Task Scheduler

Task Scheduler is used to automate recurring tasks in WSL, saving you from repetitive manual maintenance. It provides a visual management interface so you can create and manage scheduled tasks without memorizing complex command-line parameters.

Example use cases:

• Regularly back up WSL distributions
• Execute custom scripts or commands

All tasks are organized under \WSLDashboard\UserTasks\ in Windows Task Scheduler for centralized management. You can view real-time task status (Ready / Running / Disabled) in the interface.

Community Scripts

You can download example scripts (backup distributions) from the community repository to get started quickly:

https://github.com/owu/wsl-community

This is a community-driven code repository. Pull Requests are welcome to contribute scripts or share best practices.

Run Command

Command Configuration

Each scheduled task can be configured with a command (script or executable), supporting the following options:

Setting	Description
Command	Path to the script or executable. Supports .bat, .ps1, .cmd, .exe, .py formats. Use the "Browse" button to select a file.
Arguments	Additional arguments to pass to the command, optional.
Run with admin privileges	When enabled, the task runs with the highest privileges, suitable for operations requiring UAC elevation.

Task Operations

After creating a task, you can perform the following operations:

Action	Description
Run now	Force the task to execute immediately, regardless of schedule.
Enable/Disable	Pause or resume the task's automatic schedule.
Delete	Remove the task from the Task Scheduler.

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Schedule Rules

Cron Expression

Task scheduling uses the standard 5-field Cron expression to define execution rules, formatted as follows:

minute hour day month weekday

Field	Range	Description
minute	0 - 59	The minute of the hour to execute
hour	0 - 23	The hour of the day to execute
day	1 - 31	The day of the month to execute
month	1 - 12	The month of the year to execute
weekday	0 - 7	Day of the week (0 and 7 both represent Sunday)

Each field supports the following syntax:

• * — Matches all values (e.g., * * * * * means every minute)
• */N — Every N units (e.g., */5 * * * * means every 5 minutes)
• Single number — Matches a specific value (e.g., 0 9 * * 1 means every Monday at 9:00 AM)

Note: Comma-separated values (e.g., 1,15) and range expressions (e.g., 1-5) are not supported. For more limitations, see Important Notes below.

Supported Combination Patterns

This software does not run a native Cron daemon. Instead, it translates Cron expressions into Windows Task Scheduler (schtasks.exe) trigger parameters. To ensure accurate mapping, the parser only supports the following 7 combination patterns, covering most scheduled task scenarios:

#	Pattern	Description	Use Case
1	* * * * *	Execute every minute	Monitoring, real-time detection tasks
2	*/N * * * *	Execute every N minutes	Periodic check tasks
3	M * * * *	Execute at minute M of every hour (e.g., 3 * * * *)	Hourly tasks
4	M H * * *	Execute at H:M every day (e.g., 0 3 * * *)	Daily maintenance, e.g., cleaning logs at midnight
5	M H * * DOW	Execute at H:M on a specific day of the week (e.g., 0 12 * * 1)	Weekly routine tasks, e.g., backing up data every Monday
6	M H D * *	Execute at H:M on a specific day of the month	Monthly tasks, e.g., generating reports on the 1st
7	M H D MON *	Execute at H:M on a specific month and day	Annual tasks, e.g., executing in a specific month

If the expression does not match any of the above 7 patterns, the system will reject it as Unsupported cron pattern.

Important Notes

Since the implementation is based on Windows Task Scheduler, the Cron parser in this software differs from standard Linux Cron in the following ways:

1. Lists (,) and Ranges (-) Not Supported

Standard Cron allows defining multiple discrete time points with commas (e.g., 1,15,30 * * * * means at minutes 1, 15, and 30), or ranges with hyphens (e.g., 1-5 * * * * means minutes 1 through 5).

This software's limitation: Each field can only contain a single number, asterisk (*), or step value (*/N). Commas and hyphens are not supported.

2. Free-form Combinations Not Supported

Standard Cron allows arbitrary combinations of fields (e.g., * 3 * * * means every minute during the 3:00 hour). However, this software only supports the 7 fixed patterns listed above. Expressions outside this range will be rejected.

3. Time Alignment Difference in Step Patterns

In standard Cron, */5 * * * * strictly aligns to clock minutes 0, 5, 10, 15.... This software translates it to Windows' /SC MINUTE /MO 5 parameter. Windows calculates the interval from the moment the task is created or enabled.

For example, if you save and enable a task that runs every 5 minutes at 10:02, it will first execute at 10:07, then 10:12, rather than aligning to the standard clock's 10:05.