- Understand How Aimogen Uses Cron
- The Classic Symptom Patterns
- Check Whether WP-Cron Is Firing at All
- Low Traffic Breaks Automation
- Use a Real Server Cron Job
- Watch for Overlapping or Long-Running Jobs
- Timezones and Scheduling Windows Matter
- Cron Can Be Blocked by Performance Issues
- Security and Hosting Restrictions
- Don’t Confuse “Paused” With “Broken”
- Test Scheduling With Simple Tasks
- Final Diagnosis Mindset
This guide explains how to diagnose and fix cron and scheduling problems that prevent Aimogen automation from running on time or at all. Missed publications, stalled generation, delayed maintenance, and “nothing happens unless I visit the site” are almost always scheduling issues rather than AI failures.
If automation feels unreliable, cron is the first place to look.
Understand How Aimogen Uses Cron #
Aimogen relies on WordPress’ scheduling system to run background work. This includes content generation, chatbot maintenance, automation pipelines, refresh jobs, and cleanup tasks.
WordPress’ built-in scheduler, WP-Cron, is not a real cron system. It only runs when someone visits the site. No visit means no scheduled tasks.
This design is fine for blogs with steady traffic. It breaks down quickly for low-traffic sites or sites with heavy automation.
The Classic Symptom Patterns #
Cron problems are recognizable.
Automation works sometimes, but not consistently.
Tasks run late or only after you open the admin.
Multiple jobs run at once after long delays.
Manual actions work, but scheduled ones don’t.
If this sounds familiar, you are dealing with cron behavior, not Aimogen logic.
Check Whether WP-Cron Is Firing at All #
Before changing anything, confirm whether scheduled events are running.
If other plugins that rely on scheduling are also delayed, WP-Cron is the issue. If Aimogen is the only thing affected, focus on its configuration.
Some hosts disable WP-Cron by default or limit background execution. Others throttle it heavily.
Cron failure is an environment problem far more often than a plugin bug.
Low Traffic Breaks Automation #
On low-traffic sites, WP-Cron may not fire for hours or days.
Automation queues build up silently. When someone finally visits the site, everything tries to run at once, causing load spikes or partial failures.
If Aimogen is doing anything important automatically, relying on traffic-triggered cron is a mistake.
Use a Real Server Cron Job #
The most reliable fix is to replace WP-Cron with a real system cron.
Configure your server to call wp-cron.php on a fixed schedule, usually every 5 or 10 minutes. Then disable WordPress’ internal cron trigger.
This turns cron from a best-effort system into a predictable scheduler.
Once this is done, Aimogen automation becomes boringly reliable.
Watch for Overlapping or Long-Running Jobs #
Even with a real cron, jobs can collide.
If Aimogen schedules tasks more frequently than they can complete, multiple runs may overlap. This causes skipped executions, race conditions, or backlog growth.
Check how long jobs actually take. If generation takes several minutes but cron runs every minute, you are creating congestion.
Fewer, well-spaced runs are faster and safer than constant polling.
Timezones and Scheduling Windows Matter #
Misconfigured timezones cause tasks to run at unexpected times.
If WordPress timezone settings don’t match your expectations, scheduled publications and generation windows may appear broken.
Also check any “allowed hours” or publishing windows in Aimogen. Tasks outside those windows may be intentionally deferred.
When automation runs but not when you expect, time configuration is often the culprit.
Cron Can Be Blocked by Performance Issues #
If cron starts but never finishes, tasks appear stuck.
This can happen due to memory limits, execution time limits, or fatal errors during generation. The task starts, consumes resources, and dies quietly.
Look for partial logs or repeated attempts at the same task. This indicates execution failure rather than scheduling failure.
Fixing resource limits often fixes cron symptoms automatically.
Security and Hosting Restrictions #
Some hosting environments restrict background execution.
Security plugins may block cron calls. Hosts may disable loopback requests. Firewalls may prevent wp-cron.php from running externally.
If a real cron job fails, check server logs. If WP-Cron fails silently, check hosting documentation or contact support.
Cron is infrastructure. When it fails, plugins can’t compensate.
Don’t Confuse “Paused” With “Broken” #
Aimogen allows automation to be paused.
If cron is working but nothing runs, confirm that campaigns, schedules, or maintenance modes are active. A paused system looks identical to a broken one from the outside.
Always check Aimogen’s internal status before debugging cron.
Test Scheduling With Simple Tasks #
To isolate cron issues, test with a trivial scheduled task.
If even simple scheduled events don’t fire, the problem is global. If they do, focus on Aimogen-specific logic.
Reducing the problem scope makes root causes obvious.
Final Diagnosis Mindset #
Cron issues feel mysterious because they are invisible by default.
Aimogen depends on background execution to work correctly. If scheduling is unreliable, everything built on top of it becomes unreliable too.
Once cron is predictable, Aimogen becomes predictable. Fix scheduling first, and most “automation bugs” disappear without touching AI, prompts, or settings.
