How to Disable WP-Cron (wp-cron.php) on WordPress

Are your scheduled posts failing to publish, or your website feeling slow? If you answered yes, then you might be falling victim to the hidden inefficiency of WordPress’s default background task system. 

WP-Cron is a “virtual” crontab that triggers only when someone visits your site, but this traffic-dependent virtual cron job often leads to slow page loads, database bloat, and missed automated tasks.

In this guide, we will walk you through WP-cron’s drawbacks, and show you how to replace WP-cron with a high-performance manual cron job. 

What is WP-Cron in WordPress?

WP-Cron is a virtual cron job system built into WordPress that triggers time-based background tasks. This is different from a real cron (or system cron), which automatically triggers on a scheduled interval. The WordPress cron functionality only executes when a user visits your website. 

Limitations and Common Issues with WP-Cron

Although the built-in WordPress cron functionality is convenient for small sites, it has several major flaws:

• Traffic Dependency: If no one visits your site, your scheduled tasks (such as publishing a post) will not run.
• Performance Degradation: Every page load triggers a task check, adding latency and consuming server CPU.
• Resource Spikes: During high traffic, hundreds of users may trigger the wp-cron.php file simultaneously, leading to server timeouts.
• Reliability: Background tasks like email notifications or theme updates may hang if the PHP process times out during a heavy page request.

For these reasons, most WordPress users disable the built-in WordPress cron jobs and replace them with a system cron job.

Suggested Read: What Is WP Cron & Setting Up Server-Side Cron Jobs

When Should You Consider Disabling WP-Cron?

Scenario	Why you should disable WP-Cron
High Traffic	Prevents multiple users from triggering overlapping cron processes.
Scheduled Tasks	Ensures mission-critical tasks (backups, newsletters) run exactly on time.
Slow Site Speed	Reduces server load by removing the check-on-load requirement.
E-commerce Stores	Ensures WooCommerce inventory and order emails process reliably.

Suggested Read: How to Create and Manage Cron Jobs on Linux

How to Disable WP-Cron (wp-cron.php) in WordPress

Note: If you’re using RunCloud, you can skip this step. Jump to the section below (“Method 1: Use RunCloud Server Cron Functionality”) to see how to do it with a single click.

To stop the default behavior, you must set the DISABLE_WP_CRON constant in your WordPress configuration.

1. Log in to your hosting provider’s dashboard and open the File Manager.
2. Locate the wp-config.php file, right-click it, and select the Code Editor.
3. Find the line that says /* That’s all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */.
4. Paste the following code directly above that line: 

define( 'DISABLE_WP_CRON', true );

5. Save your changes and close the editor.

Suggested Read: 10 Best WordPress Management Tools To Easily Manage Multiple Websites

How to Set Up a Real Cron Job for WordPress

Once the internal cron functionality is disabled, you must replace it with a real cron job to make sure your site functions correctly.

Method 1: Use RunCloud Server Cron Functionality (Recommended)

The RunCloud dashboard provides a professional, “one-click” way to handle this without ever touching a command line or configuration file.

1. Log in to your RunCloud dashboard and select your Web Application.
2. Navigate to the General Settings tab in the sidebar menu.
3. Locate the WordPress Config section on the page.
4. Toggle the “Server Cron” switch to On.

That’s it! RunCloud automatically disables the virtual cron job and configures a system-level cron task for you.

Suggested Read: How To Install WordPress With RunCloud | Step-By-Step Guide

Method 2: Using the RunCloud Cron Manager

While the standard RunCloud WordPress Cron functionality is sufficient for many websites, you’re not strictly bound to it. If you have unique requirements, such as a plugin that requires specific timing or a multisite environment where standard cron runs might conflict, you can create custom jobs.

Setting up these custom jobs gives you granular control over when and how background tasks are processed. By bypassing the default system, you can define precise schedules that align with your site’s architecture, ensuring that even complex workflows run seamlessly. 

1. In your RunCloud dashboard, go to the Cron Job tab for your server.
2. Click the “Add New Job” button.
3. On the next screen, you can specify the basic details for your cron job, such as:
   • Job Label: Give your task a descriptive name (e.g., “WordPress Newsletter Cron”) to help you easily identify it later in your dashboard.
   • User: Select the custom user who owns the web application. Using a specific system user (rather than root) is a security best practice that helps prevent permission issues.
   • Vendor Binary: Choose your execution environment. While /bin/bash is standard for general shell commands, you can also select php if you are running a direct script.
   • Command: Enter wp cron event run --path="/home/your-site/public_html" --due-now to trigger only tasks that are scheduled. Make sure to replace the example path in the previous command with the actual root path of your WordPress application.
   • Run In: You can choose a preset (e.g., “Every 15 minutes”) or select “Custom” to define your own timing (e.g., using a CRON expression like 0 2 * * * to run a task daily at 2:00 AM).
4. Check the “Content of your cron job” field at the bottom; RunCloud will live-preview the final command syntax so you can verify it is correct before clicking “Save.”

Note: Make sure that the User selected for the cron job matches the owner of the files in your public_html directory; this prevents “Permission Denied” errors when the job attempts to write to logs or update databases.

Suggested Read: How to Use FTP to Upload Files to WordPress Without a Password [Step By Step]

Method 3: Using SSH

If you’re not using RunCloud yet, then another alternative is to connect to your server via SSH to configure or manage these cron jobs manually. Follow these steps below:

1. Connect to your server using SSH with your username or root credentials.
2. Enter the command crontab -e to open your system’s crontab editor.
3. Add a new line at the bottom of the file using the following format: 

*/15 * * * * wp cron event run --path="/home/your-site/public_html" --due-now

4. Save and exit the editor (press Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter).

After saving the file, you can verify that the task was created successfully by running crontab -l to confirm your manual cron job is active and ready.

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Wrapping Up: Who Should Disable WP-Cron in WordPress?

In this guide, we have covered several methods to optimize your WordPress background tasks, ranging from manual configuration in your File Manager to advanced SSH command-line editing. While these approaches work, they come with risks, such as syntax errors in your wp-config.php or improper file permissions that can break your site’s automation.

If you’re looking for the most reliable, efficient, and user-friendly experience, the RunCloud Cron Manager is the superior choice. It eliminates manual configuration errors and lets you manage your scheduled tasks, custom PHP scripts, and system-level commands from a single intuitive interface.

In addition to Cron management, RunCloud offers many useful features, including one-click SSL deployment, automated server security, easy staging environment creation, and real-time server monitoring. RunCloud is designed to save you hours of development time. 

Explore RunCloud and see how it can help you manage WordPress sites and servers with fewer manual steps.

Start your free 7-day trial today. 

FAQs on Disabling WP-Cron in WordPress