How to Schedule Cron Job in Node.js + Express.js

So, last week a task came across to send sales executives their target reports on Friday at 5.00 PM.
You might have encountered such tasks where you must schedule a task to run at a specific time.

So in this blog, I will show you how to schedule a task in Node.js using node-cron package.

Prerequisites

• Basic knowledge of JavaScript
• Basic knowledge of npm
• Basic knowledge of Node.js and Express.js

Lets break down the task into smaller steps.

1. Create a new Node.js project
2. Install express and node-cron package
3. Create a src folder and create a new file index.js inside it
4. Create a new route to test the functionality
5. Schedule the task to run the functionality

Step 1: Create a new Node.js project

mkdir node-cron-example
cd node-cron-example
npm init -y

Step 2: Install express and node-cron package

npm install express node-cron

Step 3: Create a src folder and create a new file index.js inside it

mkdir src
cd src
touch index.js

For windows users, you can use type nul > index.js to create a new file.

Step 4: Create a new route to test the functionality

// index.js
const express = require('express');
const app = express();

app.get('/send-target-reports', (req, res) => {
    console.log('Sending target reports to sales executives');
    res.send('Target reports sent successfully');
});

app.listen(3000, () => {
    console.log('Server is running on port 3000');
});

Verify the router by opening route http://localhost:3000/send-target-reports in your browser.

Step 5: Schedule the task to run the functionality

// index.js
const express = require('express')
const app = express()
const cron = require('node-cron')

const generateTargetReports = () => {
  console.log('Generating target reports')
  console.log('Target reports generated successfully')
  console.log('Sending target reports to sales executives')
  console.log('Target reports sent successfully')
}

app.get('/send-target-reports', (req, res) => {
  console.log('Sending target reports to sales executives')
  res.send('Target reports sent successfully')
})

app.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Server is running on port 3000')
})

cron.schedule('0 17 * * 5', generateTargetReports)

In the above code, we have scheduled the task to run on Friday at 5.00 PM using cron.schedule('0 17 * * 5', generateTargetReports). The first parameter is the time when the task should run and the second parameter is the function that should run at that time.

Break down of cronjob schedule

• 0 stands for minutes
• 17 stands for hours ie 5.00 PM
• * stands for any day of the month
• * stands for any month
• 5 stands for Friday

Additional Resource

You can find more about the cronjob schedule here

Conclusion

That’s it. You have successfully scheduled a task to run on a specific time in Node.js using node-cron package. I hope you find this blog helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below or contact me on Twitter @thesohailjafri