Cron jobs and daemons

Koha is supported by a number of background tasks. These tasks can either be periodically executed tasks (cron jobs) or continuously running tasks called daemons.

A cron job is a Linux command for scheduling a command or script on your server to complete repetitive tasks automatically. Scripts executed as a cron job are typically used to modify files or databases; however, they can perform other tasks that do not modify data on the server, like sending out email notifications.

A daemon is a Linux command that is typically started when the system is booted and runs in the background doing some function. The database used by Koha (either MySQL or MariaDB) is a daemon as is the web server (typically Apache).

Koha has many cron jobs in place that you can enable (search engine indexing, overdue notice generation, data cleanup and more), and a few daemons. This chapter will explain those for you.

Crontab example

An example of a Koha crontab can be found in misc/cronjobs/crontab.example

The example includes sample boilerplate cron job entries for the most commonly-used cron jobs.

Cron jobs

The locations in the documentation assume a development install where files are found in misc/ relative to the git root checkout. If you have installed using Debian packages or the standard install from source, you will want to look for files in /usr/share/koha/bin/.

Other locations are possible with other installation methods. You can perform a simple find search if they are not located in these directories.

Note

For anyone with shell access using Debian packages, the following command is an easy way to find files installed by a Debian package:

dpkg -L koha-common

This provides a comprehensive listing of the files installed by the koha-common package. You can then easily find the file from there.

Backup

Daily backup

Script path: misc/cronjobs/backup.sh

Does: creates a daily backup of the Koha database.

Frequency suggestion: daily

Circulation

Holds queue

Script path: misc/cronjobs/holds/build_holds_queue.pl

Does: updates holds queue report

Required by: Holds queue report

Frequency suggestion: every 1-4 hours

Description:

  • A script that should be run periodically if your library system allows borrowers to place on-shelf holds. This script decides which library should be responsible for fulfilling a given hold request.

    It’s behavior is controlled by the system preferences StaticHoldsQueueWeight and RandomizeHoldsQueueWeight.

    If you do not want all of your libraries to participate in the on-shelf holds fulfillment process, you should list the the libraries that *do* participate in the process here by inputting all the participating library’s branchcodes, separated by commas ( e.g. “MPL,CPL,SPL,BML” etc. ).

    By default, the holds queue will be generated such that the system will first attempt to hold fulfillment using items already at the pickup library if possible. If there are no items available at the pickup library to fill a hold, build_holds_queue.pl will then use the list of libraries defined in StaticHoldsQueueWeight. If RandomizeHoldsQueueWeight is disabled ( which it is by default ), the script will assign fulfillment requests in the order the branches are placed in the StaticHoldsQueueWeight system preference.

    For example, if your system has three libraries, of varying sizes ( small, medium and large ) and you want the burden of holds fulfillment to be on larger libraries before smaller libraries, you would want StaticHoldsQueueWeight to look something like “LRG,MED,SML”.

    If you want the burden of holds fulfillment to be spread out equally throughout your library system, simply enable RandomizeHoldsQueueWeight. When this system preference is enabled, the order in which libraries will be requested to fulfill an on-shelf hold will be randomized each time the list is regenerated.

Expired holds

Script path: misc/cronjobs/holds/cancel_expired_holds.pl

Does: cancels holds where the user has set an expiration date. If the library is using the ExpireReservesMaxPickUpDelay and ExpireReservesMaxPickUpDelayCharge preferences then this script will also cancel holds that have been sitting on the hold shelf for too long and will (if the library does) charge the patron for not picking up the hold.

It is possible to add a cancellation reason with the –reason parameter. Use the cancellation code from the HOLD_CANCELLATION authorized value category

Frequency suggestion: daily

Unsuspend holds

Script path: misc/cronjobs/holds/auto_unsuspend_holds.pl

Does: checks to find holds that should no longer be suspended and removes the suspension if the AutoResumeSuspendedHolds preference is set to ‘allow’. This puts the patron back in to the queue where they were when the hold was suspended.

Frequency suggestion: daily

Fines

Script path: misc/cronjobs/fines.pl

Does: calculates and charges (or increments) overdue fines per item to patron accounts. The fine calculation is done using the grace period, fine interval, fine amount and other parameters from the circulation and fines rules.

Required by: finesMode system preference

Frequency suggestion: nightly

Note If the Koha system preference ‘finesMode’ is set to ‘production’, the fines are charged to the patron accounts. If set to ‘test’, the fines are calculated but not applied.

Note Fines will not be applied on a holiday.

PARAMETERS - -h|–help

  • get help message

  • -l|–log

    • log the output to a file (optional if the -o parameter is given)

  • -o|–out

    • output directory for logs (defaults to env or /tmp if the directory does not exist)

  • -v|–verbose

    • verbose mode

  • -m|–maxdays

    • how many days back of overdues to process

    • this can improve performance by simply the number of records that need to be processed. It can be safe to limit the overdues processed to those under X days overdues given that circulation policy often caps fines at a maximum after a number of days.

