> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/euzu/tuliprox/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Scheduled tasks

> Configure cron-based schedules for playlist updates, library scans, and GeoIP database updates.

Tuliprox includes a built-in scheduler that runs tasks on a cron-based schedule. Schedules are defined in the `schedules` list in `config.yml`.

## Cron expression format

Tuliprox uses a **7-field cron expression** with a leading seconds field:

```text theme={null}
┌─────────────── seconds  (0–59)
│  ┌──────────── minutes  (0–59)
│  │  ┌───────── hours    (0–23)
│  │  │  ┌────── day of month (1–31)
│  │  │  │  ┌─── month  (1–12)
│  │  │  │  │  ┌─ day of week (0–6, Sunday=0)
│  │  │  │  │  │  ┌ year (optional)
│  │  │  │  │  │  │
0  0  8  *  *  *  *
```

<Note>
  The leading **seconds** field is non-standard — most other schedulers use 5 or 6 fields starting at minutes. Make sure to include the seconds field as the first value.
</Note>

### Common patterns

| Expression        | Meaning                  |
| ----------------- | ------------------------ |
| `0 0 8 * * * *`   | Every day at 08:00:00    |
| `0 0 20 * * * *`  | Every day at 20:00:00    |
| `0 30 6 * * * *`  | Every day at 06:30:00    |
| `0 0 */6 * * * *` | Every 6 hours            |
| `0 0 8 * * 1 *`   | Every Monday at 08:00:00 |

***

## Schedule types

| Type             | Description                                       |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| `PlaylistUpdate` | Fetch and process all (or selected) source inputs |
| `LibraryScan`    | Scan configured local media library directories   |
| `GeoIpUpdate`    | Download a fresh GeoIP database                   |

***

## `PlaylistUpdate`

Triggers a full playlist fetch and processing run. Optionally, restrict the update to specific targets using the `targets` field.

| Field      | Description                                                  |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `schedule` | 7-field cron expression                                      |
| `type`     | `PlaylistUpdate`                                             |
| `targets`  | Optional list of target names to update (omit to update all) |

```yaml theme={null}
schedules:
  - schedule: "0  0  8  *  *  *  *"
    type: PlaylistUpdate
  - schedule: "0  0  14  *  *  *  *"
    type: PlaylistUpdate
    targets:
      - m3u
```

***

## `LibraryScan`

Triggers an incremental scan of all configured `library.scan_directories`. Only new or changed files are processed.

```yaml theme={null}
schedules:
  - schedule: "0  0  20  *  *  *  *"
    type: LibraryScan
```

***

## `GeoIpUpdate`

Downloads and installs a fresh GeoIP database. Useful for keeping IP-based access control and analytics accurate.

```yaml theme={null}
schedules:
  - schedule: "0  0  3  *  *  1  *"
    type: GeoIpUpdate
```

***

## Timezone handling

Schedules run in the **server's local timezone** unless you configure the timezone explicitly in your deployment environment. If you are running Tuliprox in Docker, set the `TZ` environment variable to control the timezone:

```yaml theme={null}
environment:
  - TZ=Europe/Paris
```

<Warning>
  Cron times are interpreted in the server's local time. If your server timezone differs from your intended schedule timezone, adjust the hour values accordingly or set `TZ` in your environment.
</Warning>

***

## Combined example

```yaml theme={null}
schedules:
  - schedule: "0  0  8  *  *  *  *"
    type: PlaylistUpdate
    targets:
      - m3u
  - schedule: "0  0  20  *  *  *  *"
    type: LibraryScan
  - schedule: "0  0  3  *  *  1  *"
    type: GeoIpUpdate
```

This example:

* Updates the `m3u` target every day at 08:00
* Scans the media library every day at 20:00
* Refreshes the GeoIP database every Monday at 03:00