wacrm/docs/automations-and-cron.md

Automations cron

WaCRM's Automations module lets you build flows that react to WhatsApp events (new message, new contact, keyword match, schedule, etc.). Most steps run inline — the exception is the Wait step, which parks the execution in automation_pending_executions until its due time.

A cron job has to drain that table. If you skip this, Wait steps never resume and any flow that uses them stalls.

The endpoint

GET /api/automations/cron
Header: x-cron-secret: <AUTOMATION_CRON_SECRET>

• Returns { "processed": <n> } with how many rows were claimed.
• Returns 503 if the env var is not set.
• Returns 401 if the header is missing or wrong.

The route claims up to 50 pending rows per call via a two-step UPDATE-by-id so overlapping calls don't double-process.

1. Generate the secret

Any long random string works. One option:

openssl rand -hex 32

Copy the result into AUTOMATION_CRON_SECRET in your deployment env.

2. Schedule the pinger

Option A — cron on the same VPS (Hostinger)

crontab -e

* * * * * curl -s -H "x-cron-secret: $AUTOMATION_CRON_SECRET" https://crm.example.com/api/automations/cron > /dev/null

Export the secret into the cron environment. The simplest way is to add it to the user's shell profile and wrap the command:

* * * * * bash -lc 'curl -s -H "x-cron-secret: $AUTOMATION_CRON_SECRET" https://crm.example.com/api/automations/cron > /dev/null'

Or, for a more disciplined setup, use a systemd timer with EnvironmentFile=/etc/wacrm.env.

Option B — external pinger

Any uptime monitor that supports custom headers works:

• UptimeRobot — "Keyword Monitoring" with custom HTTP headers.
• Better Stack.
• GitHub Actions with a schedule: trigger.

Hit the URL once per minute. Anything slower just means Wait-step resolution is that much more delayed.

3. Verify

curl -s -H "x-cron-secret: <secret>" https://crm.example.com/api/automations/cron
# -> {"processed":0}

Then create a test automation with a short Wait step (e.g., 30 seconds) and trigger it. Watch the automation's Logs tab — the execution should resume and mark as completed within one cron interval of the wait expiring.

4. What if you don't use Wait?

Skip this page. Trigger → inline steps → done flows do not need a cron — they finish synchronously inside the webhook handler or from the UI. The cron only matters for flows that park execution.