Static fines

Script path: misc/cronjobs/staticfines.pl

Does: charges a single static fine for any/all overdues a patron currently has outstanding. The charge amount is either defined on the command line per borrower category or will use the circulation rules associated with the oldest overdue item the patron has currently checked out (for the first fine period only) Once charged, the fine is static: No new fines will be added until the existing fine is paid off in full.

Frequency suggestion: nightly

Note If the Koha system preference ‘finesMode’ is set to ‘production’, the fines are charged to the patron accounts. If set to ‘test’, the fines are calculated but not applied.

Note Fines won’t be applied on a holiday.

Long overdues

Script path: misc/cronjobs/longoverdue.pl

Does: allows one to specify delays for changing items to different lost statuses, and optionally charge for them using the replacement price listed on the item record.

Frequency suggestion: nightly

Note

Staff can control some of the parameters for the longoverdue cron job with the DefaultLongOverdueLostValue and DefaultLongOverdueChargeValue preferences.

Track total checkouts

Script path: misc/cronjobs/update_totalissues.pl

Does: updates the biblioitems.totalissues field in the database with the latest tally of checkouts based on historical issue statistics.

Frequency suggestion: nightly

Warning

If the time on your database server does not match the time on your Koha server you will need to take that into account, and probably use the –since argument instead of the –interval argument for incremental updating.

Note

This cronjob can be used if there is a performance concern. Otherwise, use the UpdateTotalIssuesOnCirc System preference.

Generate patron file for offline circulation

Script path: misc/cronjobs/create_koc_db.pl

Does: generates the borrowers.db file for use with the Koha offline circulation tool

Frequency suggestion: weekly

Automatic renewal

Script path: misc/cronjobs/automatic_renewals.pl

Does: renews items if you’re allowing automatic renewal with your circulation and fines rules.

Frequency suggestion: nightly

Important

To run this properly, you must use the –confirm parameter, otherwise it will only run in test mode

PARAMETERS - -h|–help

  • get help message

  • –send-notices

    • sends the AUTO_RENEWALS notice to patrons if the automatic renewal has been done

  • -v|–verbose

    • verbose mode

  • -c|–confirm

    • without this parameter no changes will be made, the script will run in test mode

    • without this parameter, the script will default to verbose mode as well

Automatic checkin

Script path: misc/cronjobs/automatic_checkin.pl

Does: automatically checks in items after the loan period. This is set at the item type level.

Frequency suggestion: nightly

Recalls

Expire recalls

Script path: misc/cronjobs/recalls/expire_recalls.pl

Does: automatically marks as expired recalls that

  • have been requested, but have not been fulfilled and are past their expiry date

  • recalls that have been awaiting pickup longer than the pickup period in the circulation rules or the period set in the RecallsMaxPickUpDelay system preference

Frequency suggestion: nightly

Overdue recalls

Script path: misc/cronjobs/recalls/overdue_recalls.pl

Does: sets a recalled item as overdue if it hasn’t been returned by the adjusted due date

Frequency suggestion: nightly

Patrons

Batch delete patrons

Script path: misc/cronjobs/delete_patrons.pl

Does: deletes patron records in batch based on date not borrowed since, expired before, last seen, category code, or library branch.

Note

Dates should be in ISO format, e.g., 2013-07-19, and can be generated with date -d ‘-3 month’ “+%Y-%m-%d”.

Important

The options to select the patron records to delete are cumulative. For example, supplying both –expired_before and –library specifies that patron records must meet both conditions to be selected for deletion.

PARAMETERS

  • –not_borrowed_since Delete patrons who have not borrowed since this date.

    Warning

    Patrons who have all their old checkouts anonymized will have an empty circulation history and be deleted if this option is used. Anonymization can happen because the patron has borrowers.privacy = 2, through cronjobs doing anonymization or by the patron choosing to anonymize their history in the OPAC.

  • –expired_before Delete patrons with an account expired before this date.

  • –last_seen Delete patrons who have not been connected since this date. The system preference TrackLastPatronActivity must be enabled to use this option.

  • –category_code Delete patrons who have this category code.

  • –library Delete patrons in this library.

  • -c|–confirm This flag must be provided in order for the script to actually delete patron records. If it is not supplied, the script will only report on the patron records it would have deleted.

  • -v|–verbose Verbose mode.

Anonymize patron data

Script path: misc/cronjobs/batch_anonymise.pl

Does: removes borrowernumbers from circulation history so that the stats are kept, but the patron information is removed for privacy reasons.

Update patron categories

Script path: misc/cronjobs/update_patrons_category.pl

Does: Updates the patron category of patrons matching the given criteria to another specified patron category. This can be used to convert child patrons from a child patron category to an adult patron category when they reach the upper age limit defined in the patron category.

This script replaces the j2a.pl script.

