Systemd/timers

Timers are systemd unit files whose name ends in .timer that control .service files or events. Timers can be used as an alternative to cron. Timers have built-in support for calendar time events, monotonic time events, and can be run asynchronously.

Example usage

Following timer runs a systemd unit every 5 minutes which invokes a bash script

systemd.timers."faecherstadt-consulting-backup" = {
  wantedBy = [ "timers.target" ];
    timerConfig = {
      OnBootSec = "5m";
      OnUnitActiveSec = "5m";
      Unit = "faecherstadt-consulting-backup.service";
    };
};

systemd.services."faecherstadt-consulting-backup" = {
  script = ''
    set -eu
    ${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/echo "Hello World"
  '';
  serviceConfig = {
    Type = "oneshot";
    User= "nobody";
  };
};