# Scheduling exports with Cron
Make sure you already have **DiscordChatExporter.CLI** and ** .NET Core** properly installed ([instructions here](Linux.md)).
## Creating the script
1. Open Terminal and create a new text file with `nano /path/to/DiscordChatExporter/cron.sh`
> **Note**:
> You can't use your mouse in nano, use the arrow keys to control the cursor (caret).
2. Paste the following into the text file:
```bash
#!/bin/bash
# Info: https://github.com/Tyrrrz/DiscordChatExporter/blob/master/.docs
TOKEN=tokenhere
CHANNELID=channelhere
DLLFOLDER=dceFOLDERpathhere
FILENAME=filenamehere
EXPORTDIRECTORY=dirhere
EXPORTFORMAT=formathere
# Available export formats: plaintext, htmldark, htmllight, json, csv
# /\ CaSe-SeNsItIvE /\
# You can edit the export command on line 40 if you'd like to include more options like date ranges and date format. You can't use partitioning (-p) with this script.
# This will verify if EXPORTFORMAT is valid and will set the final file extension according to it. If the format is invalid, the script will display a message and exit.
if [[ "$EXPORTFORMAT" == "plaintext" ]]; then
FORMATEXT=.txt
elif [[ "$EXPORTFORMAT" == "htmldark" ]] || [[ "$EXPORTFORMAT" == "htmllight" ]]; then
FORMATEXT=.html
elif [[ "$EXPORTFORMAT" == "json" ]]; then
FORMATEXT=.json
elif [[ "$EXPORTFORMAT" == "csv" ]]; then
FORMATEXT=.csv
else
echo "$EXPORTFORMAT - Unknown export format"
echo "Available export formats: plaintext, htmldark, htmllight, csv, json"
echo "/\ CaSe-SeNsItIvE /\\"
exit 1
fi
# This will change the script's directory to DLLPATH, if unable to do so, the script will exit.
cd $DLLFOLDER || exit 1
# This will export your chat
dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t $TOKEN -c $CHANNELID -f $EXPORTFORMAT -o $FILENAME.tmp
# This sets the current time to a variable
CURRENTTIME=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d-%H-%M-%S")
# This will move the .tmp file to the desired export location, if unable to do so, it will attempt to delete the .tmp file.
if ! mv "$FILENAME.tmp" "${EXPORTDIRECTORY//\"}/$FILENAME-$CURRENTTIME$FORMATEXT" ; then
echo "Unable to move $FILENAME.tmp to $EXPORTDIRECTORY/$FILENAME-$CURRENTTIME$FORMATEXT."
echo "Cleaning up..."
if ! rm -Rf "$FILENAME.tmp" ; then
echo "Unable to remove $FILENAME.tmp."
fi
exit 1
fi
exit 0
```
3. Replace:
- `tokenhere` with your [Token ](Token-and-IDs.md ).
- `channelhere` with a [Channel ID ](Token-and-IDs.md ).
- `dceFOLDERpathhere` with DCE's **directory path** (e.g. `/path/to/folder` , NOT `/path/to/folder/DiscordChatExporter.dll` ).
- `filenamehere` with the exported channel's filename, without spaces.
- `dirhere` with the export directory (e.g. /home/user/Documents/Discord\ Exports).
- `formathere` with one of the available export formats.
> **Note**:
> Remember to escape spaces (add `\` before them) or to quote (") the paths (`"/home/my user"`)!
> **Note**:
> To save, hold down CTRL and then press O, if asked for a filename, type it and press ENTER. Hit CTRL+X to exit the text editor.
> [Check out this page](https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Nano/Basics_Guide) if you want to know more about nano.
4. Make your script executable with `chmod +x /path/to/DiscordChatExporter/cron.sh`
5. Let's edit the cron file. If you want to run the script with your user privileges, edit it by running `crontab -e` . If you want to run the script as root, edit it with `sudo crontab -e` . If this is your first time running this command, you might be asked to select a text editor. Nano is easier for beginners.
6. Add the following to the end of the file `* * * * * /path/to/DiscordChatExporter/cron.sh >/tmp/discordchatexporter.log 2>/tmp/discordchatexportererror.log` . Don't forget to replace the `/path/to/DiscordChatExporter/cron.sh` !
> **Note**:
> If you don't want logs to be created, replace both `/tmp/discordchatexporter.log` with `/dev/null`.
Then replace the \*s according to:
---
**Examples**:
- If you want to execute the script at minute 15 of every hour: `15 * * * *`
- Every 30 minutes `*/30 * * * *`
- Every day at midnight `0 0 * * *`
- Every day at noon `0 12 * * *`
- Every day at 3, 4 and 6 PM `0 15,16,18 * * *`
- Every Wednesday at 9 AM `0 9 * * 3`
Verify your cron time [here ](https://crontab.guru ).
---
**Additional information**
The week starts on Sunday. 0 = SUN, 1 = MON ... 7 = SUN.
Be aware that if you set the day to '31', the script will only run on months that have the 31st day.
> [Learn more about running a cron job on the last day of the month here](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6139189/cron-job-to-run-on-the-last-day-of-the-month) (expert).
The default filename for the exported channel is `YYYY-MM-DD-hh-mm-ss-yourfilename` . You can change it if you'd like.
Don't forget to update your token in the script after it has been reset!
---
Special thanks to [@Yudi ](https://github.com/Yudi )