Frequency suggestion: nightly

DESCRIPTION

This script is designed to update patrons from one category to another using the criteria specified using command line arguments.

PARAMETERS

  • –too_old Update, if patron is over the upper age limit of their current patron category.

  • –too_young Update, if patron is below the minimum age limit of their patron category.

  • –fo=X|–fineover=X Update, if the total fine amount on the patron account is over X.

  • –fu=X|–fineunder=X Update, if the total fine amount on the patron account is below X.

  • –rb=date|regbefore=date Update, if the registration date of the patron is before the given date.

  • –ra=date|regafter=date Update, if the registration date of the patron is after the given date.

  • -d –field name=value Update, if the given condition is met. <name> has to be replaced by a column name of the borrowers table. The condition is met, if the the content of the field equals <value>.

  • –where <conditions> Update, if the SQL <where> clause is met.

  • -v|–verbose Verbose mode: Without this flag only fatal errors are reported.

  • -c|–confirm Commits the changes to the database. No changes will be made unless this argument is added to the command.

  • -b|–branch <branchcode> Update, if the home branch of the patron matches the <branchcode> given.

  • -f|–form <categorycode> Update, if the patron currently has this patron category.

  • -t|–to <categorycode> Update the patrons matching the criteria to this patron category.

USAGE EXAMPLES

“update_patrons_category.pl”

“update_patrons_category.pl” -b=<branchcode> -f=<categorycode> -t=<categorycode> -c” (Processes a single branch, and updates the patron categories from category to category)

“update_patrons_category.pl” -f=<categorycode> -t=<categorycode> -v” (Processes all branches, shows all messages, and reports the patrons who would be affected. Takes no action on the database)

Update patrons’ messaging preferences

Script path: misc/maintenance/borrowers-force-messaging-defaults.pl

Does: updates patrons’ messaging preferences to the default values set in the patron categories.

Messaging preferences defaults are automatically set when adding a new patron or when importing patrons with the patron import tool. However, if you import patrons directly in the database, these messaging preferences will not be set.

There is no suggested frequency. This is a tool to be used when needed, although if you regularly import patrons directly in the database (through a third-party, for example), you can add it to your crontab.

DESCRIPTION

If the EnhancedMessagingPreferences system preference is enabled after borrowers have been created in the DB, those borrowers won’t have messaging transport preferences default values as defined for their borrower category. So you would have to modify each borrower one by one if you would like to send them ‘Hold Filled’ notice for example.

This script creates/overwrites messaging preferences for all borrowers and sets them to default values defined for the category they belong to (unless you use the options -not-expired or -no-overwrite to update a subset).

PARAMETERS

  • –doit

    Update the patrons. The script will not update patrons’ messaging preferences without this option. It will only list the patrons who would have been updated.

  • –not-expired

    Only update patrons who are still active (whose files are not yet expired).

  • –no-overwrite

    Only update patrons without any messaging preferences. This option will skip patrons who have already set their preferences.

  • –category

    Only update patrons from the specified category.

    Warning

    This option cannot be repeated.

    For example:

    borrowers-force-messaging-defaults.pl --doit --category PT --category B

    will only update patrons from category B (the last category specified).

  • –since

    Only update patrons enrolled since the specified date.

    Note

    This option can use specific or relative dates.

    For example:

    borrowers-force-messaging-defaults.pl --doit --since "2022-07-12"

    will only update patrons enrolled since July 12, 2022.

    And:

    borrowers-force-messaging-defaults.pl --doit --since `date -d "1 day ago" '+%Y-%m-%d'

    will only update patrons enrolled since yesterday.

USAGE EXAMPLES

borrowers-force-messaging-defaults.pl --doit

Updates all patrons to give them the default messaging preferences values from their respective category.

borrowers-force-messaging-defaults.pl --doit --not-expired

Updates all patrons whose memberships are not expired to give them the default messaging preferences values from their respective category.

borrowers-force-messaging-defaults.pl --doit --category PT

Updates all patrons in the PT category to give them the default messaging preferences for that category.

borrowers-force-messaging-defaults.pl --doit --no-overwrite --since "2022-03-01"

Updates patrons who do not have any messaging preferences set and who are enrolled since March 1st, 2022.

Notices

Message queue

Script path: misc/cronjobs/process_message_queue.pl

Does: processes the message queue to send outgoing emails and SMS messages to patrons. Messages are queued in the message queue by other scripts, such as advance_notices.pl, overdue_notices.pl, and holds_reminder.pl.

Note

Requires that EnhancedMessagingPreferences be set to ‘Allow’.

Frequency suggestion: 1-4 hours

DESCRIPTION

This script processes the message queue in the message_queue database table. It sends out the messages in that queue and marks them appropriately to indicate success or failure. It is recommended that you run this regularly from cron, especially if you are using the advance_notices.pl script.

PARAMETERS

  • -u | –username

    • Username of the mail account used to send the notices.

