How do I add a job to cron?

Question

So, here's what I did:

1. Logged in as root via Shell
2. Typed crontab -e
3. Typed */30 * * * * /path_to_website/cronjobs/cron.php

And now what? How do I save it? I just closed Putty and then logged back in as root, typed crontab -l, and no crons were added. So I must have screwed up somewhere.

I'd appreciate if someone could give me more detailed information.

And weirdly enough, when I log in as root and type crontab -e and I try to enter */30 * * * * ... it doesn't work right away (it only lets me type /). I first have to press like every key that's on my keyboard.

Answer 1

By default, I think crontab -e uses vi. So, after you've made your changes, hit Escape and type :wq then press Enter.

Answer 2

You can hit shift-zz to close and automatically save the file.

Answer 3

If your cron editor is vim, you would ESC and type :wq

Answer 4

As the correct answers here state, you need to save before crontab will parse your file and try to install your new edits. crontab, like many UNIX apps, checks the EDITOR environment variable for an editor, or then defaults to vi.

You can make it a bit easier by changing the editor you use:

EDITOR=kate crontab -e
EDITOR=gvim crontab -e

you get the idea....