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“Windows protected your PC” (SmartScreen)

An app that runs commands on a schedule and starts at login looks, to Windows, a lot like malware — so an unsigned build can trigger SmartScreen. If you trust the source (or built it yourself), click More info → Run anyway. To avoid this on machines you distribute to, sign the binary with a code-signing certificate.

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macOS: “cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified” (Gatekeeper)

This appears for apps downloaded from the internet. Clear it by right-clicking the app → Open (confirm once), or from a terminal:
A copy you build yourself and run locally is not quarantined, so Gatekeeper doesn’t block it.

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A rule shows “shell missing”

The rule names a shell that isn’t installed on this machine, so Cronch won’t run it. Either install that shell, or edit the rule to use one Cronch detected (or Direct). This commonly happens after importing rules created on a different computer — see Commands & shells.

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”It runs in my terminal, but not on a schedule”

Almost always an environment issue: the scheduled job can’t find a tool that’s on your PATH in a terminal. Cronch already resolves your login environment to avoid this, but if a job still can’t find something:
  • Use the full path to the program in the command, or
  • Set the needed variable on the rule (the Environment variables field), or
  • Set the rule’s Working directory if the script expects to run from a specific folder.

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A job didn’t run while the machine was asleep or off

That’s expected — a tray app can’t run while it isn’t running. When Cronch next starts, a rule with Catch up if missed enabled runs once to make up for it. If it didn’t, check that catch-up is on for that rule. See Schedules.

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Build errors (building from source)

  • Windows: error: linker 'link.exe' not found — install the Visual Studio 2022 Build Tools with the Desktop development with C++ workload.
  • Windows: linker errors from Git Bash / MSYS — build from PowerShell or the Developer Command Prompt; Git Bash’s own link.exe can shadow MSVC’s.
  • macOS: xcrun: error: invalid active developer path — run xcode-select --install.
The complete build guide, including toolchain setup, is in BUILD.md in the repository.