What happens with two calls on the same day?

Nothing is duplicated. Firefly III remembers the day of the last run per job and skips it on the second call. The documentation explicitly says multiple runs are fine – so you can safely call more often if you want to catch up on a missed run.

My token is not accepted.

Almost always the length is wrong. It has to be exactly 32 characters. Also check that the environment variable actually arrived after the restart – with Docker Compose that needs a docker compose up -d; restarting the container alone is not always enough.

Is the token in the address not insecure?

It is the route Firefly III provides, and it can only trigger the cron run – your data cannot be read through it. If you want to be careful anyway, renew the token occasionally; it only exists in one place.

I get a 404 on the address.

Then the installation sits in a subfolder, or the web server does not pass the path through. Check whether /api/v1/about answers. If that returns 404 too, it is the web server configuration, not the cronjob.

Do I need this for the Data Importer as well?

That is a separate service with its own address and its own token. If you have account transactions imported automatically, set up a second cronjob for it.

Set up a Firefly III cronjob: create recurring transactions

Why at all

The rent does not book itself

A recurring transaction in Firefly III is a template with a date. For it to become a real transaction, the cron run has to create it. If that never happens, the rent shows as planned in the overview but never appears on the account.

The same goes for three more things: the automatic budgets refilled at the start of the month, the warnings about due subscriptions, and the exchange rates for accounts in foreign currencies.

Anyone running Firefly III as a container often has no command line at hand where a classic cron could run. That is exactly what the address is for.

URL to call: https://ihre-domain.de/api/v1/cron/IHRTOKEN
Recommended interval: once a day
Tested with: Firefly III 5.x, 6.x
Sufficient plan: The free plan is enough.

Setup

Step by step

The AI does it faster

You do not have to transfer any of this by hand. Paste this guide – or the one for your own system – into the assistant, and Cronjob.de fills in address, method, schedule and headers. Where something is unclear it asks instead of guessing. At the end you see what was entered and create the job with one click.

Included in the free plan at no extra cost. You will find it after signing in under "Cronjobs" → "Create with AI".

Set the token – exactly 32 characters

Add STATIC_CRON_TOKEN to your .env or to the container environment. Firefly III requires exactly 32 characters; a shorter or longer value is rejected. Restart the application afterwards.
```
STATIC_CRON_TOKEN=abcdefghij0123456789abcdefghij01
```
Check the address in a browser once

The token belongs in the path, not as a parameter behind it. A JSON response showing "job_fired": true for each part is correct.
```
https://your-domain.com/api/v1/cron/abcdefghij0123456789abcdefghij01
```
Create an account at Cronjob.de

Registration takes a minute and is free. Three cronjobs stay free forever, the first 14 days run on the Unlimited plan.
Create the cronjob, once a day

Three in the morning is a good choice: the day's recurring transactions are then already in the account early on.
```
0 3 * * *
```
Switch on error notifications

Enter an email address in the folder settings. In a household overview a missing transaction otherwise only surfaces at reconciliation.

Verification

Is it actually running?

The Cronjob.de call log shows the JSON response with "job_fired": true and "job_succeeded": true for each part. Inside Firefly III, "Automation → Recurring transactions" shows for every template when it was last applied.

FAQ

Common questions about Firefly III

What happens with two calls on the same day?: Nothing is duplicated. Firefly III remembers the day of the last run per job and skips it on the second call. The documentation explicitly says multiple runs are fine – so you can safely call more often if you want to catch up on a missed run.
My token is not accepted.: Almost always the length is wrong. It has to be exactly 32 characters. Also check that the environment variable actually arrived after the restart – with Docker Compose that needs a docker compose up -d; restarting the container alone is not always enough.
Is the token in the address not insecure?: It is the route Firefly III provides, and it can only trigger the cron run – your data cannot be read through it. If you want to be careful anyway, renew the token occasionally; it only exists in one place.
I get a 404 on the address.: Then the installation sits in a subfolder, or the web server does not pass the path through. Check whether /api/v1/about answers. If that returns 404 too, it is the web server configuration, not the cronjob.
Do I need this for the Data Importer as well?: That is a separate service with its own address and its own token. If you have account transactions imported automatically, set up a second cronjob for it.

Create your cronjob now

Create an account, enter the address, click the schedule. Three cronjobs are free forever, the first 14 days run on the Unlimited plan.

Start for free See pricing

More guides

Official documentation of Firefly III

The details about Firefly III come from their own documentation, as of September 2026. Please check there whether anything has changed since.

Setting up a Firefly III cronjob: creating recurring transactions

The rent does not book itself

Step by step

Set the token – exactly 32 characters

Check the address in a browser once

Create an account at Cronjob.de

Create the cronjob, once a day

Switch on error notifications

Is it actually running?

Common questions about Firefly III

Create your cronjob now