  • -p | –password

    • Password of mail account used to send the notices.

  • -t | –type

    • If supplied, only processes this type of message. Possible values are

      • email

      • sms

    • Repeatable

  • -c | –code

    • If supplied, only processes messages with this letter code.

    • Repeatable.

  • -l | –limit

    • The maximum number of messages to process for this run.

  • -m | –method

    • Authentication method required by SMTP server (see perldoc Sendmail.pm for supported authentication types).

  • -h | –help

    • Help message.

  • -v | –verbose

    • Provides verbose output to STDOUT.

  • -w | –where

    • Filter messages to send with additional conditions in a where clause.

Advanced notice

Script path: misc/cronjobs/advance_notices.pl

Does: prepares “pre-due” notices and “item due” notices for patrons who request them prepares notices for patrons for items just due or coming due soon. requires EnhancedMessagingPreferences to be on

Frequency suggestion: nightly

Note

This script does not actually send the notices. It queues them in the message queue for later

Overdue notice

Script path: misc/cronjobs/overdue_notices.pl

Does: prepares messages to alert patrons of overdue messages (both via email and print)

Frequency suggestion: nightly

DESCRIPTION

This script creates and queues the overdue notices according to the parameters set in the overdue notice/status triggers tool.

PARAMETERS

  • -n | –nomail

    • Do not send any email. Overdue notices that would have been sent to the patrons or to the admin are printed to standard out. CSV data (if the –csv flag is set) is written to standard out or to any CSV filename given.

  • –max <days>

    • Maximum days overdue to deal with.

    • Items overdue since longer than max days are assumed to be handled somewhere else, probably the longoverdues script. They are therefore ignored by this script. No notices are sent for them, and they are not added to any CSV files.

    • Defaults to 90 days.

  • –library <branchcode>

    • Only deal with overdues from this library.

    • Use the value in the branches.branchcode table.

    • This parameter is repeatable, to process overdues for a group of libraries.

  • –csv <filename>

    • Produces a CSV file.

    • If the -n (no mail) flag is set, this CSV data is sent to standard out or to a filename if provided. Otherwise, only overdues that could not be emailed are sent in CSV format to the admin.

  • –html <directory>

    • Output html to a file in the given directory.

    • If a patron does not have an email address or if the -n (no mail) flag is set, an HTML file is generated in the specified directory. This can be downloaded or further processed by library staff.

    • The file will be called notices-YYYY-MM-DD.html and placed in the directory specified.

  • –text <directory>

    • Output plain text to a file in the given directory.

    • If a patron does not have an email address or if the -n (no mail) flag is set, a text file is generated in the specified directory. This can be downloaded or further processed by library staff.

    • The file will be called notices-YYYY-MM-DD.txt and placed in the directory specified.

  • –itemscontent <list of fields>

    • Item information in templates.

    • Takes a comma separated list of fields that get substituted into templates in places of the <<items.content>> placeholder.

    • Defaults to due date,title,barcode,author

    • Other possible values come from fields in the biblio, items and issues tables.

  • –borcat <categorycode>

    • Prepare only overdue notices for specified patron categories.

    • This parameter is repeatable, to include several patron categories.

    • Use the value in categories.categorycode.

  • –borcatout <categorycode>

    • Do not prepare overdue notices for specified patron categories.

    • This parameter is repeatable, to exclude several patron categories.

    • Use the value in categories.categorycode.

    • t | –triggered

    • This option causes a notice to be generated if and only if an item is overdue by the number of days defined in the overdue notice trigger.

    • By default, a notice is sent each time the script runs, which is suitable for less frequent run cron script, but requires syncing notice triggers with the cron schedule to ensure proper behavior.

    • Add the –triggered option for daily cron, at the risk of no notice being generated if the cron fails to run on time.

  • –test

    • This option makes the script run in test mode.

    • In test mode, the script won’t make any changes on the DB. This is useful for debugging configuration.

  • –list-all

    • By default, <<items.content>> lists only those items that fall in the range of the currently processing notice.

    • Choose –list-all to include all overdue items in the list (limited by the –max setting).

  • –date <yyyy-mm-dd>

    • Emulate overdues run for this date.

  • –email <email_type>

    • Specify the type of email that will be used.

    • Can be ‘email’, ‘emailpro’ or ‘B_email’.

    • This parameter is repeatable.

  • –frombranch

    • Organize and send overdue notices by home library (item-homebranch) or checkout library (item-issuebranch).

    • Defaults to item-issuebranch.

    Note

    This option is only used if the OverdueNoticeFrom system preference is set to ‘command-line option’.

USAGE EXAMPLES

“overdue_notices.pl”

(All libraries are processed individually, and notices are prepared for all patrons with overdue items for whom we have email addresses. Messages for those patrons for whom we have no email address are sent in a single attachment to the library administrator’s email address, or to the address in the KohaAdminEmailAddress system preference.)

