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    A New Chapter for MagicMirror: The Community Takes the Lead
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    pm2 doesnt work with crontab

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Troubleshooting
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    • S Offline
      sdetweil @plainbroke
      last edited by

      @plainbroke how long til it might trigger?

      Sam

      How to add modules

      learning how to use browser developers window for css changes

      plainbrokeP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • plainbrokeP Offline
        plainbroke @sdetweil
        last edited by

        @sdetweil
        From that post about an hour. and it was supposed to trigger this morning around 6:30 am.
        It did not and it did not leave anything in the logs since last night when I pm2 stop all then pm2 flush. around 8:30 pm .
        So that means cron job did nothing with pm2 over night
        I have been experimenting so there are a couple different job lines.
        I really expected something in the log. But this is all I get.

        pi@MM:~ $ pm2 logs --lines=100
        [TAILING] Tailing last 100 lines for [all] processes (change the value with --lines option)
        /home/pi/.pm2/pm2.log last 100 lines:
        /home/pi/.pm2/logs/mm-out.log last 100 lines:
        /home/pi/.pm2/logs/mm-error.log last 100 lines:
        

        My Crontab on 2 different MM setups. I get the same nothing on both.
        Both are running Bookworm and MM 2.3.1

        05 20 * * * pi /usr/local/bin/pm2 start mm
        15 07 * * * pi pm2 start mm
        30 21 * * * pi pm2 stop mm
        05 20 * * * root /usr/local/bin/pm2 start mm
        15 07 * * * root pm2 start mm
        30 21 * * * root pm2 stop mm
        

        Slow learner. But trying anyways.
        MM is on Raspberry Pi 4B w/8gb ram loaded on a 128gb nvme drive.
        Running Trixie and the latest MM version.

        C 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • C Offline
          chrisfr1976 @plainbroke
          last edited by chrisfr1976

          @plainbroke

          Hi,

          try this:

          crontab -e with connected user:

          05 20 * * * /usr/bin/pm2 start mm
          15 07 * * * /usr/bin/pm2 start mm
          30 21 * * * /usr/bin/pm2 stop mm
          
          • sudo crontab -e is not necessary.
          • I do not understand the start at 20:05 (first line)
          • my pm2 is in /usr/bin
          • always use full path in crontab

          If you’re not sure where PM2 is you can use find / -iname pm2 in the console. Important is the full path in crontab.
          /home/chris/.nvm/versions/node/v22.9.0/lib/node_modules/pm2/pm2 would be an alternative for me.

          Regards, Chris.

          plainbrokeP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • plainbrokeP Offline
            plainbroke @chrisfr1976
            last edited by plainbroke

            @chrisfr1976 said in pm2 doesnt work with crontab:

            find / -iname pm2

            /usr/local/bin/pm2
            /usr/local/lib/node_modules/pm2
            /usr/local/lib/node_modules/pm2/bin/pm2
            /usr/local/lib/node_modules/pm2/lib/templates/logrotate.d/pm2
            /usr/local/lib/node_modules/pm2/pm2
            
            
            /home/pi/MagicMirror/node_modules/.bin/pm2
            /home/pi/MagicMirror/node_modules/pm2
            /home/pi/MagicMirror/node_modules/pm2/bin/pm2
            /home/pi/MagicMirror/node_modules/pm2/lib/templates/logrotate.d/pm2
            /home/pi/MagicMirror/node_modules/pm2/pm2
            
            

            Which is the true one and one to use?

            Slow learner. But trying anyways.
            MM is on Raspberry Pi 4B w/8gb ram loaded on a 128gb nvme drive.
            Running Trixie and the latest MM version.

