Running a cronjob with Laravel 5.6 (using the Scheduler)

In my application, I have a few tasks that should run automatically at set intervals. So my immediate thought was: I could make a cron job on the server.

I have got myself started by reading a few articles:

• Setting up cronjobs in Laravel - https://scotch.io/@Kidalikevin/how-to-set-up-cron-job-in-laravel
• The difference between normal cronjobs and the Laravel way - https://code.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tasks-scheduling-in-laravel--cms-29815
• This article on what path\to\artisan actually means - https://laracasts.com/discuss/channels/laravel/pathtoartisan-where-it-is

As well as the Laravel documentation on scheduling.

I'm attempting to have Facebook and Twitter posts pull into a database from an API.

Updating Facebook and Twitter

<?php
namespace App\Console\Commands;

use Illuminate\Console\Command;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;

use App\Article;
use App\TwitterPost;
use App\FacebookPost;
use Twitter;

class UpdateSocial extends Command
{
  /**
   * The name and signature of the console command.
   *
   * @var string
   */
  protected $signature = 'update:social';

  /**
   * The console command description.
   *
   * @var string
   */
  protected $description = 'Updates facebook and twitter feeds to DB';

  /**
   * Create a new command instance.
   *
   * @return void
   */
  public function __construct()
  {
    parent::__construct();
  }

  public function updateFacebook()
  {

      //Access token
      $access_token = 'secret';
      //Request the public posts.
      $json_str = file_get_contents('https://graph.facebook.com/v3.0/NewableGroup/feed?access_token='.$access_token);
      //Decode json string into array
      $facebookData = json_decode($json_str);

      //For each facebook post
      foreach($facebookData->data as $data){

          //Convert provided date to appropriate date format
          $fbDate = date("Y-m-d H:i:s", strtotime($data->created_time));
          $fbDateToStr = strtotime($fbDate);

          //If a post contains any text
          if(isset($data->message)){

            //Create new facebook post if it does not already exist in the DB
            $facebookPost = FacebookPost::firstOrCreate(
                  ['post_id' => $data->id], ['created_at' => $fbDateToStr, 'content' => $data->message, 'featuredImage' => null]
            );

            //Output any new facebook posts to the console.
            if($facebookPost->wasRecentlyCreated){
                $this->info("New Facebook Post Added --- " . $facebookPost->content);
             }

          }

      }

  }

  public function updateTwitter($amount)
  {

      $twitterData = Twitter::getUserTimeline(['count' => $amount, 'tweet_mode'=>'extended', 'format' => 'array']);

      foreach($twitterData as $data){

          //Convert provided date to appropriate date format
          $tweetDate = date("Y-m-d H:i:s", strtotime($data['created_at']));
          $tweetDateToStr = strtotime($tweetDate);
          $tweetImg = null;

          //Get the twitter image if any
          if(!empty($data['extended_entities']['media']))
          {
              foreach($data['extended_entities']['media'] as $v){
                  $tweetImg = $v['media_url'];
              }
          }

          //Create new tweet if it does not already exist in the DB
          $twitterPost = TwitterPost::firstOrCreate(
              ['post_id' => $data['id']], ['created_at' => $tweetDateToStr, 'content' => $data['full_text'], 'featuredImage' => $tweetImg]
          );

          //Output any new twitter posts to the console.
          if($twitterPost->wasRecentlyCreated){
             $this->info("New Tweet Added --- " . $twitterPost->content);
          }

      }

  }

  /**
   * Execute the console command.
   *
   * @return mixed
   */
  public function handle()
  {
    $this->updateFacebook();
    $this->updateTwitter(20);
  }
}

This is a console command within Laravel, which is registered in Kernal.php

<?php

namespace App\Console;

use Illuminate\Console\Scheduling\Schedule;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Console\Kernel as ConsoleKernel;

class Kernel extends ConsoleKernel
{
    /**
     * The Artisan commands provided by your application.
     *
     * @var array
     */
    protected $commands = [
        'App\Console\Commands\UpdateSocial'
    ];

    /**
     * Define the application's command schedule.
     *
     * @param  \Illuminate\Console\Scheduling\Schedule  $schedule
     * @return void
     */
    protected function schedule(Schedule $schedule)
    {
        $schedule->command('update:social')->everyTenMinutes();
    }

    /**
     * Register the commands for the application.
     *
     * @return void
     */
    protected function commands()
    {
        $this->load(__DIR__.'/Commands');

        require base_path('routes/console.php');
    }
}

Which enables me to run the command: php artisan update:social, but, evidently for this to happen automatically I need to set up a cron job on the server.

The documentation repeats this line in a few places:

* * * * * php /path-to-your-project/artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

I know that * * * * * is the equivalent of every minute of every day and schedule:run is pretty self-explanatory but what is the last part?

This part specifically:

>> /dev/null 2>&1

Also, why must it run every minute on the server even though it'll only run every 10 minutes anyway?

Also, can you use the same setup to run these jobs on a local server like xxamp?

via Chebli Mohamed