“overdue_notices.pl -n –csv /tmp/overdues.csv”

(Sends no email and populates /tmp/overdues.csv with information about all overdue items.)

“overdue_notices.pl –library MAIN max 14

(Prepares notices of overdues in the last 2 weeks for the MAIN library.)

Note

This script does not actually send the notices. It queues them in the message queue to be sent later or generates the HTML for printing.

Note

See also:

The misc/cronjobs/advance_notices.pl script allows you to send messages to patrons in advance of their items becoming due, or to alert them of items that have just become due.

The misc/cronjobs/process_message_queue.pl script sends the emails.

Holds reminder

Script path: misc/cronjobs/holds/holds_reminder.pl

Does: prepares reminder messages to be sent to patrons with waiting holds.

EnhancedMessagingPreferences must be set to ‘Allow’, and patrons must have requested to have this notice (either through the Messaging tab in their online account in the OPAC, if EnhancedMessagingPreferencesOPAC is set to ‘Show’, or in their messaging preferences in the staff interface).

Frequency suggestion: nightly

PARAMETERS

  • -c | –confirm

    • Confirm flag, no email will be generated if this parameter is not set

  • -date <YYYY-MM-DD>

    • Send notices as would have been sent on a specific date

  • -days <number of days>

    • Number of days the hold has been waiting

    • If this parameter is not set, a notice will be sent to all patrons with waiting holds

    • Optional parameter

  • -holidays

    • Use the calendar exclude holidays from waiting days

  • -lettercode <lettercode>

    • Code of the predefined notice to use

    • Optional parameter, the default is HOLD_REMINDER

  • -library <branchcode>

    • Only deal with holds from this library

    • This flag is repeatable, to select notices for a group of libraries

  • -mtt <message_transport_type>

    • Type of messages to send (email, sms, print)

      • ‘email’ and ‘sms’ will fall back to ‘print’ if the patron does not have an email address/phone number

    • The default is to use the patrons’ messaging preferences for the ‘Hold reminder’ notice

    • Passing this parameter will force send even if the patron has not chosen to receive hold reminder notices

    • This can be repeated to send various notices

  • -t | –triggered

    • Include only holds <days> days waiting, and not longer

    • If this is not set, the script will send messages for all holds waiting for equal to or more than <days> days

    • This option is useful if the cron is being run daily to avoid spamming the patrons

    • Optional parameter

  • -v

    • Verbose

    • Without this flag set, only fatal errors are reported.

    • If verbose is set but not confirm, a list of notices that would have been sent to the patrons are printed to standard out

  • -help

    • Brief help message

  • -man

    • Full documentation

    EXAMPLES

    The following are examples of this script:

    ::

    holds_reminder.pl -library MAIN -days 14

    prepares notices of holds waiting for 2 weeks for the MAIN library

    ::

    holds_reminder.pl -lettercode LATE_HOLDS -library MAIN -days 14

prepares notices of holds waiting for 2 weeks for the MAIN library, using the ‘LATE_HOLDS’ notice template

Talking Tech

To learn more about setting up this third party product view the Talking Tech chapter.

Sending notices file

Script path: misc/cronjobs/thirdparty/TalkingTech_itiva_outbound.pl

Does: generates Spec C outbound notifications file for Talking Tech i-tiva phone notification system.

Required by: TalkingTechItivaPhoneNotification

Frequency suggestion: nightly

Receiving notices file

Script path: misc/cronjobs/thirdparty/TalkingTech_itiva_inbound.pl

Does: processes received results files for Talking Tech i-tiva phone notification system.

Required by: TalkingTechItivaPhoneNotification

Frequency suggestion: nightly

Notify patrons of expiration

Script path: misc/cronjobs/membership_expiry.pl

Does: sends messages to warn patrons of their card expiration to the message queue cron.

Requires: MembershipExpiryDaysNotice

Frequency: nightly

PARAMETERS

  • --man

    Prints the manual page and exits.

  • -v

    Verbose. Without this flag set, only fatal errors are reported.

  • -n

    Do not send any email. Membership expiry notices that would have been sent to the patrons are printed to standard out.

  • -c

    Confirm flag: Add this option. The script will only print a usage statement otherwise.

  • -branch Optional branchcode to restrict the cronjob to that branch.

  • -before Optional parameter to extend the selection with a number of days

    BEFORE the date set by the preference.

  • -after
    Optional parameter to extend the selection with a number of days

    AFTER the date set by the preference.

    e.g. –before 100 –after 100 will notify patrons who have accounts expiring within a date range

    of 100 days before and 100 days after the preference.

  • -where
    Use this option to specify a condition. Add “me” (alias) followed by the column name from

    the borrowers table.

    e.g. –where=”me.categorycode !=’YA’” will notify patrons from categories other than ‘YA’

    –where=”me.categorycode = ‘S’” will notify patrons from the category ‘S’ only

    —where ‘me.lastseen IS NOT NULL’ will only notify patrons who have been seen.

