Cron Jobs

Overview

Groundhogg relies on scheduled tasks (cron jobs) to send emails, process flows, and handle time-sensitive actions. By default, WordPress uses a “virtual” cron system that only runs when someone visits your site. For more reliable automation, we strongly recommend disabling the internal WordPress cron and setting up real cron jobs on your server.

Disable WordPress’s Internal Cron

To prevent conflicts, you should disable WordPress’s built-in cron before enabling real cron jobs.

Option 1: Edit wp-config.php

Add the following line to your wp-config.php file, above the line that says /* That's all, stop editing! */:

/* That's all, stop editing! */
define('DISABLE_WP_CRON', true);

Option 2: Use the Groundhogg Setting

Go to Groundhogg » Settings » Misc and enable the option labeled Disable WordPress Cron.

Creating an External Cron Job

Groundhogg provides two endpoints that can be used with your cron system:

• /wp-cron.php — the default WordPress cron file, used for background tasks like scheduling posts and emails
• /gh-cron.php — a dedicated endpoint for the Groundhogg event queue which handles processing flows and broadcasts

We recommend creating external jobs for both.

Cron-Job.org

1. Go to cron-job.org and sign up for a free account.
2. After logging in, click Create Cronjob.
3. In the URL field, enter one of the following:
   • https://yourdomain.com/wp-cron.php
   • https://yourdomain.com/gh-cron.php
4. Set the execution schedule to Every 1 minutes.
5. Save the job.

Sometimes hosts might block requests from cron-job.org, we recommend communicating with your host to whitelist their IPs.

• 116.203.134.67
• 116.203.129.16
• 23.88.105.37
• 128.140.8.200

cPanel

1. Log in to your hosting account and open cPanel.
2. Find and click Cron Jobs.
3. Under Add New Cron Job, set the schedule to run every 5 minutes: */5 * * * *
4. In the Command field, enter: wget -q -O - https://yourdomain.com/gh-cron.php >/dev/null 2>&1 or if using wp-cron.php: wget -q -O - https://yourdomain.com/wp-cron.php >/dev/null 2>&1
5. Click Add New Cron Job.

SiteGround

If you are hosting with SiteGround it is recommended to use this method.

1. Log into your SiteGround Site Tools dashboard.
2. Navigate to Dev » Cron Jobs.
3. Set the timing to run every 1 minute: * * * * *
4. Use this command: php /home/customer/www/www.groundhogg.io/public_html/wp-cron.php /dev/null 2>&1
5. Click Create.

Cloudways

If you are hosting with Cloudways it is recommended to use this method.

1. Log into your Cloudways account and open your application dashboard.
2. Go to Cron Job Management under Application Management.
3. Click Add New Cron Job.
4. Then select Every minute(* * * * *) from the Common Settings dropdown.
5. Enter gh-cron.php or wp-cron.php into the Command field.
6. Save the cron job.

Kinsta

Kinsta does not provide a dedicated UI to manage cron jobs. Instead, you must ask Kinsta support to add them for you, or follow Kinsta’s guide on adding cron jobs via the command line.

If you are asking Kinsta support for help, ask them to “Create a PHP cron job to run the wp-cron.php file in the WordPress root directory every minute.”

FAQs & Debugging Tips

Q: How can I tell if my cron is working?
A: Go to Groundhogg » Tools » Cron Setup. You will see a notice if your cron job is not running on time.

Q: Can I use both gh-cron.php and wp-cron.php?
A: Yes. If you’re not using Groundhogg for all site-wide cron tasks, you may still want to keep wp-cron.php active for other plugins.

Q: Why aren’t my emails sending?
A: This usually means your cron jobs aren’t firing. Double-check that you’ve disabled WordPress cron and correctly set up an external cron job running every minute.

Q: Can I run cron less frequently?
A: We strongly recommend every 1 minute. Less frequent schedules can delay email delivery and automation steps.

Q: Are there plugins to help with this?
A: Yes. Plugins like WP Crontrol can help you monitor scheduled events, but they do not create real cron jobs. You’ll still need to set up a server-level cron or use a service like cron-job.org.

Once your cron jobs are set up and running, Groundhogg can reliably send emails, process flows, and handle everything else on schedule—no traffic required.