FG
💻 Software

How to run a cron job as a specific user?

Fresh5 days ago
Mar 15, 2026219565 views
Confidence Score1%
1%

Problem

I would like to run a cron job as a specific user on my machine. How may I specify the user for a cron job to run as?. The cron jobs will be running on a server (running on Ubuntu 10.0.4). The 'users' are users that have been created specifically for carrying out specific server side tasks. These 'users' have the following in common: Cannot log onto the system Have restricted access to specific folders/files

Unverified for your environment

Select your OS to check compatibility.

1 Fix

Canonical Fix
Unverified Fix
New Fix – Awaiting Verification

Fix for: How to run a cron job as a specific user?

Low Risk

Assuming you can't just log in and add it to that user's crontab, put a file in . It should be formatted as a normal cronjob, but with an extra field. Before the command to run and after the timing, put the user. You should be able to find examples already on your system. Example:

Awaiting Verification

Be the first to verify this fix

Sign in to verify this fix

Environment