help/_articles/directory-connector/schedule-directory-sync.md

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article	Schedule a Sync	directory-connector	true	false	directory connector directory sync schedule cronjob	07

For Organizations using the Directory Connector CLI, automatic syncs can be scheduled on defined intervals as an alternative to using the Desktop Applications Interval setting. This is particularly useful in headless environments, on in circumstances where a Desktop Application cannot be left running in the background.

Cron

In Unix-like environments, including Linux and macOS, use cron to schedule Directory Connector sync jobs:

Cron Permissions

When running a cron job, we recommend doing so as a dedicated Directory Connector user. Create a bwdc user if you haven't already, and add that user to the etc/cron.allow list. This will allow a non-Root user to set up and run cron jobs.

In order to continue, you will also need your Organization's API Key client_id and client_secret, which can be obtained by an Organization Owner from the Web Vault by navigating to Organization Settings → My Organization.

Setup a Sync Script

In order avoid session timeouts, we recommend creating a shell script to run through cron, for example:

#!/bin/bash

#In order to protect your credentials, this script requires a .p0 file containing the API Key client_secret in base64. Create a temp file with the clear text client_secret and process it using `base64 clearTextFile > .p0`. The .p0 file should be owned and locked down by a unique account (e.g. bwdc) that is only utilized to run this script and Directory Connector. Delete the temp file after creating the .p0 file.

#Additionally, be sure to replace the BW_CLIENTID="..." value with your API Key client_id.
​
file=.p0
export BW_CLIENTID="organization.jAEFNqJ5-yKqx2-sX3jt-p7Mcw-aLY9qfFXbR69"
export BW_CLIENTSECRET=$(cat $file | base64 -d)
​
bwdc login
​
bwdc sync >> bwdc.log

This script will securely read your client_secret to complete the login, and run a bwdc sync command that writes output to bwdc.log.

Setup the Cron Job

As the permitted bwdc user:

1. Edit the user's crontab file by entering crontab -e in the terminal, or as edit the crontab file as any user by entering crontab -u <bwdc_username> -e.
2. Add a line to the crontab that includes:
   • A scheduling expression that will determine the time/recurrence interval on which to execute the desired command (e.g. 0 0 * * 2 to run every Tuesday at midnight).
   • The command to execute at the specified time/recurrence interval. In this case, execute the previously created sync script (e.g. bwdcSyncService.sh):

For example, to run the sync script every Monday at 12:00:

# 0 12 * * 1 bwdcSyncService.sh

Cron Job Scheduling Expressions

Use the following reference when scheduling syncs via cron to ensure you're scheduling them for the desired time:

# ┌───────────── minute (0 - 59)
# │ ┌───────────── hour (0 - 23)
# │ │ ┌───────────── day of the month (1 - 31)
# │ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1 - 12)
# │ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of the week (0 - 6) (Sunday to Saturday;
# │ │ │ │ │                                   7 is also Sunday on some systems)
# │ │ │ │ │
# │ │ │ │ │
# * * * * * <command to execute>

{% callout success %} If you're not yet comfortable with cron job scheduling expressions, check out https://crontab.guru/{:target="_blank"} for help.

Please note, this is a third-party resource that is not operated or maintained by Bitwarden. {% endcallout %}