SYNOPSIS

       fcron [ -c file ] [ -d ] [ -b ] [ -s time ] [ -m num ] [ -q num ]


       fcron [ -c file ] [ -d ] [ -f ] [ -o ] [ -y ] [ -l time ]


       fcron [ -n dir ]


       fcron [ -h ]


       fcron [ -V ]

DESCRIPTION

       Fcron  should  be  started from /etc/rc or /etc/rc.local. Unless the -f
       (or --foreground) option is given, it will return immediately,  so  you
       don't need to start it with '&'.

       Fcron   loads   users  fcrontabs  (see  fcrontab(5))  files  previously
       installed by fcrontab (see fcrontab(1)).  Then,  fcron  calculates  the
       time  and date of each job's next execution, and determines how long it
       has to sleep, and sleeps for this amount of time. When it wakes up,  it
       checks all jobs loaded and runs them if needed. When a job is executed,
       fcron forks, changes its user and group permissions to match  those  of
       the  user  the  job  is being done for, executes that job and mails the
       outputs to the user (this can be changed: see fcrontab(5)).

       Informative message about what fcron is doing are  sent  to  syslogd(8)
       under  facility  cron,  priority notice. Warning and error messages are
       sent respectively at priority warning and error.


              Note: fcron sleeps at least 20 seconds after it has been started
              before executing a job to avoid to use too much resources during
              system boot.

OPTIONS

       -f

       --foreground
              Don't fork to the background. In this mode,  fcron  will  output
              informational message to standard error as well as to syslogd.

       -b

       --background
              Force  running in background, even if fcron has been compiled to
              run in foreground as default.


       --queuelen num
              Set  to n the number of jobs the serial queue and the lavg queue
              can contain.

       -c file

       --configfile file
              Make fcron use config file file instead of default  config  file
              /usr/local/etc/fcron.conf.  To  interact with that running fcron
              process, fcrontab must  use  the  same  config  file  (which  is
              defined  by  fcrontab's option -c). That way, several fcron pro-
              cesses can run simultaneously on an only system (but each  fcron
              process  *must* have a different spool dir and pid file from the
              other processes).

       -o

       --once Execute all jobs that need to be  run  at  the  time  fcron  was
              started,  wait for them, then return. Sets firstsleep to 0.  May
              be especially useful when used with  options  -y  and  -f  in  a
              script run, for instance, at dialup connection.

              See also: fcrontab's options volatile, stdout.

       -y

       --nosyslog
              Don't  log to syslog at all. May be useful when running in fore-
              ground.

       -l time

       --firstsleep time
              Sets the initial delay (in seconds) before any job is  executed,
              default to 20 seconds.

       -n dir

       --newspooldir dir
              Create dir as a new spool directory for fcron. Set correctly its
              mode and owner. Then, exit.

       -h

       --help Display a brief description of the options.

       -V

       --version
              Display an informational message about fcron, including its ver-
              sion and the license under which it is distributed.
              exit.

       SIGUSR1
              Force fcron to reload its configuration.

       SIGUSR2
              Make fcron print its current schedule on syslog. It also toggles
              on/off the printing on debug info on syslog.

       SIGHUP Tell  fcron  to check if there is any configuration update (this
              signal is used by fcrontab(5))

CONFORMING TO

       Should be POSIX compliant.

FILES

       /usr/local/etc/fcron.conf
              Configuration file for fcron, fcrontab  and  fcrondyn:  contains
              paths (spool dir, pid file) and default programs to use (editor,
              shell, etc). See fcron.conf(5) for more details.

       /usr/local/etc/fcron.allow
              Users allowed to use fcrontab and fcrondyn (one name  per  line,
              special name "all" acts for everyone)

       /usr/local/etc/fcron.deny
              Users  who  are  not  allowed to use fcrontab and fcrondyn (same
              format as allow file)

       /usr/local/etc/pam.d/fcron (or /usr/local/etc/pam.conf)
              PAM configuration file for fcron. Take a look at pam(8) for more
              details.

SEE ALSO

       fcrontab(1),

       fcrondyn(1),

       fcrontab(5),

       fcron.conf(5),

       fcron(8).

       If  you're  learning  how to use fcron from scratch, I suggest that you
       read the HTML version of the documentation (if your are not reading  it
       right  now! :) ): the content is the same, but it is easier to navigate
       thanks to the hyperlinks.

AUTHOR

       Thibault Godouet <fcron@free.fr>