  • -letter Optional parameter to use another notice than the default:

    MEMBERSHIP_EXPIRY

In processing/book cart

Script path: misc/cronjobs/cart_to_shelf.pl

Does: updates all items with a location of CART to the item’s permanent location.

Required by: NewItemsDefaultLocation, and UpdateItemLocationOnCheckin system preferences

Frequency suggestion: hourly

Catalog

Import webservice batch

Script path: misc/cronjobs/import_webservice_batch.pl

Does: processes import bach queues of type ‘webservice’. Batches can also be processed through the UI.

Note

This script is used for OCLC Connexion

Connexion import daemon

Script path: misc/bin/connexion_import_daemon.pl

Does: listens for OCLC Connexion requests and is compliant with OCLC Gateway specification. It takes requests with MARC XML and import batch parameters from a configuration file and forwards it to svc/import_bib

Note

This script is used for OCLC Connexion

Batch item deletion

Script path: misc/cronjobs/delete_items.pl

Does: generates a query against the items database and deletes the items matching the criteria specified in the command line arguments.

PARAMETERS

  • –verbose Send the “WHERE” clause generated by the collected C<–where> arguments, as well as items affected to Standard Out.

  • –where The C<–where> option may called multiple times. The following argument must be a syntactically valid SQL statement which is part of the C<WHERE> clause querying the items table. These are joined by C<AND>.

  • –commit No items will be deleted unless the C<–commit> flag is present.

EXAMPLES

The following are examples of this script:

delete_items.pl –where “items.withdrawn ! 0” –where “items.withdrawn_on < $(date –date=”13 month ago” –rfc-3339=date)” –commit

delete_items.pl –where “itemlost >= ‘1’” –where “itemlost <=’4’” –where “itemlost_on < ‘2014-04-28’” –commit

Check URL quick

Script path: misc/cronjobs/check-url-quick.pl

Note

This script replaces the deprecated check-url.pl script

Does: checks URLs from biblio records; scans all URLs found by default in 856$u of bibliographic records and displays if resources are available or not.

PARAMETERS

  • –host=http://default.tld Server host used when URL doesn’t have one, i.e. doesn’t begin with ‘http:’. For example, if –host=mylib.com, then when 856$u contains ‘img/image.jpg’, the url checked is: http://www.mylib.com/image.jpg.

  • –tags Tags containing URLs in $u subfields. If not provided, 856 tag is checked. Multiple tags can be specified, for example:

    check-url-quick.pl –tags 310 410 856

  • –verbose|v Outputs both successful and failed URLs.

  • –html Formats output in HTML. The result can be redirected to a file accessible by http. This way, it’s possible to link directly to the bibliographic record in edit mode. With this parameter –host-intranet is required.

  • –host-intranet=http://koha-pro.tld Server host used to link to bibliographic record editing page in Koha intranet interface.

  • –timeout=10 Timeout for fetching URLs. By default 10 seconds.

  • –maxconn=1000 Number of simultaneous HTTP requests. By default 200 connections.

Delete records via leader

Script path: misc/cronjobs/delete_records_via_leader.pl

Does: attempts to delete any MARC records where the leader character 5 equals ‘d’.

PARAMETERS

  • -c|–confirm Script will do nothing without this parameter

  • -v|–verbose Verbose mode

  • -t|–test Test mode, does not delete records. Test mode cannot determine if a record/item will be deleted successfully, it will only tell you what records and items the script will attempt to delete.

  • -i|–delete-items Try deleting items before deleting record. Records with items cannot be deleted.

Update authorities

Script path: misc/cronjobs/merge_authorities.pl

Does: updates biblio data with changes to authorities records

Note

The name of this script is misleading. This script does not merge authorities together it instead merges authority data with linked bib records. Edits to authority records will be applied to bibliographic records that use that authority when this script is run.

Required by: AuthorityMergeLimit system preference

Frequency suggestion: nightly

Serials update

Script path: misc/cronjobs/serialsUpdate.pl

Does: checks if there is a “late” issue on active subscriptions, and if there is, the script will set it as late, and add the next one as expected.

Frequency suggestion: nightly

Automatic item update

Script path: misc/cronjobs/automatic_item_modification_by_age.pl

Does: updates items based on the list of rules set forth in the Automatic item modifications by age tool

Required by: Automatic item modifications by age

Frequency suggestions: nightly

Stock rotation

Script path: misc/cronjobs/stockrotation.pl

Does: moves items from one stock rotation stage to the next, if they are available for processing.

Each library will receive a report with “items of interest” for them for today’s rota checks. Each item there will be an item that should, according to Koha, be located on the shelves of that branch, and which should be picked up and checked in.

Note

The email sent is based on the SR_SLIP template. It can be customized in the Notices and slips tool.

