LPIC-1 Shells, Scripting and Data Management Practice Question
A cron job is configured to run a script every day at 2:30 AM. The sysadmin notices the job runs but produces no output. Which is the most likely reason?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates assume cron silently discards all output by default, when in fact cron attempts to mail it, and the 'no output' symptom is due to the output being sent to an unmonitored mailbox or not redirected.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The MAILTO environment variable is not set, and the output is not redirected.
Cron jobs run in a non-interactive, non-terminal environment. By default, cron captures any output (stdout/stderr) from the job and attempts to email it to the user. If the MAILTO variable is not set and the output is not redirected to a file or /dev/null, the output is simply discarded, resulting in no visible output. The job still runs successfully, but the output is lost.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The cron daemon is not running.
Why it's wrong here
If cron daemon were not running, the job would not run at all.
- ✗
The script requires a terminal to run.
Why it's wrong here
Scripts can run without a terminal.
- ✓
The MAILTO environment variable is not set, and the output is not redirected.
Why this is correct
Cron emails output only if MAILTO is set; otherwise, output is lost.
- ✗
Cron automatically suppresses all output.
Why it's wrong here
Cron does not suppress output; it attempts to email it.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This LPIC-1 practice question is part of Courseiva's free LPI certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the LPIC-1 exam.