Scheduled Notifications (Cron)

Scheduled notifications in Amelia (such as reminders or follow-ups) require a bit of extra setup. These types of notifications aren’t sent out the moment something happens—they're meant to be triggered at a later time (e.g., one day before an appointment, or a few hours after it ends).

This delayed sending is handled using something called a cron job.

What Is a Cron Job?

A cron job is a scheduled task that runs automatically in the background on your server at regular time intervals (like every 15 minutes or once per hour). In the case of Amelia, the cron job’s job is to check whether there are any scheduled notifications to send, and then trigger those messages.

Important:
Amelia doesn’t run this task on its own—it only provides the command that should be executed. Your server or hosting provider is responsible for actually running that command.

If scheduled notifications aren’t being sent, the issue is most often:

• A missing or misconfigured cron job

• A server-side limitation, such as blocked requests

• A host that doesn’t allow scheduled jobs via plugins

How to Set Up the Cron Job

There are two ways to configure this:

Option 1: Add the Cron Job to Your Server (Recommended if you have access)

If you have access to your hosting panel (like cPanel or Plesk), or you’re using a VPS or dedicated server, you can add the cron job manually.

Step 1 - Get the Command

1. Go to Amelia > Notifications.

2. Click on any notification that has a clock icon next to its name (these are the scheduled ones).

3. Scroll below the email template, and you’ll see a code block with the command you need to run.

It will look something like this:

*/15 * * * * https://yourwebsite.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=wpamelia_api&call=/notifications/scheduled/send

This tells your server to trigger Amelia’s scheduled notifications every 15 minutes. You’ll need to replace https://yourwebsite.com with your actual website address.

Step 2 - Add it to the Server

Here are a few command format examples you or your hosting provider can use:

*/15 * * * * wget -q -O – "https://yourwebsite.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=wpamelia_api&call=/notifications/scheduled/send"

*/15 * * * * /usr/local/bin/php ~/public_html/wp-cron.php --action='wpamelia_api' --call='/notifications/scheduled/send'

GET "https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=wpamelia_api&call=/notifications/scheduled/send" > /dev/null

If you’re unsure which format works on your server, it’s best to ask your hosting provider’s support team — they’ll know exactly how to add this command correctly.

Common Server-Side Limitations

Many users run into problems because of server-side restrictions. Keep in mind:

• Timeouts: Some servers stop the process before Amelia finishes sending notifications.

• Blocked external requests: Some hosting providers block tools like WP Crontrol or limit what cron jobs can do.

• Incorrect path or command: If you don’t know the exact server path (e.g., /usr/bin/php), the command may silently fail.

• Low interval limits: Some shared hosts don’t allow frequent cron intervals (like every 15 minutes).

If you’re having issues and you’re not sure what’s wrong, your hosting provider is the best place to start — they can check logs or help configure the correct command for your environment.

Option 2: Use WP Crontrol (If You Don’t Have Server Access)

If you don’t have server access or don’t feel comfortable editing cron files, you can use the WP Crontrol plugin.

Please note: This is a third-party plugin, not developed by us. However, many users find it helpful.

Step-by-step setup

1. Install and activate WP Crontrol from the WordPress plugin directory.

2. Go to Amelia > Notifications, open a scheduled notification (e.g., “Appointment Next Day Reminder”), and copy only the URL from the command (not the entire */15 * * * * line):

https://yourwebsite.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=wpamelia_api&call=/notifications/scheduled/send

3. Go to Tools > Cron Events, then open the “Cron Schedules” tab.

   • Click Add Cron Schedule.

   • Set an interval name like every_15_minutes.

   • Set the interval time to 900 seconds (15 minutes).

4. Switch to the “Cron Events” tab and click Add New.

   • Select the “PHP Cron event” option.

   • In the field, paste this code:

file_get_contents("https://yourwebsite.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=wpamelia_api&call=/notifications/scheduled/send");

No need to add <?php — just paste the code as-is.

5. Set the Event Name, choose the start time (a few minutes from now), and select the recurrence (every_15_minutes or your custom name).

Plugin Limitations

Some hosting providers block plugins like WP Crontrol from triggering external requests or running custom PHP cron events. If:

• You don’t see the PHP Cron Event option; it’s likely because your user role lacks edit_files permissions. This is a known limitation and is mentioned in WP Crontrol’s official FAQ.

• Nothing happens even after setting up WP Crontrol correctly; the server may be blocking outgoing HTTP requests.

These are hosting-level restrictions and need to be resolved by your host.

Final Tips

• Double-check that the command runs successfully.

• You can use plugins like WP Crontrol or Advanced Cron Manager to view and test cron jobs.

• Scheduled notifications will not be sent unless this cron job is running regularly.

Still Need Help?

If you're not comfortable configuring cron jobs yourself, you can:

• Ask your hosting provider to help set it up

• Use a developer or a sysadmin if your setup is custom

• Contact our support team with a description of what you’ve tried so far

You can also find a more detailed tutorial on setting up cron jobs in this guide — especially useful if you're new to server-side scheduling.