GNU Mcron
![mcron logo](https://www.gnu.org/software/mcron/mcron-logo.png)
The GNU package mcron (Mellor's cron) is a 100% compatible replacement for Vixie cron. It is written in pure Guile, and allows configuration files to be written in scheme (as well as the POSIX crontab format) for infinite flexibility in specifying when jobs should be run. Mcron was designed and written by Dale Mellor.
A copy of a white paper describes the motivation and initial design concepts of mcron.
Downloading Mcron
Mcron can be found on the main GNU ftp server: http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/mcron/ (via HTTP) and ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/mcron/ (via FTP). It can also be found on the GNU mirrors; please use a mirror if possible.
Documentation
Documentation for Mcron is available online, as is documentation for most GNU software. You may also find more information about Mcron by running info mcron or man mcron, or by looking at /usr/share/doc/mcron/, /usr/local/doc/mcron/, or similar directories on your system. A brief summary is available by running mcron --help.
Mailing lists
Mcron has the following mailing lists:
- bug-mcron is for general user help and discussion around Mcron, including development and enhancement requests, as well as bug reports.
Announcements about Mcron and most other GNU software are made on info-gnu (archive).
Security reports that should not be made immediately public can be sent directly to the maintainer. If there is no response to an urgent issue, you can escalate to the general security mailing list for advice.
Getting involved
Development of Mcron, and GNU in general, is a volunteer effort, and you can contribute. For information, please read How to help GNU. If you'd like to get involved, it's a good idea to join the discussion mailing list (see above).
Licensing
Mcron is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.