Monitor PHP cron jobs: Laravel scheduler callbacks or plain try/catch

The snippets

Create a monitor in the console, set the schedule plus a grace window, copy the ping URL, and add it to your script or scheduler config.

<?php
declare(strict_types=1);

define('PING', getenv('LASTPING_URL') ?: 'https://ping.lastping.dev/<your-monitor-id>');

function runJob(): void {
    // your job
}

try {
    runJob();
    file_get_contents(PING); // success ping
} catch (\Throwable $e) {
    $ctx = stream_context_create([
        'http' => [
            'method'  => 'POST',
            'header'  => "Content-Type: text/plain\r\n",
            'content' => substr($e->getMessage(), 0, 10_000),
        ],
    ]);
    @file_get_contents(PING . '/fail', false, $ctx);
    throw $e; // re-throw so cron sees exit code != 0
}

// app/Console/Kernel.php
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;

protected function schedule(Schedule $schedule): void
{
    $ping = config('services.lastping.url',
                    'https://ping.lastping.dev/<your-monitor-id>');

    $schedule->command('app:nightly-etl')
        ->daily()
        ->onSuccess(function () use ($ping) {
            Http::get($ping);
        })
        ->onFailure(function (\Throwable $e) use ($ping) {
            Http::post($ping . '/fail', [
                'body' => substr($e->getMessage(), 0, 10_000),
            ]);
        });
}

use Illuminate\Console\Command;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;

class NightlyEtl extends Command
{
    protected $signature = 'app:nightly-etl';

    public function handle(): int
    {
        $ping = config('services.lastping.url');

        try {
            // your job
            Http::get($ping);
            return self::SUCCESS;
        } catch (\Throwable $e) {
            $this->error($e->getMessage());
            Http::post($ping . '/fail', ['body' => substr($e->getMessage(), 0, 10_000)]);
            return self::FAILURE;
        }
    }
}

register_shutdown_function(function () {
    $err = error_get_last();
    if ($err && in_array($err['type'], [E_ERROR, E_PARSE, E_CORE_ERROR], true)) {
        $ping = getenv('LASTPING_URL');
        $ctx  = stream_context_create([
            'http' => [
                'method'  => 'POST',
                'header'  => "Content-Type: text/plain\r\n",
                'content' => substr("{$err['message']} in {$err['file']}:{$err['line']}", 0, 10_000),
            ],
        ]);
        @file_get_contents($ping . '/fail', false, $ctx);
    }
});

What this catches

The catch reports what it can; the silence reports the rest.

• ✓A thrown exception or error: the /fail ping opens an incident immediately with the exception message stored on the ping event.
• ✓A PHP fatal error: the shutdown function catches the last error and POSTs it to /fail before the process exits.
• ✓OOM kill or SIGKILL: no ping fires; the missing ping opens the incident after the grace window.
• ✓The script never ran: missing cron entry, dead server, broken include path. Absence → incident.
• ✓Recovery: the next successful run closes the incident and sends a recovery notice automatically.

Questions people ask

Front-loaded answers: the most important fact first.

• How do I monitor a PHP cron job?

  Wrap your script in try/catch: on success call file_get_contents('https://ping.lastping.dev/<your-monitor-id>'); on failure POST the exception message to the /fail endpoint and re-throw. If the script never runs or is killed, the missing ping opens an incident after the grace window.

• How do I add this to a Laravel scheduled command?

  Use the onSuccess() and onFailure() fluent methods on the scheduled command in app/Console/Kernel.php. The onSuccess callback fires after a zero-exit run; onFailure fires on a non-zero exit or thrown exception. Use Laravel's Http facade to send the ping.

• How does Laravel's onFailure know the exception?

  In Laravel 10+ the onFailure closure signature accepts a \Throwable argument. Laravel injects it automatically if you declare it as a parameter. In earlier versions use withoutOverlapping() combined with a custom command that returns a non-zero exit code.

• Do I need Composer or a package?

  No. file_get_contents() with a stream context sends both the GET success ping and the POST failure ping without any dependencies. Guzzle or Laravel's Http facade work too, but they are optional.

• What catches a PHP fatal error, parse error or OOM kill?

  Fatal errors and OOM kills terminate the process before any catch block runs. Register a shutdown function with register_shutdown_function and check error_get_last(). For the most severe cases (OOM kills, SIGKILL), absence-detection monitoring is the real safety net: no ping reaches the server, and the missing ping itself opens an incident after the grace window.

• Is PHP job monitoring free?

  Yes. LastPing is free for individuals with no monitor cap. See how it compares to Healthchecks.io and Cronitor.