---
title: "CRON"
date: 2020-11-10
author: "nK"
---

# CRON

Imports, downloads and token renewals run on **WP-Cron**, the scheduler built into WordPress. WP-Cron runs when someone visits the site; on a quiet site scheduled jobs wait for the next visitor, and background jobs that the site triggers by calling itself need the host to allow such loopback requests.

## What the plugin schedules

JobIntervalSync of all accountsEvery 2 hours, five accounts per runRefresh of one stale accountEvery 5 minutes (an account is stale after 3 hours, RSS after 1 hour)Creation of imported items and download of their mediaBackground jobs, checked every minute while there is workInstagram token renewalDailyTwitch token renewalHourlyLegacy cache migration (after upgrading to 3.5.0)Every 2 minutes until doneInstall WP Crontrol to see these jobs and run one by hand; the hooks start with `vpf_social_` and `vpf_pro_`.

## Use a real cron

For feeds that update on time:

**Step 1.** Add to `wp-config.php`, above “That’s all, stop editing”:

```
define( 'DISABLE_WP_CRON', true );
```

**Step 2.** In your hosting panel, add a cron job every 5 minutes:

```
wget -q -O - https://yourdomain.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron >/dev/null 2>&1
```

Without server access, a service such as cron-job.org can call that URL.

Keep loopback requests allowed: WordPress → Tools → Site Health reports “Your site could not complete a loopback request” when they are blocked, and imports will then stay queued.