The item will either:

  • have been placed in transit to their new stage library;

  • have been placed in transit to be returned to their current stage library;

  • have just been added to a rota and will already be at the correct library;

Upon check-in,

  • items that need to be transferred elsewhere will be put in transit and a message will pop up requesting the item be sent to their new branch.

  • items that are already at the correct library will be checked in and no message will pop up.

Required by: Stock rotation tool

Frequency suggestion: nightly

PARAMETERS

  • -a|–admin-email

    • An address to which email reports should also be sent

    • This is an additional email address to which all email reports will be sent, in addition to sending them to branch email addresses.

  • -b|–branchcode

    • Select branch to report on for ‘email’ reports (default: all)

    • If the ‘email’ report is selected, you can use the ‘branchcode’ parameter to specify which branch’s report you would like to see.

    • The default is ‘all’.

  • -x|–execute

    • Actually perform stockrotation housekeeping

    • By default, this script merely reports on the current status of the stock rotation subsystem. In order to actually place items in transit, the script must be run with the ‘execute’ argument.

  • -r|–report

    • Select either ‘full’ or ‘email’

    • The ‘report’ argument allows you to select the type of report that will be emitted.

    • The default is ‘full’.

    • If the ‘email’ report is selected, you can use the ‘branchcode’ parameter to specify which branch’s report you would like to see.

  • -S|–Send-all

    • Send email reports even if the report body is empty

    • This argument causes even reports with an empty body to be sent.

  • -s|–send-email

    • Send reports by email

    • This argument causes the script to send reports by email.

  • -h|–help

    • Display the help message

OPAC

RSS feeds

Script path: misc/cronjobs/rss/rss.pl

Does: produces an RSS XML document for any SQL query (not used for search results RSS feed). Learn more.

Frequency suggestion: hourly

Authorities browser

Script path: misc/cronjobs/build_browser_and_cloud.pl

Does: generates content for authorities browse in OPAC

Required by: OpacBrowser system preference

Important

This preference and cron job should only be used on French systems.

Subject/author clouds

Script path: misc/cronjobs/cloud-kw.pl

Does: generates HTML keywords clouds from Koha Zebra indexes. misc/cronjobs/cloud-sample.conf has a sample of how this script operates.

Frequency: This is the type of script you can run once a month or so, the content generated isn’t going to change very much over time.

System administration

Services throttle

Script path: misc/cronjobs/services_throttle.pl

Does: resets the xISBN services throttle

Frequency suggestion: nightly

Clean up database

Script path: misc/cronjobs/cleanup_database.pl

Does: truncates the sessions table, cleans out old zebraqueue entries, action logs and staged MARC files.

See http://schema.koha-community.org/ for the Koha database schema.

PARAMETERS - –del-exp-selfreg

  • –del-unv-selfreg DAYS

    • Delete all unverified self registrations in borrower_modifications older than DAYS.

  • –deleted-catalog DAYS

    • Purge bibliographic records deleted more than DAYS days ago from tables deletedbiblio, deletedbiblio_metadata, deletedbiblioitems and deleteditems.

  • –deleted-patrons DAYS

    • Purge patrons deleted more than DAYS days ago from the deletedborrowers table.

  • –fees DAYS

    • Purge entries in the accountlines table older than DAYS days, where the amountoutstanding is 0 or NULL.

    • In the case of –fees, DAYS must be greater than or equal to 1.

  • -h|–help

    • Get help message

  • –import DAYS

    • Purge entries from import tables older than DAYS days.

    • This includes import_batches, import_biblios, import_items, import_record_matches and import_records.

    • In import_batches, the batches that are the result of Z39.50 searches are removed with the –z3950 parameter.

    • Defaults to 60 days if no days specified.

  • --list-invites

    DAYS

    • Purge (unaccepted) list share invites from the virtualshelfshares table older than DAYS days

    • Defaults to 14 days if no days specified.

  • –logs DAYS

    • Purge entries from the action_logs table older than DAYS days.

    • Defaults to 180 days if no number of days specified.

  • –log-modules

  • –preserve-logs

  • -m|–mail DAYS

    • Purge entries from the message_queue table that are older than DAYS days.

    • Defaults to 30 days if no days specified.

  • –merged

    • Purge completed entries from the need_merge_authorities table.

  • –oauth-tokens

    • Delete expired OAuth2 tokens

  • –old-issues DAYS

    • Purge checkouts returned more than DAYS days ago from the old_issues table.

  • –old-reserves DAYS

    • Purge holds more than DAYS old from the old_reserves table.

  • –restrictions DAYS

    • Purge patrons restrictions from the borrower_debarments table expired since more than DAYS days.

    • Defaults to 30 days if no days specified.

  • –return-claims

  • –all-restrictions

    • Purge all expired patrons restrictions from the borrower_debarments table.

  • –searchhistory DAYS

    • Purge entries from the search_history table older than DAYS days.