            C 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • C Offline
              chrisfr1976 @plainbroke
              last edited by

              @plainbroke
              Then use this:
              /usr/local/bin/pm2

              Regards, Chris.

              plainbrokeP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • plainbrokeP Offline
                plainbroke @chrisfr1976
                last edited by plainbroke

                @chrisfr1976
                @sdetweil
                Thank you both for the help.
                /usr/local/bin/pm2 restart mm
                worked so I set it up to stop now and if (fingers crossed) works.
                I am golden.
                Wonder why I never had to use the full path before?
                Maybe my pm2 path was /home/pi/pm2 before.
                Doesn’t really matter as long as it works, I am a happy camper.
                It works.
                Thank you so much… I will mark this solved.
                Well I would if I could… strange.

                By the way " which pm2 " shows the path that I needed to use in crontab -e

                Slow learner. But trying anyways.
                MM is on Raspberry Pi 4B w/8gb ram loaded on a 128gb nvme drive.
                Running Trixie and the latest MM version.

                S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • S Offline
                  sdetweil @plainbroke
                  last edited by sdetweil

                  @plainbroke awesome

                  i should have remembered the path problem

                  Sam

                  How to add modules

                  learning how to use browser developers window for css changes

                  plainbrokeP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • plainbrokeP Offline
                    plainbroke @sdetweil
                    last edited by

                    @sdetweil
                    Did the new MM and or trixie change the way crontab works? Mine has stopped working since the update to 2.33. I tried again tonight and will see if the changes work or not… also my mm.json file quit working. Hind sight is 20/20 should have left well enough alone…

                    Slow learner. But trying anyways.
                    MM is on Raspberry Pi 4B w/8gb ram loaded on a 128gb nvme drive.
                    Running Trixie and the latest MM version.

                    S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • S Offline
                      sdetweil @plainbroke
                      last edited by

                      @plainbroke I do not know

                      Sorry, I have to ask, you DID use a new sd card, right?

                      What does /var/log/syslog say about the crontab execution

                      Did you use crontab -e
                      Or sudo crontab -e

                      1st is run as user who executed the crontab command
                      2nd is run as root

                      Sam

                      How to add modules

                      learning how to use browser developers window for css changes

                      plainbrokeP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • plainbrokeP Offline
                        plainbroke @sdetweil
                        last edited by plainbroke

                        @sdetweil
                        Using NVMe disk 256gb smallest I had on hand. 3 of them are exhibiting the same issues. I did try going back to Bookworm and I am still getthing a blank screen after a while. I ran npm run config:check it says all is good in the config.js ////
                        I am currently reloading from scratch.
                        Which OS is better for the 2.33 MM? 32 or 64 bit?
                        Wondering if I was using 32 bit and now the 64 bit is messing with me… So dang many things can mess with these little devices.

                        I only use crontab -e, should I try sudo crontab -e

                        Slow learner. But trying anyways.
                        MM is on Raspberry Pi 4B w/8gb ram loaded on a 128gb nvme drive.
                        Running Trixie and the latest MM version.

                        S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • S Offline
                          sdetweil @plainbroke
                          last edited by sdetweil

                          @plainbroke no, without sudo is best

                          Maybe pm2 isn’t in the path when crontab fires
                          Check the syslog for crontab errors

                          32 bit is about to be trouble.

                          The latest nodejs version, 24, has dropped builds for 32 bit

                          Sam

                          How to add modules

                          learning how to use browser developers window for css changes

                          plainbrokeP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • plainbrokeP Offline
                            plainbroke @sdetweil
                            last edited by plainbroke

                            @sdetweil
                            Thanks for the info I almost pulled down 32 bit.
                            It has been interesting to say the least going to trixie.
                            Turns out my problem was a failed NVMe drive.
                            I thought those things where supposed to last for a LONG long time…
                            I did get crontab -e to work with trixie and MM 2.33 not a fun ride, but entertaining. I finally learned how to use bash to make batch style files…
                            So not a complete loss of time…

                            Slow learner. But trying anyways.
                            MM is on Raspberry Pi 4B w/8gb ram loaded on a 128gb nvme drive.
                            Running Trixie and the latest MM version.

