CronTrigger is the standard object that records every scheduled Apex job. It stores the cron expression, next fire time, and execution history.

What is CronTrigger? | CRM Curator

CronTrigger is the standard Salesforce object that represents a scheduled job. Every time you call System.schedule(...), a CronTrigger record is created. It stores the schedule’s cron expression, when it last fired, when it’ll fire next, how many times it’s run, and a link to the user who created it.

Useful fields

SELECT Id, CronExpression, TimesTriggered,
       NextFireTime, PreviousFireTime, EndTime,
       StartTime, State,
       CronJobDetail.Name, CronJobDetail.JobType,
       CreatedBy.Name, CreatedDate
FROM CronTrigger

Field	Meaning
`CronExpression`	The 6 or 7-token cron string (e.g., `0 0 2 * * ?`)
`TimesTriggered`	How many times this schedule has fired
`NextFireTime`	When it will fire next (`null` if no future fires)
`PreviousFireTime`	When it last fired
`StartTime`, `EndTime`	Bounds of the schedule’s validity
`State`	`WAITING`, `ACQUIRED`, `EXECUTING`, `PAUSED`, `BLOCKED`, etc.
`CronJobDetail.Name`	The friendly name you passed to `System.schedule`
`CronJobDetail.JobType`	`7` for Apex Scheduled, `9` for Anonymous Apex, etc.

Common queries

How many scheduled jobs are there?

SELECT COUNT() FROM CronTrigger

What’s scheduled today?

SELECT CronJobDetail.Name, NextFireTime, PreviousFireTime, CronExpression
FROM CronTrigger
WHERE NextFireTime >= TODAY AND NextFireTime < TOMORROW
ORDER BY NextFireTime

Which scheduled jobs have failed recently?

-- CronTrigger doesn't track failures directly — check AsyncApexJob
SELECT Id, ApexClass.Name, Status, ExtendedStatus, CompletedDate
FROM AsyncApexJob
WHERE JobType = 'ScheduledApex' AND Status = 'Failed' AND CreatedDate = LAST_N_DAYS:7

`CronTrigger` vs `CronJobDetail`

These are two related objects:

Object	Purpose
`CronTrigger`	One row per scheduled instance — the schedule itself
`CronJobDetail`	The “type” record — typically one for each unique scheduled job name

The relationship: CronTrigger.CronJobDetailId → CronJobDetail.Id. The Name on CronJobDetail is the friendly name you passed to System.schedule. Most queries use them together.

The Setup UI

Setup → Scheduled Jobs shows all CronTrigger records as a list. Each row links to:

The Apex class scheduled
The cron expression
Next fire time
A Manage link to view, Del link to delete (which aborts the schedule)

Programmatic operations on CronTrigger

// Get the trigger Id from inside a Schedulable
Id triggerId = ctx.getTriggerId();

// Abort a scheduled job
System.abortJob(triggerId);

// Count scheduled jobs
Integer count = [SELECT COUNT() FROM CronTrigger];

// Find scheduled jobs for a specific Apex class — this is more complex,
// CronTrigger doesn't directly link to the class. You query AsyncApexJob:
SELECT ApexClassId, ApexClass.Name FROM AsyncApexJob
WHERE JobType = 'ScheduledApex' AND Status IN ('Queued', 'Processing')

Limits to know

Limit	Value
Scheduled jobs in an org (`CronTrigger` rows)	100
Apex Flex Queue (separate)	100 (batch jobs only)

CronTrigger is one of the few standard objects with a fixed row limit at the org level.

Common interview follow-ups

Can I create CronTrigger records directly? — No, they’re system-managed. Use System.schedule.
Can I update a CronTrigger? — No. Abort and reschedule.
Does CronTrigger survive sandbox refresh? — No — schedules don’t transfer. You re-schedule after refresh.

Verified against: Object Reference — CronTrigger. Last reviewed 2026-05-17.