DE

↑ ↓ select, Enter open, Esc close

Back up the crontab to a dated file

harmlessCrondebian, ubuntu
user@server
crontab -l > ~/crontab-backup-$(date +%F).txt

Writes the current user’s crontab to a file like crontab-backup-2026-10-09.txt in the home directory. Restore it with crontab followed by the file name, which completely replaces the current crontab. Anyone who accidentally types crontab -r instead of crontab -e will be grateful for this backup.

Note: As root, crontab -l -u <user> also backs up another user’s crontab.

Also searched as

  • backup crontab
  • save cron jobs to file
  • export crontab
  • back up cron jobs before editing

Related one-liners

All in Cron

Add a cron job that logs its output

$(crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo "*/15 * * * * /usr/bin/php /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/wp-cron.php >> /var/www/vhosts/example.com/logs/wp-cron.log 2>&1") | crontab -
cautionCron

Show the crontabs of all users at once

#for u in $(cut -d: -f1 /etc/passwd); do crontab -l -u "$u" 2>/dev/null | grep -vE '^(#|$)' | sed "s/^/$u: /"; done
harmlessCron

Back up a Docker volume to a tar archive

#docker run --rm -v app_data:/data:ro -v /root/docker-backup:/backup alpine tar czf /backup/app_data.tar.gz -C /data .
cautionDocker

Back up a single database consistently as gzip

$mysqldump --single-transaction --quick -u dbuser -p wp_example | gzip > /var/www/vhosts/example.com/wp_example.sql.gz
harmlessMySQL and MariaDB

Back up a single domain with Plesk tools

#plesk bin pleskbackup --domains-name example.com --output-file=/root/backup-example.com.tar
cautionPlesk

Back up all databases into one gzipped file

#mysqldump --single-transaction --quick --all-databases --routines --events | gzip > /root/all-databases.sql.gz
harmlessMySQL and MariaDB

Read first, then run.

The commands on myline.de act directly on servers, files and databases. A wrong path or placeholder can delete data irreversibly or make a server unreachable.

  • All commands are provided without warranty and are not tested on every system.
  • Understand what a command does before running it, and check every placeholder.
  • Make a backup first and, if possible, try it on a test system.
  • You run commands at your own risk. Liability for damages is excluded to the extent permitted by law.