                            S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • S Offline
                              sdetweil @plainbroke
                              last edited by

                              @plainbroke technology is SOOOO much fun! Simple, til it’s not!

                              Thanks for the feedback. Others will ask, I’m sure they could use your help!

                              Sam

                              How to add modules

                              learning how to use browser developers window for css changes

                              plainbrokeP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • plainbrokeP Offline
                                plainbroke @sdetweil
                                last edited by plainbroke

                                @sdetweil
                                Ok crontab -e worked last night to shutdown MM. So the pm2 stop all worked.
                                BUT this morning the pm2 restart mm did nothing.
                                I used find to get these:

                                /home/pi/MagicMirror/node_modules/.bin/pm2
                                /home/pi/MagicMirror/node_modules/pm2
                                /home/pi/MagicMirror/node_modules/pm2/bin/pm2
                                /home/pi/MagicMirror/node_modules/pm2/lib/templates/logrotate.d/pm2
                                /home/pi/MagicMirror/node_modules/pm2/pm2
                                /usr/local/bin/pm2
                                /usr/local/lib/node_modules/pm2
                                /usr/local/lib/node_modules/pm2/bin/pm2
                                /usr/local/lib/node_modules/pm2/lib/templates/logrotate.d/pm2
                                /usr/local/lib/node_modules/pm2/pm2
                                
                                

                                ANY idea on which one would work better.?
                                Here is my current crontab -e

                                # Turn off display at 9pm
                                00 21 * * 0-6 /usr/local/bin/pm2 stop all >/dev/null >2&1
                                # Turn on screen Monday - Friday at 6:45 am
                                45 06 * * 1-5 /usr/local/bin/pm2 start mm >/dev/null >2&1
                                # Turn on screen Saturday - Sunday at 7:30 am
                                30 07 * * 6,0 /usr/local/bin/pm2 start mm >/dev/null >2&1
                                
                                

                                Slow learner. But trying anyways.
                                MM is on Raspberry Pi 4B w/8gb ram loaded on a 128gb nvme drive.
                                Running Trixie and the latest MM version.

                                S mumblebajM 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • S Offline
                                  sdetweil @plainbroke
                                  last edited by sdetweil

                                  @plainbroke which one, if any , are in the path
                                  Are they all executable?

                                  ls -laF
                                  Will give you the permissions mask

                                  Are any of them links to another?

                                  What changed?

                                  /usr/local/bin/pm2
                                  Should be the one

                                  Sam

                                  How to add modules

                                  learning how to use browser developers window for css changes

                                  plainbrokeP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • S Offline
                                    sdetweil @plainbroke
                                    last edited by

                                    @plainbroke also look in /var/log/syslog
                                    To find the logging of the execute at the time it should fire

                                    Sam

                                    How to add modules

                                    learning how to use browser developers window for css changes

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • plainbrokeP Offline
                                      plainbroke @sdetweil
                                      last edited by

                                      @sdetweil
                                      Weird, I do not have /var/log/syslog.
                                      Even did a find for it nothing, popped up…

