What is Exit Code?
A numeric value returned by a process to indicate success (0) or a specific type of failure.
Definition
An exit code (or return code) is an integer that a program returns to its caller upon completion. By convention, 0 means success and any non-zero value indicates an error. Specific codes have standard meanings: 1 for general errors, 126 for permission denied, 127 for command not found, and 137 for killed by signal (out of memory). In HTTP-based cron jobs, the equivalent concept is the HTTP status code.
Simple Analogy
Like a doctor giving you a report after a checkup: "0" means you're healthy, and any other number is a diagnosis code telling you exactly what is wrong.
Why It Matters
Exit codes tell you not just whether a job failed, but why it failed. A script returning exit code 1 has a different root cause than one returning 137 (killed by OOM). In CronJobPro, HTTP status codes serve the same purpose — a 500 (server error) requires different action than a 401 (authentication expired).
How to Verify
For shell scripts, check $? after execution: `echo $?`. In CronJobPro, the HTTP status code is recorded for every execution and displayed in the execution detail view. Filter execution history by status code to find patterns.
Common Mistakes
Not setting explicit exit codes in scripts, causing all failures to return a generic code 1. Treating all non-zero exit codes the same instead of handling each appropriately. In HTTP jobs, ignoring 3xx redirect codes that may indicate a configuration change.
Best Practices
Design your scripts to return meaningful, documented exit codes for different failure scenarios. In HTTP jobs, use CronJobPro's expected status code feature to define what constitutes success. Log the exit code alongside error details for faster debugging.
Documentation
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Try it free →Frequently Asked Questions
What is Exit Code?
An exit code (or return code) is an integer that a program returns to its caller upon completion. By convention, 0 means success and any non-zero value indicates an error. Specific codes have standard meanings: 1 for general errors, 126 for permission denied, 127 for command not found, and 137 for killed by signal (out of memory). In HTTP-based cron jobs, the equivalent concept is the HTTP status code.
Why does Exit Code matter for cron jobs?
Exit codes tell you not just whether a job failed, but why it failed. A script returning exit code 1 has a different root cause than one returning 137 (killed by OOM). In CronJobPro, HTTP status codes serve the same purpose — a 500 (server error) requires different action than a 401 (authentication expired).
What are best practices for Exit Code?
Design your scripts to return meaningful, documented exit codes for different failure scenarios. In HTTP jobs, use CronJobPro's expected status code feature to define what constitutes success. Log the exit code alongside error details for faster debugging.
Related Terms
Execution Status
The outcome classification of a job run: success, failure, timeout, or skipped.
HTTP Status Code
A three-digit number returned by a server indicating the result of an HTTP request.
Standard Error (stderr)
The output stream dedicated to error messages and diagnostic information from a program.
Execution Log
A recorded history of a job's execution details including timestamps, output, and errors.