Fixing HestiaCP Daily Backup Cron Issue
If you are using HestiaCP, you may notice that daily backups keep running even after changing or disabling backup settings in the control panel. This happens because a system cron job calls the v-backup-users script independently of the panel configuration.[page:1]
1. Why Daily Backups Keep Running
The real backup schedule is controlled by the hestiaweb system user cron, not by the web panel options.[page:1]
- The cron file path is:
/var/spool/cron/crontabs/hestiaweb[page:1] - Inside this file, there is a daily backup job like:
10 05 * * * sudo /usr/local/hestia/bin/v-backup-users[page:1] - This line runs user backups every day at 05:10, regardless of what is configured in the HestiaCP interface.[page:1]
2. Disable Unwanted Daily Backups
To stop HestiaCP from creating backups every day, edit the crontab for the hestiaweb user and comment out the daily job.[page:1]
- Open the hestiaweb crontab:
sudo crontab -u hestiaweb -e[page:1] - Find the line:
10 05 * * * sudo /usr/local/hestia/bin/v-backup-users[page:1] - Comment it out by adding a
#at the beginning:
#10 05 * * * sudo /usr/local/hestia/bin/v-backup-users[page:1] - Save and exit the editor. The automatic daily backup at 05:10 is now disabled.[page:1]
3. Set Monthly Backup on First Tuesday at 04:00
You can keep automated backups but run them less frequently, for example monthly, on the first Tuesday at 04:00, while still overwriting the previous backup each time.[page:1]
- In the same hestiaweb crontab, add this line:
0 04 1-7 * 2 sudo /usr/local/hestia/bin/v-backup-users[page:1] - Save and exit. This cron expression will run the backup job only on the first Tuesday of each month at 04:00.[page:1]
4. Cron Expression Breakdown
The cron expression 0 04 1-7 * 2 is built to match exactly the first Tuesday of every month.[page:1]
| Field | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0 |
Run on the hour (minute 0).[page:1] |
| Hour | 04 |
Run at 04:00 AM.[page:1] |
| Day of month | 1-7 |
Only run on days 1 through 7 of the month.[page:1] |
| Month | * |
Every month.[page:1] |
| Day of week | 2 |
Tuesday (0–6 = Sunday–Saturday on most systems).[page:1] |
| Command | sudo /usr/local/hestia/bin/v-backup-users |
Run backup for all Hestia users.[page:1] |
With this setup, the backup script runs only once a month, on the first Tuesday at 04:00, and keeps HestiaCP’s default behavior of overwriting the previous backup archive instead of accumulating daily backups.[page:1]