linkrobins/metronome

Run Flarum's scheduler without proc_open — for shared hosting that disables it

v1.0.0 2026-08-31 02:20 UTC

Requires

• php: ^8.3
• flarum/core: ^2.0

Requires (Dev)

• flarum/phpstan: ^2.0
• flarum/testing: ^2.0

MIT

• Link Robins

• cron
• scheduler
• flarum
• shared-hosting

Published on Packagist.org on 2026-08-31 02:22 UTC

README

Keeps Flarum's scheduled tasks ticking on shared hosting. Many shared hosts disable PHP's proc_open function, and Flarum's scheduler depends on it: every scheduled task is launched as a separate process. Metronome adds a schedule:run-inline command that runs the exact same schedule inside the one PHP process your cron job already starts, so nothing needs proc_open at all.

The problem it solves

On hosting with proc_open disabled, php flarum schedule:run looks fine: it exits cleanly, and the admin dashboard even reports the scheduler as active. But no scheduled task ever actually runs. The only trace is a line buried in the log for every task, every minute:

The Process class relies on proc_open, which is not available on your PHP installation.

So extensions that clean up, sync, or aggregate on a schedule quietly do nothing, and it looks like their bug.

Install

composer require linkrobins/metronome

Enable Link Robins Metronome in the admin panel, then point your cron job (or your host's "cron jobs" panel, which is exactly the environment this is for) at the new command once per minute:

* * * * * php /path/to/flarum/flarum schedule:run-inline

That is the whole setup. There are no settings.

What it runs, and how faithfully

schedule:run-inline walks the same schedule as schedule:run and keeps the same behaviour wherever that is possible without launching processes:

• Due-time, environment and maintenance-mode checks work as before.
• withoutOverlapping() locks are honoured, and are compatible both ways with locks taken by the stock runner.
• onOneServer() is honoured.
• Before/after hooks, success/failure hooks and sendOutputTo() / appendOutputTo() output capture all work.
• Closure-based tasks run through Flarum's own machinery untouched.
• Failures are reported to the Flarum log, and the admin dashboard's scheduler status is updated the same way the stock runner updates it.

Two things cannot be identical without proc_open, and the command is upfront about both instead of skipping work silently:

• A task that asks for runInBackground() runs in the foreground instead, with a warning in the output. It still runs.
• A task scheduled as a raw shell command via exec() cannot run at all without launching a process. It is reported as a failed task rather than ignored.

If your hosting does have proc_open, keep using the stock schedule:run. This extension is for the hosts where that is not an option.

Flarum compatibility

Flarum 2.0 only. There is no build for Flarum 1.8.

Support

Found a bug or need help? Open an issue.