How to Update or Delete Scheduled Jobs Under /var/eventing/scheduled-jobs When Cron Expression Changes

HI @keerthanas 

Scripting can help to get jobs with specific topics and remove those. You can run that script after the deployment. It could be a groovy script.

https://techrevel.blog/2023/11/06/enhancing-efficiency-and-reliability-by-sling-jobs/ 

https://experienceleaguecommunities.adobe.com/t5/adobe-experience-manager/aem-6-1-sling-jobs-unscheduling/m-p/559640 

Hi @keerthanas,

Agree with @arunpatidar!

Updating a cron expression via OSGi for a scheduled job in AEM does not automatically clean up the old job node under /var/eventing/scheduled-jobs. This leads to multiple scheduled jobs running concurrently, which is clearly not the intended behavior.

When a job is registered with a new cron expression, AEM sees it as a new job instance (even if it's from the same scheduler class), because it uses a different internal job ID (usually based on cron + topic + component details). The old job is not removed automatically.

Option 1: Groovy script to clean up old jobs

You can use a post-deployment Groovy script (via ACS Commons) to programmatically find and delete job nodes based on their topic, name, or even the old cron expression pattern.

Here's an example snippet:

def session = resourceResolver.adaptTo(javax.jcr.Session)
def path = "/var/eventing/scheduled-jobs"

def node = session.getNode(path)
node.nodes.each {
    if (it.name.contains("your-scheduler-topic-or-job-name")) {
        it.remove()
        println "Removed job node: ${it.path}"
    }
}
session.save()

You can schedule this script to run post-deploy, or even bind it to an OSGi lifecycle listener if needed.

Option 2: Lifecycle Hook / OSGi Activator Logic

Implement logic in your scheduler’s @Activate method to:

• Check for existing scheduled jobs (via the JobManager or directly inspecting /var/eventing/scheduled-jobs)

• Compare cron expressions

• Remove or deactivate obsolete entries

However, be cautious — Sling APIs don't expose deletion methods for scheduled jobs, so you’d fall back to JCR node manipulation like in the Groovy script above.

Hope that helps!

Regards,
Santosh

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