                                      pi@Pixie:~ $ ls -laF
                                      total 348
                                      drwx------ 15 pi   pi     4096 Nov 10 15:36 ./
                                      drwxr-xr-x  3 root root   4096 Sep 30 19:18 ../
                                      -rw-------  1 pi   pi     9080 Nov 10 13:17 .bash_history
                                      -rw-r--r--  1 pi   pi      220 Sep 30 19:06 .bash_logout
                                      -rw-r--r--  1 pi   pi     3523 Sep 30 19:06 .bashrc
                                      drwx------ 13 pi   pi     4096 Nov  7 18:22 .cache/
                                      drwx------ 22 pi   pi     4096 Nov  8 12:57 .config/
                                      drwx------  3 pi   pi     4096 Nov  7 17:49 .dbus/
                                      drwxrwxr-x  2 pi   pi     4096 Sep 30 19:17 Desktop/
                                      drwx------  2 pi   pi     4096 Nov  7 23:11 Documents/
                                      -rw-rw-r--  1 pi   pi        0 Nov  7 20:00 .gitconfig
                                      -rw-rw-r--  1 pi   pi       81 Nov  7 18:24 .gtkrc-2.0
                                      -rw-rw-r--  1 pi   pi   222126 Oct 27 18:52 install.log
                                      drwx------  4 pi   pi     4096 Sep 30 19:18 .local/
                                      drwxrwxr-x 16 pi   pi     4096 Nov  8 12:54 MagicMirror/
                                      -rwxrwxrwx  1 pi   pi      320 Jun 12  2022 mm.json*
                                      -rwxrwxrwx  1 pi   pi       38 Jul 16  2023 mm.sh*
                                      drwx------  4 pi   pi     4096 Nov  6 21:05 .mozilla/
                                      drwxrwxr-x  4 pi   pi     4096 Oct 27 18:30 .npm/
                                      drwx------  3 pi   pi     4096 Oct 27 18:52 .pki/
                                      drwxrwxr-x  5 pi   pi     4096 Nov  9 17:24 .pm2/
                                      -rw-r--r--  1 pi   pi      807 Sep 30 19:06 .profile
                                      -rw-rw-r--  1 pi   pi       66 Oct 27 19:22 .selected_editor
                                      drwxrwxr-x  4 pi   pi     4096 Nov 10 15:43 shared/
                                      -rw-r--r--  1 pi   pi        0 Sep 30 19:18 .sudo_as_admin_successful
                                      drwx------  3 pi   pi     4096 Nov  5 17:30 .vnc/
                                      -rw-------  1 pi   pi       50 Nov  9 17:24 .Xauthority
                                      -rw-------  1 pi   pi     8238 Nov  9 19:32 .xsession-errors
                                      -rw-------  1 pi   pi     7945 Nov  9 17:24 .xsession-errors.old
                                      
                                      

                                      Slow learner. But trying anyways.
                                      MM is on Raspberry Pi 4B w/8gb ram loaded on a 128gb nvme drive.
                                      Running Trixie and the latest MM version.

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • mumblebajM Offline
                                        mumblebaj Module Developer @plainbroke
                                        last edited by

                                        @plainbroke Instead of piping the output to a blackhole, maybe pipe it to a logfile which you can interrogate to see why the pm2 start is not working?

                                        Check out my modules at: https://github.com/mumblebaj?tab=repositories
                                        Check my blog-post: https://mumblebaj.xyz/
                                        Check my MM Container: https://hub.docker.com/repository/docker/mumblebaj/magicmirror/general

                                        evroomE 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • evroomE Offline
                                          evroom @mumblebaj
                                          last edited by

                                          About /var/log/syslog.
                                          Debian does not use that anymore, already since a while.
                                          As far as I understand it, you will need to get familiar with journalctl.
                                          For cron jobs try this:

                                          $ journalctl --since "1 hour ago" --unit cron.service
                                          
                                          $ journalctl -f -u cron.service
                                          

                                          Happy hunting.

                                          MagicMirror version: 2.33.0
                                          Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Rev 1.5 (8 GB RAM)
                                          Raspbian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)

                                          Test environment:
                                          MagicMirror version: v2.33.0
                                          Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Plus Rev 1.3 (1 GB RAM)
                                          Raspbian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)

                                          plainbrokeP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • plainbrokeP Offline
                                            plainbroke @evroom
                                            last edited by

                                            @evroom,
                                            I get that nothing is found, when I run either of your suggestions.

                                            @mumblebaj
                                            Explain piping, Please…

                                            Slow learner. But trying anyways.
                                            MM is on Raspberry Pi 4B w/8gb ram loaded on a 128gb nvme drive.
                                            Running Trixie and the latest MM version.

                                            S evroomE mumblebajM 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0

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