    • Defaults to 30 days if no days specified

  • –sessions

    • Purge the sessions table.

    • If you use this while users are logged into Koha, they will have to reconnect.

  • –sessdays DAYS

    • Purge only sessions older than DAYS days.

  • –statistics DAYS

    • Purge entries from the statistics tables that are more than DAYS days old.

  • –temp-uploads

    • Delete temporary uploads from the uploaded_files table older than the number of days specified in the UploadPurgeTemporaryFilesDays system preference.

  • –temp-uploads-days DAYS

  • –transfers DAYS

    • Purge transfers completed more than DAYS days ago from the branchtransfers table.

  • –unique-holidays DAYS

    • Delete all unique holidays from the special_holidays table older than DAYS

  • –uploads-missing FLAG

    • Delete upload records for missing files when FLAG is true, count them otherwise

  • -v|–verbose

    • verbose mode

  • –zebraqueue DAYS

    • Purge completed zebraqueue entries older than DAYS days.

    • Defaults to 30 days if no days specified.

  • –z3950

    • Purge records from import tables that are the result of Z39.50 searches.

    • To purge all other import information, see the –import parameter above.

Share usage stats

Script path: misc/cronjobs/share_usage_with_koha_community.pl

Does: sends your info to the Hea website if you’re sharing information via the UsageStats feature

Frequency: monthly

Search for data inconsistencies

Script path: misc/maintenance/search_for_data_inconsistencies.pl

Does: reveals problems in data, such as

Some of these issues can cause problems in circulation or catalog search, so it’s important that they be corrected.

There is no suggested frequency. This is a tool to be used when needed.

Acquisitions

Clean up old suggestions

Script path: misc/cronjobs/purge_suggestions.pl

Does: removes old suggestions from the suggestion management area.

PARAMETERS

  • help|?

    Show help message

  • days

    Define the age of suggestions to be deleted, based on ‘managed on’ date

    Note

    The system preference PurgeSuggestionsOlderThan can also be used to define the number of days used in the script. If using the system preference, don’t use the ‘days’ parameter.

    Note

    The number of days is based on the ‘managed on’ date of the suggestion.

  • confirm

    This parameter is mandatory for the script to run.

Email suggestions to process

Script path: misc/cronjobs/notice_unprocessed_suggestions.pl

Does: generates a notice to the fund owner that there are suggestions in need of processing

EDI message processing

Script path: misc/cronjobs/edi_cron.pl

Does: sends and received EDI messages

Frequency: Every 15 minutes

Remove temporary EDI files

Script path: misc/cronjobs/remove_temporary_edifiles.pl

Does: removes temporary EDI files that are older than 5 days

Reports

Run report

Script path: misc/cronjobs/runreport.pl

Does: runs pre-existing saved reports

PARAMETERS

  • -v|–verbose Verbose output

  • –format=s Selects format. Choice of text, html, csv or tsv

  • -e|–email Whether or not to use e-mail (implied by –to or –from)

  • -a|–attachment Attach the report as a file. Cannot be used with html format

  • –username Username to pass to the SMTP server for authentication

  • –password Password to pass to the SMTP server for authentication

  • –method The type of authentication, i.e. LOGIN, DIGEST-MD5, etc.

  • –to=s E-mail address to send report to

  • –from=s E-mail address to send report from

  • –subject=s Subject for the e-mail

  • –store-results Store the result of the report

  • –csv-header Add column names as first line of csv output

ARGUMENTS

  • reportID Report ID Number from saved_sql.id, multiple ID’s may be specified

Social data

Get report social data

Script path: misc/cronjobs/social_data/get_report_social_data.pl

Does: downloads data from Babelthèque to add to OPAC records

Frequency suggestion: nightly

Update social data

Script path: misc/cronjobs/social_data/update_social_data.pl

Does: updates OPAC records with Babelthèque social data

Daemons

Daemons are continuously running tasks that help support Koha operation. Your database and web-server are run as daemons. Newer versions of Koha start two different daemons for most koha instances:

  • zebra - this is the index server

  • koha-indexer - this daemon updates the index server with new and modified data (biblios and authorities)

These daemons are started by the script /etc/init.d/koha-common.

Zebra indexer daemon

Script path: /usr/sbin/koha-indexer (invoked from /etc/init.d/koha-common)

The koha-indexer script invokes rebuild_zebra.pl in daemon mode. In this mode, the script will run continuously and check the database for new or modified data every 30 seconds. New or modified records are then sent to Zebra for indexing, which only takes a second or so. The advantage of this approach is a search system which is much more responsive to changes, compared to the cron job approach.

Deprecated scripts

These should not be run without modification:

Script path: misc/cronjobs/update_items.pl

Script path:misc/cronjobs/smsoverdues.pl

Script path:misc/cronjobs/notifyMailsOp.pl

Script path:misc/cronjobs/reservefix.pl

Script path:misc/cronjobs/zebraqueue_start.pl