Overview ipMoodle includes automated maintenance through a dedicated cron container that executes Moodle’s maintenance tasks. This page covers regular maintenance procedures and cron job management.
Automated Cron Jobs Cron Service Configuration The cron service runs as a sidecar container alongside your Moodle application:
cron : build : . container_name : moodle_cron restart : always command : sh -c "echo '*/1 * * * * /usr/local/bin/php /var/www/html/admin/cli/cron.php > /dev/null 2>&1' > /var/spool/cron/crontabs/www-data && crond -f -l 8" volumes : - ./html:/var/www/html - ./moodledata:/var/www/moodledata
The cron container executes Moodle’s maintenance tasks every minute to ensure timely processing of scheduled activities, notifications, and background tasks.
Checking Cron Status
View cron container logs
Monitor cron execution in real-time: docker logs -f moodle_cron
Verify cron is running
Check if the cron container is active: docker ps | grep moodle_cron
Inspect cron schedule
View the active cron configuration inside the container: docker exec moodle_cron cat /var/spool/cron/crontabs/www-data
Manual Cron Execution To manually trigger Moodle’s cron (useful for testing or immediate execution):
docker exec moodle_cron /usr/local/bin/php /var/www/html/admin/cli/cron.php
Do not run manual cron while the automated cron is active, as this may cause conflicts or duplicate task execution.
Container Maintenance Restarting Services Restart individual containers without downtime for others:
# Restart the application container docker restart moodle_app # Restart the web server docker restart moodle_web # Restart the cron service docker restart moodle_cron # Restart the database (causes brief downtime) docker restart moodle_db
Updating Containers
Pull latest images
Update base images to get security patches:
Rebuild custom images
Rebuild the custom PHP-FPM image: docker compose build --no-cache
Recreate containers
Apply updates by recreating containers: Your data is preserved in volumes (./html, ./moodledata, ./db_data) and will not be affected by container updates.
Volume Maintenance Checking Volume Usage Monitor disk space used by Moodle volumes:
# Check total disk usage du -sh ./html ./moodledata ./db_data # Detailed breakdown du -h --max-depth=1 ./moodledata
Cleaning Up
docker exec moodle_app find /var/www/moodledata/temp -type f -mtime +7 -delete
Clean Docker system cache
# Remove unused images and containers docker system prune -a # Remove unused volumes (be careful!) docker volume prune
docker exec moodle_app /usr/local/bin/php /var/www/html/admin/cli/purge_caches.php
Database Maintenance Optimize Database Tables Run PostgreSQL vacuum to reclaim space and optimize performance:
docker exec moodle_db psql -U moodle -d moodle -c "VACUUM ANALYZE;"
Database Statistics Check database size and connection count:
# Database size docker exec moodle_db psql -U moodle -d moodle -c "SELECT pg_size_pretty(pg_database_size('moodle'));" # Active connections docker exec moodle_db psql -U moodle -d moodle -c "SELECT count(*) FROM pg_stat_activity;"
Scheduled Maintenance Windows For major updates or maintenance:
Enable maintenance mode
docker exec moodle_app /usr/local/bin/php /var/www/html/admin/cli/maintenance.php --enable
Perform maintenance tasks
Execute your updates, backups, or configuration changes.
Disable maintenance mode
docker exec moodle_app /usr/local/bin/php /var/www/html/admin/cli/maintenance.php --disable
Permission Management Ensure correct ownership and permissions for Moodle files:
# Fix ownership docker exec moodle_app chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html docker exec moodle_app chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/moodledata # Fix permissions docker exec moodle_app chmod -R 755 /var/www/html
Incorrect permissions can prevent Moodle from writing files, installing plugins, or processing uploads.
Health Checks Application Health Verify PHP-FPM is responding:
docker exec moodle_app ps aux | grep php-fpm
Web Server Health Check Nginx status:
docker exec moodle_web nginx -t
Network Connectivity Test database connection from the app container:
docker exec moodle_app nc -zv db 5432