Why I am seeing different content in crontab -e and nano /etc/crontab

Question

I just start learning to use cron job. I've learned that cron jobs' setting and information are stored at /etc/crontab and I come across this command crontab -e, when I execute it, I was prompted to choose an editor.

I was expecting to see same content from these 2 different approaches, but actually they are totally different. In the second approach, after I choose an editor, I notice I am actually editing a file under /tmp/something.

Why is that? And which one is the right way to set cron jobs?

My server is ubuntu 14.04 and I have webmin/virtualmin installed, I am not sure if they play any part in this matter.

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered May 02 '16 at 14:15

3

/etc/crontab is root's crontab. crontab -e edits the crontab for the current user.

answered May 02 '16 at 14:15

where to find current user's crontab file? – shenkwen May 02 '16 at 14:17
Actually, there's a process to create it - http://askubuntu.com/questions/216692/where-is-the-user-crontab-stored – May 02 '16 at 14:24

Why I am seeing different content in crontab -e and nano /etc/crontab

1 Answers1