adelessert

<p>WordPress’s built in cron system is clever, but notoriously unreliable. <a href="https://deadmanssnitch.com" rel="nofollow ugc">Dead Man’s Snitch</a> is a great service for monitoring any sort of scheduled task, and is a simple way to make sure that your WordPress cron jobs are working properly. If WP-Cron isn’t working properly, WordPress might not be updating itself regularly, scheduled posts may turn up late or not at all, and other features you count on might not work.</p>
<p>This plugin simply allows you to store your Snitch URL in the WordPress admin, and requests it once per hour. If Dead Man’s Snitch doesn’t hear from WordPress when it expects to, it’ll send you an email notification.</p>


WP Dead Man’s Snitch

WordPress's built in cron system is clever, but notoriously unreliable.

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.

WP Dead Man’s Snitch vs Cron Guard