how to make cron not send email?

bbeers · 11-10-2005, 03:10 PM

I use > /dev/null at the end of my crontab command,
but I see files clogging up my /var/spool/cron/,
and since I don't run sendmail, files also clogging up
my /var/spool/mqueue.

I saw some versions of cron use a file /etc/crontab where
one can set MAILTO="", does that work for dcron in
Slackware?

Thanks,

Back_to_Linux · 11-10-2005, 04:07 PM

configure your /etc/syslog.conf to inhibite the emailer
and add 1>/de/null 2>/dev/null at the end of command

keefaz · 11-10-2005, 04:13 PM

or

Code:

 2>&1

at the end of the command line

Back_to_Linux · 11-10-2005, 04:36 PM

i was afraid to make mistake about syntaxe, that why i show the "schooll" way.

Nobber · 11-11-2005, 06:11 AM

I prefer

Code:

&> /dev/null

myself (for its brevity).

bbeers · 11-11-2005, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Nobber
I prefer

Code:

&> /dev/null

myself (for its brevity).

This I think is the solution. The crond was trying to send e-mails
when the script in my cronjob was not succeeding, thus producing
output to stderr. What I had in place,

Code:

 cmd > /dev/null

only redirected the stdout, preventing e-mails when the script
succeeded.

BTW, the following are equivalent and redirect both stdout (1) and
stderr (2) to /dev/null:

Code:

 cmd &> /dev/null
 cmd 1> /dev/null 2> /dev/null

Thank you all for your replies.

I suppose the answer to the second part of my original post:

Quote:

I saw some versions of cron use a file /etc/crontab where
one can set MAILTO="", does that work for dcron in
Slackware?

is no.

bbeers · 11-11-2005, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Back_to_Linux
configure your /etc/syslog.conf to inhibite the emailer
and add 1>/de/null 2>/dev/null at the end of command

I don't understand how implementing the first part of your recommendation
would have any effect. I don't have any emailer running. Are you saying I
should put something like

Code:

 mail.* /dev/null

in my /etc/syslog.conf?

The second part is, minus the typo of course, correct. Thanks.

bbeers · 11-11-2005, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by keefaz
or

Code:

2>&1

at the end of the command line

The first of these seems to work (try e.g. 'ls -xy' for cmd)

Code:

 cmd > /dev/null 2>&1 
 cmd 2>&1 > /dev/null

The latter does not, but neither is as clean as the other solution offered up:

Code:

 cmd &> /dev/null

Thanks,