Cron Guard is a comprehensive monitoring solution for WordPress cron jobs. It helps you detect when cron jobs are failing, identify stalled or missed scheduled tasks, and provides host-specific instructions to fix common issues.

Features

Health Monitoring – Detect if WP Cron has executed within a configurable time threshold
Scheduled Events List – View all scheduled cron hooks with last run time, next run time, and interval
Overdue Detection – Flag overdue or stalled hooks with clear visual indicators
Rolling Log – Lightweight logging of cron execution events
Admin Dashboard – Clear, non-technical UI showing overall health status and detailed hook information
Fix Assistant – Host-specific instructions for setting up real cron jobs
Admin Bar Indicator – Quick status indicator in the WordPress admin bar

Premium Features

Email Alerts – Receive notifications when cron is stalled or repeatedly missing schedules
Webhook Alerts – Send alerts to any webhook endpoint
Slack Integration – Formatted Slack notifications with action buttons
Discord Integration – Formatted Discord notifications with embeds
Verification System – Test and confirm real cron execution
Advanced Diagnostics – Deep system analysis and troubleshooting
Agency Dashboard – Monitor cron health across all your client sites from one screen, with per-site uptime trends (Agency & Agency Plus)
White-Label Client Reports – Branded, printable per-site cron-health reports (your logo, name, and accent color), viewable on demand and emailed monthly (Agency & Agency Plus)
Site Auto-Discovery – Add client sites in bulk by pasting a list, or let client sites enroll themselves with a shared hub token (Agency & Agency Plus)
Encrypted Connection Keys – Client API keys are encrypted at rest using your wp-config secret keys (Agency & Agency Plus)

Why You Need This

WordPress relies on WP-Cron for critical tasks like:

Publishing scheduled posts
Sending emails
Running backups
Processing orders (WooCommerce)
Updating plugins and themes

When WP-Cron fails silently, these tasks stop working. Cron Guard gives you visibility into your cron health and alerts you before problems become critical.

Multi-Site Management for Agencies

Managing cron across dozens of client sites? The Agency Dashboard (Agency and Agency Plus plans) brings every site’s cron health onto one screen. Connect each client site with a secure key, and your hub polls them on a schedule and on demand — showing health status, overdue and stalled hooks, the last successful run, and a 7-day uptime trend for each site, with a one-click link into any site’s own Cron Guard.

Because the hub polls each site over a secure REST endpoint, you still see the truth even when a client’s own WP-Cron has stopped — the exact failure you need to catch. Turn on the email digest to get a scheduled summary the moment any client site needs attention, so you don’t have to keep the dashboard open. No external service required; your hub is just another WordPress site running Cron Guard.

Need something client-facing? Generate white-label reports for any connected site — branded with your logo, agency name, and accent color — viewable on demand and printable straight to PDF from your browser, or emailed to each client automatically every month.

Onboarding lots of sites? Bulk-import them by pasting a list, or flip on self-enrollment so each client site registers itself with your hub using a shared token — no copying keys one at a time. Every stored connection key is encrypted at rest with a key derived from your site’s secret keys, so a database dump alone never exposes them.

Supported Hosts

The Fix Assistant provides specific setup instructions for:

WP Engine
Kinsta
SiteGround
Bluehost
GoDaddy
DreamHost
Cloudways
Flywheel
Pantheon
Pressable
cPanel hosts
Plesk hosts
Generic VPS/Dedicated servers

External Services

This plugin optionally connects to the following third-party services when configured by the user:

Slack API

When Slack alerts are enabled, the plugin sends notification messages to a user-configured Slack Incoming Webhook URL. Data sent includes: site name, site URL, cron health status, and alert details. No personal data is transmitted. Slack is operated by Salesforce, Inc.

Discord API

When Discord alerts are enabled, the plugin sends notification messages to a user-configured Discord Webhook URL. Data sent includes: site name, site URL, cron health status, and alert details. No personal data is transmitted.

Generic Webhooks

When webhook alerts are enabled, the plugin sends a JSON POST request to any user-configured URL. Data sent includes: site name, site URL, cron health status, and alert details. The webhook URL is entirely user-controlled.

Freemius SDK

This plugin uses the Freemius SDK for optional usage analytics and future licensing. No data is collected unless the user opts in during activation. Freemius is operated by Freemius, Inc.

External Cron Services (Referenced Only)

The Fix Assistant page references third-party cron services (EasyCron, cron-job.org, UptimeRobot) as alternatives for setting up server-side cron. The plugin does not connect to or transmit data to these services. Users who choose to use these services do so independently.