[AWS Technical Support Note]Can I use crontab on Amazon Linux 2023?

Problem Occurred

When I run the command "crontab -l" to check crontab settings on Amazon Linux 2023,
but I received the result "-bash: crontab: command not found" making it impossible to check the settings.

Is there any issue with this command, or are there any other commands that can be used instead?

Solution

Crontab is not available by default in Amazon Linux 2023.
However, you can use traditional cron by installing the cronie package.

You can install the cronie package with the following command:

			
			$ sudo yum install cronie -y## Reference Articles

		

・Deprecated in AL2023 (English)

The cronie package was installed by default on the AL2 AMI, providing support for the traditional crontab way of scheduling periodic tasks. In AL2023, cronie is not included by default. Therefore, support for crontab is no longer provided by default.

In AL2023, you can optionally install the cronie package to use classic cron jobs. We recommend that you migrate to systemd timers due to the added functionality provided by systemd.

It is possible that a future version of Amazon Linux, possibly the next major version, will no longer include support for classic cron jobs and complete the transition to systemd timers. We recommend that you migrate away from using cron.

(English translation by AI)

The cronie package was installed by default on the AL2 AMI, providing support for the traditional crontab method of scheduling periodic tasks. In AL2023, cronie is not included by default. Therefore, support for crontab is no longer provided by default.

In AL2023, you can optionally install the cronie package to use classic cron jobs. We recommend that you migrate to systemd timers due to the additional functionality that systemd provides.

It is possible that a future version of Amazon Linux, possibly the next major version, will no longer include support for classic cron jobs and will complete the transition to systemd timers. We recommend that you migrate away from using cron.

Original Article

Can I use crontab in Amazon Linux 2023? (Japanese)