install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install jobber

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#jobber

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/jo/jobber/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Alternative to cron, with better status-reporting and error-handling

Project links

Commands and aliases

jobber

history

Project history and usage

Jobber is a Go-based Unix job scheduler positioned as a better-behaved alternative to cron. Its project site emphasizes scheduled command execution plus job execution history, error handling, retry/backoff behavior, and failure reporting.

Project history

The GitHub repository was created in September 2014, and the release sequence shows a beta in January 2015 followed by v1.0.0 in January 2016. The project then moved through 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and 1.4 lines, with v1.4.4 published in June 2020.

Jobber's documentation settled around a per-user jobfile model: each user defines jobs in ~/.jobber, while jobbermaster and jobberrunner coordinate execution. The README later notes that the project is stable but not actively maintained due to lack of maintainer time.

Adoption history

Jobber reached package-manager users through Homebrew and Nix, but its adoption stayed narrower than cron itself because it asks users to install a daemonized scheduler rather than rely on the base system. Its strongest niche is where operators want cron-like scheduling plus visible run history and more explicit failure behavior.

How it is used

Users define YAML jobs with commands, schedules, onError behavior, result sinks, and optional run logs. The command-line interface supports loading jobs, listing jobs and recent runs, testing a job, pausing and resuming jobs, and printing a job command.

Why package nerds care

Jobber is interesting as a packaged cron alternative that tried to make failure semantics part of the job definition. For package maintainers and ops-minded users, it shows the tradeoff between richer scheduler behavior and the extra service-management surface of replacing a ubiquitous system tool.

Timeline

2014: GitHub repository created.
2015: v0.1.0 beta release published.
2016: v1.0.0 and early 1.x releases published.
2018: v1.3.x releases published.
2019: v1.4.0 release published.
2020: v1.4.4 release published.

Related projects

cron is the direct point of comparison and replacement target.
systemd timers, anacron, and language-level job schedulers occupy adjacent scheduling territory, but Jobber's own documentation frames cron as the main comparison.

Sources

The GitHub release API supplies the release timeline.
The project site and README supply the cron-alternative positioning, project status, and feature set.
The v1.4 documentation supplies the jobfile, daemon, CLI, error-handling, and run-log behavior.

security posture

Risk level: orange

formula declares a Homebrew service.

Risk classifier

orange risk · medium confidence · infrastructure

Why

formula declares a Homebrew service

Signals

metadata:service

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Formula metadata declares a service or daemon block.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 13 platform targets.
Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: ~/.jobber

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`jobber`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-08-04

manager version1.4.4

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv1.4.4

https://github.com/dshearer/jobber

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:jobber
Version	1.4.4
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/jobber
Homepage	https://dshearer.github.io/jobber/
Repository	https://github.com/dshearer/jobber
Upstream docs	https://dshearer.github.io/jobber/
License	MIT
Source archive	https://github.com/dshearer/jobber/archive/refs/tags/v1.4.4.tar.gz
Build dependencies	go
Bottle	available (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	jobber
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

jobber

nix profile install nixpkgs#jobber

normalized package name match
Matched by: Jobber

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/jo/jobber/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/jobber.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment
pkg.so package database
pkgdb category and tag curation

Install jobber with Homebrew, Nix