FCRON.CONF(5)

📦
version 3.4.1 · 2 versions
, in arch rolling, nixpkgs unstable

💅 FCRON.CONF(5) — the config file glow-up

okay bestie, so this is the man page for fcron.conf, aka the config file for fcron and fcrontab. it's giving "small file, big responsibility" and honestly? iconic. 🎀

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

🌸 ABSTRACT 🌸

so like, this page? it's the whole vibe guide for the configuration file used by fcrontab(1), fcrondyn(1) and fcron(8). all three of them read it, no cap.

here's the parsing tea ☕ — the file is super chill about formatting:

  • blank lines — ignored, we don't care
  • lines starting with a hash sign (#) — these are comments, ignored
  • leading blanks and tabs — ignored
  • trailing blanks — also ignored

every single line in a fcron.conf file is shaped like this:

name = value

and the blanks around the equal sign (=) are ignored and completely optional. do whatever, she doesn't mind 🫶

the following names are recognized — defaults are sitting in parentheses: "VALID VARIABLES IN A FCRON.CONF FILE"

  • fcrontabs=directory (/usr/local/var/spool/fcron) — the Fcron spool directory. the place where stuff lives ✨
  • pidfile=file-path (/usr/local/var/run/fcron.pid) — where the fcron pid file hangs out (needed by fcrontab to work properly, so don't ghost it).
  • suspendfile=file-path (/usr/local/var/run/fcron.suspend) — location of the fcron suspend file. on non-Linux systems you should lowkey use this to let fcron know how long the system was suspended (to memory or disk), so that task schedules can be updated accordingly. very "let her know where you've been" energy 💀
  • fifofile=file-path (/usr/local/var/run/fcron.fifo) — location of the fcron fifo file (needed by fcrondyn to communicate with fcron — it's their group chat).
  • fcronallow=file-path (/usr/local/etc/fcron.allow) — location of the fcron.allow file.
  • fcrondeny=file-path (/usr/local/etc/fcron.deny) — location of the fcron.deny file.
  • shell=file-path (/usr/bin/sh) — location of the default shell called by fcron when running a job. and the lookup order is giving main character energy: when fcron runs a job, fcron uses the value of SHELL from the fcrontab if any, otherwise it uses the value from fcron.conf if any, or in last resort the value from /etc/passwd. 🧚
  • sendmail=file-path (/usr/sbin/sendmail) — location of the mailer program called by fcron to send job output.
  • editor=file-path (/usr/bin/vi) — location of the default editor used when invoking fcrontab -e. yes that's right, fcrontab -e. 🎀
  • maildisplayname=string (Fcron Daemon) — display name for the From: header of mails sent by us. note that in the past, fcron was following Vixie cron's default email header format which is not fully compliant with RFC 5322 (see Issue #15 <URL:https://github.com/yo8192/fcron/issues/15>). fcron will revert to this old behaviour when this option is set to an empty string. and just so we're clear: file-paths and directories are complete and absolute (i.e. beginning by a /). 💅
ngl the next part is important: to run several instances of fcron simultaneously on the same system, you must use a different configuration file for each instance. each instance must have a different fcrontabs, pidfile and fifofile. then, use fcron(8)'s command line option -c to select which config file (so which instance) you refer to. one config, one instance, periodt. 👑

🌈 FILES 🌈

  • /usr/local/etc/fcron.conf — configuration file for fcron, fcrontab and fcrondyn: contains paths (spool dir, pid file) and default programs to use (editor, shell, etc). see fcron.conf(5) for more details. yes it's the file we've been talking about this whole time 💖
  • /usr/local/etc/fcron.allow — users allowed to use fcrontab and fcrondyn (one name per line, special name all acts for everyone). yes, all really means everyone, she's not subtle 🦋
  • /usr/local/etc/fcron.deny — users who are not allowed to use fcrontab and fcrondyn (same format as allow file). same format, opposite vibe 🙈
  • /usr/local/etc/pam.d/fcron (or /usr/local/etc/pam.conf) — PAM configuration file for fcron. take a look at pam(8) for more details.

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

and a lil note from the author, who is a whole mood: if you're learning how to use fcron from scratch, he suggests that you read the HTML version of the documentation (if you're not reading it right now! 🙂) — the content is the same, but it is easier to navigate thanks to the hyperlinks. hyperlinks ate, fr fr 🔥

🫶 AUTHOR 🫶

Thibault Godouet <fcron@free.fr>

that's the whole page bestie, you're officially in the know ⭐ this was FCRON.CONF(5), dated 06/06/2026 (aka 06 June 2026), and this rewrite was brought to you by the FCRON.CONF(5) source — go forth and configure responsibly 💜

📦 where this page comes from