at

Create commands interactively and execute them in 5 minutes

$ at now + 5 minutes

$ echo "command" | at 1000

$ at -f [path/to/file] 9:30 PM Tue

$ at -l

$ at -c [job_number]

$ atrm [job_number]

at [-f file] [-l] [-c job] [-m] [-q queue] time

at executes commands at a specified time. Commands are read from standard input or a file and executed later. Results are sent to the user's mail. The atd daemon must be running for jobs to execute.

-f file

Read commands from file instead of standard input

List all queued jobs (alias for atq)

Print the commands of the specified job

Send mail to the user even if there was no output

Use the specified queue (a-z, A-Z)

Delete a job (alias for atrm)

Show the time the job will be executed

/etc/at.allow

If this file exists, only users listed in it can schedule jobs with at.

Users listed in this file are denied access to at. Ignored if at.allow exists.

Requires the atd daemon to be running. Time can be specified in various formats: HH:MM, midnight, noon, teatime (4pm), or relative times like "now + 5 minutes".

Part of the traditional Unix job scheduling system. The at command has been available since early Unix systems in the 1970s.

atq(1), atrm(1), cron(8), batch(1)