How to stop cron process without rebooting my server?

Question

I have tried the following:

drush php-eval "\Drupal::lock()->release('cron');"

This had no effect. I'm still seeing "Attempting to re-run cron" errors pile up in the log.

I also tried the mysql query:

DELETE FROM semaphore WHERE name = 'cron';

The query ran fine, but had no effect. I'm still seeing "Attempting to re-run cron" errors pile up in the log.

I also checked the processes:

ps aux | grep cron

I saw a number of Drupal-related cron processes, and killed them all.

I then repeated...

drush php-eval "\Drupal::lock()->release('cron');"

None of this has had any effect. I clear the log, and then new "Attempting to re-run cron" errors appear.

Answer 1

Check if the "Automated Cron" core module is enabled. If so, you'll find a setting at /admin/config/system/cron where you can set the so called poor man's cron (cron triggered by site traffic) to be executed "never".

If no other cron has been configured, like a server cron executing drush cron for example or external service that periodically visits the hashed cron URL (which can be found on the same page as the poor man's cron), setting poor man's cron to be executed "never" should then completely stop any cron running on your site.