> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dbdock.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# dbdock schedule

> Manage backup schedules stored in your config file.

```bash theme={null}
dbdock schedule
```

`schedule` is an interactive menu for adding, editing, and removing cron schedules. Schedules are stored in `dbdock.config.json`.

<Note>
  **The CLI manages config — it doesn't run schedules.** To actually execute scheduled backups, you need to either run DBDock as a long-lived process (see [scheduling guide](/alerts/scheduling)) or use an external scheduler like system cron.
</Note>

## Interactive menu

```
? What do you want to do?
  ❯ Add a schedule
    List schedules
    Enable/disable a schedule
    Delete a schedule
    Exit
```

## Presets

When adding a schedule, DBDock offers common presets:

| Preset           | Cron        | Description                       |
| ---------------- | ----------- | --------------------------------- |
| Hourly           | `0 * * * *` | Every hour on the hour            |
| Daily (midnight) | `0 0 * * *` | 00:00 every day                   |
| Daily (2 AM)     | `0 2 * * *` | 02:00 every day                   |
| Weekly (Sunday)  | `0 0 * * 0` | 00:00 every Sunday                |
| Monthly          | `0 0 1 * *` | 00:00 on the 1st of each month    |
| Custom           | your cron   | Any valid 5-field cron expression |

## Schedule structure

Schedules end up in `dbdock.config.json`:

```json theme={null}
{
  "schedules": [
    {
      "name": "daily-backup",
      "cron": "0 2 * * *",
      "enabled": true
    },
    {
      "name": "weekly-archive",
      "cron": "0 0 * * 0",
      "enabled": false
    }
  ]
}
```

## Running the schedules

### Option 1 — long-lived DBDock process

Use the programmatic API with `node-cron`. See [SDK → scheduling](/sdk/scheduling).

### Option 2 — external cron

Let system cron trigger `dbdock backup` on the schedule you want:

```
0 2 * * *  cd /app && npx dbdock backup >> /var/log/dbdock.log 2>&1
```

This bypasses `dbdock schedule` entirely and is the simplest option on a single server.

### Option 3 — cloud scheduler

On Kubernetes (CronJob), AWS (EventBridge → Lambda/ECS), or GCP (Cloud Scheduler), trigger `dbdock backup` on the schedule.

## See also

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Scheduling guide" icon="clock" href="/alerts/scheduling">
    Detailed guide on running scheduled backups.
  </Card>

  <Card title="dbdock status" icon="chart-line" href="/cli/status">
    View configured schedules.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>