</strong> – Receive notifications when cron is stalled or repeatedly missing schedules</li>
<li><strong>Webhook Alerts</strong> – Send alerts to any webhook endpoint</li>
<li><strong>Slack Integration</strong> – Formatted Slack notifications with action buttons</li>
<li><strong>Discord Integration</strong> – Formatted Discord notifications with embeds</li>
<li><strong>Verification System</strong> – Test and confirm real cron execution</li>
<li><strong>Advanced Diagnostics</strong> – Deep system analysis and troubleshooting</li>
<li><strong>Agency Dashboard</strong> – Monitor cron health across all your client sites from one screen, with per-site uptime trends (Agency & Agency Plus)</li>
<li><strong>White-Label Client Reports</strong> – Branded, printable per-site cron-health reports (your logo, name, and accent color), viewable on demand and emailed monthly (Agency & Agency Plus)</li>
<li><strong>Site Auto-Discovery</strong> – Add client sites in bulk by pasting a list, or let client sites enroll themselves with a shared hub token (Agency & Agency Plus)</li>
<li><strong>Encrypted Connection Keys</strong> – Client API keys are encrypted at rest using your wp-config secret keys (Agency & Agency Plus)</li>
</ul>
<h4>Why You Need This</h4>
<p>WordPress relies on WP-Cron for critical tasks like:</p>
<ul>
<li>Publishing scheduled posts</li>
<li>Sending emails</li>
<li>Running backups</li>
<li>Processing orders (WooCommerce)</li>
<li>Updating plugins and themes</li>
</ul>
<p>When WP-Cron fails silently, these tasks stop working. Cron Guard gives you visibility into your cron health and alerts you before problems become critical.</p>
<h4>Multi-Site Management for Agencies</h4>
<p>Managing cron across dozens of client sites? The <strong>Agency Dashboard</strong> (Agency and Agency Plus plans) brings every site’s cron health onto one screen. Connect each client site with a secure key, and your hub polls them on a schedule and on demand — showing health status, overdue and stalled hooks, the last successful run, and a 7-day uptime trend for each site, with a one-click link into any site’s own Cron Guard.</p>
<p>Because the hub polls each site over a secure REST endpoint, you still see the truth even when a client’s own WP-Cron has stopped — the exact failure you need to catch. Turn on the email digest to get a scheduled summary the moment any client site needs attention, so you don’t have to keep the dashboard open. No external service required; your hub is just another WordPress site running Cron Guard.</p>
<p>Need something client-facing? Generate <strong>white-label reports</strong> for any connected site — branded with your logo, agency name, and accent color — viewable on demand and printable straight to PDF from your browser, or emailed to each client automatically every month.</p>
<p>Onboarding lots of sites? <strong>Bulk-import</strong> them by pasting a list, or flip on <strong>self-enrollment</strong> so each client site registers itself with your hub using a shared token — no copying keys one at a time. Every stored connection key is <strong>encrypted at rest</strong> with a key derived from your site’s secret keys, so a database dump alone never exposes them.</p>
<h4>Supported Hosts</h4>
<p>The Fix Assistant provides specific setup instructions for:</p>
<ul>
<li>WP Engine</li>
<li>Kinsta</li>
<li>SiteGround</li>
<li>Bluehost</li>
<li>GoDaddy</li>
<li>DreamHost</li>
<li>Cloudways</li>
<li>Flywheel</li>
<li>Pantheon</li>
<li>Pressable</li>
<li>cPanel hosts</li>
<li>Plesk hosts</li>
<li>Generic VPS/Dedicated servers</li>
</ul>
<h3>External Services</h3>
<p>This plugin optionally connects to the following third-party services when configured by the user:</p>
<h4>Slack API</h4>
<p>When Slack alerts are enabled, the plugin sends notification messages to a user-configured Slack Incoming Webhook URL. Data sent includes: site name, site URL, cron health status, and alert details. No personal data is transmitted. Slack is operated by Salesforce, Inc.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://api.slack.com/messaging/webhooks" rel="nofollow ugc">Slack API documentation</a></li>
<li><a href="https://slack.com/trust/privacy/privacy-policy" rel="nofollow ugc">Slack Privacy Policy</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>Discord API</h4>
<p>When Discord alerts are enabled, the plugin sends notification messages to a user-configured Discord Webhook URL. Data sent includes: site name, site URL, cron health status, and alert details. No personal data is transmitted.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://discord.com/developers/docs/resources/webhook" rel="nofollow ugc">Discord Developer documentation</a></li>
<li><a href="https://discord.com/privacy" rel="nofollow ugc">Discord Privacy Policy</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>Generic Webhooks</h4>
<p>When webhook alerts are enabled, the plugin sends a JSON POST request to any user-configured URL. Data sent includes: site name, site URL, cron health status, and alert details. The webhook URL is entirely user-controlled.</p>
<h4>Freemius SDK</h4>
<p>This plugin uses the Freemius SDK for optional usage analytics and future licensing. No data is collected unless the user opts in during activation. Freemius is operated by Freemius, Inc.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://freemius.com/privacy/" rel="nofollow ugc">Freemius Privacy Policy</a></li>
<li><a href="https://freemius.com/terms/" rel="nofollow ugc">Freemius Terms of Service</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>External Cron Services (Referenced Only)</h4>
<p>The Fix Assistant page references third-party cron services (EasyCron, cron-job.org, UptimeRobot) as alternatives for setting up server-side cron. The plugin does not connect to or transmit data to these services. Users who choose to use these services do so independently.</p>


Cron Guard

Monitor WP Cron health, detect stalled or missed cron jobs, and get actionable guidance to fix issues.

abcbits

<p>ABC Bits Cron Monitor helps site administrators review recent WP-Cron activity. It records a timestamp whenever WordPress runs WP-Cron and displays a compact dashboard with recent runs, counts, and gap details.</p>
<p>The dashboard shows:</p>
<ul>
<li>The last recorded WP-Cron run.</li>
<li>Run counts for the last 24 hours and 7 days.</li>
<li>Average run gaps for the last 24 hours and 7 days.</li>
<li>Whether automatic WP-Cron spawning appears enabled.</li>
<li>A recent run log with gaps between runs.</li>
</ul>
<p>The plugin does not change WP-Cron behavior, trigger scheduled tasks, call external services, or add settings. It records recent WP-Cron run times locally for visibility.</p>


ABC Bits Cron Monitor

Monitor WP-Cron activity with a local cron run log, run counts, and recent gap details.

Cron Guard vs ABC Bits Cron Monitor