Quartz Scheduler
Quartz Scheduler is a free, open-source Java library for running application tasks at future times or on recurring schedules.
What Quartz Scheduler is
Quartz Scheduler is a free, open-source Java library for running application tasks at future times or on recurring schedules. Triggers can use times, days, calendar exclusions, repeat counts, end dates, or intervals. Quartz says it can schedule workloads from tens to hundreds or tens of thousands of jobs, and it supports JTA transactions and clustering. It can run inside an application, in an application server or servlet container, as a standalone RMI program, or as a cluster of standalone programs. JDBCJobStore persists jobs and triggers in a relational database, while RAMJobStore keeps them in memory and loses them between executions. Built-in clustering depends on JDBCJobStore database persistence. Data access can use JDBC sources, application-server JNDI sources, or custom ConnectionProvider implementations. Downloads list Quartz 2.5.1 for Java 11+ with the jakarta namespace and 2.4.1 for Java 8 with javax.*. Quartz describes itself as not a job queue, although it can serve one at small scale. It is self-hosted and licensed under Apache License 2.0.
Good
- Schedules jobs by time, calendar, count, or interval
- Supports JTA transactions and clustering
- Offers database or in-memory job stores
- Runs embedded, standalone, or clustered
- Supports Java 8 and Java 11+ packages
Watch out
- Not intended as a full job queue
- In-memory jobs do not persist between executions
- Clustering requires JDBC database persistence
- Self-hosted deployment is required
Who it suits
Quartz suits Java application teams that need scheduled or recurring application tasks and control over deployment and storage. It is intended for self-hosted use rather than a hosted scheduling service.
Verdict
Quartz provides flexible scheduling modes and deployment choices for Java applications, with database-backed clustering available. Its distinction from a general job queue and self-hosted setup should guide adoption.
Plans and prices
From Quartz Scheduler's own pricing page, checked 15 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Free open-source Quartz Scheduler | Free | Java job scheduling library · Apache 2.0 licensed · downloadable from GitHub and Maven Central |
| Quartz Scheduler | Free | Open source · Apache License 2.0 |
The facts
Each one read from Quartz Scheduler's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Clustering behavior
- JDBC clustering provides load balancing and fail-over, with one cluster node firing each occurrence.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Clustering requirement
- Quartz warns that clustered machines need clocks synchronized to within about one second.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Community support
- The project directs users to GitHub forums, issue tracking and its source repository for help and feature requests.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Compatibility release
- Quartz 2.4.1 supports Java 8 and the javax namespace.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Configuration
- Quartz normally reads a quartz.properties file through StdSchedulerFactory, with configurable scheduler, thread-pool, listener, plug-in, RMI, job-store, data-source and clustering settings.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Contribution process
- Contributors use a DCO commit-signoff process, and core developer status is invite-only.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Distribution
- Official downloads link to GitHub releases and Maven Central artifacts for quartz and quartz-jobs.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Documentation depth
- The documentation site provides JavaDoc, quick start material, configuration reference, cookbook, tutorials, examples, best practices and FAQ pages.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Downloads
- The downloads page lists Quartz 2.5.1 for Java 11+ with the jakarta namespace and Quartz 2.4.1 for Java 8 with the javax.* namespace.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Enterprise features
- The scheduler includes clustering and support for JTA transactions.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Extensibility
- Quartz exposes builder DSL classes, listeners, plug-ins, custom JobStore implementations and configurable SPI classes.checked 15 Oct 2026
- GitHub popularity
- The official repository showed about 6.8 thousand stars and 2 thousand forks when accessed.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Independent community concern
- A Reddit engineering discussion notes that one shared Quartz scheduler can degrade as short-running jobs and clients increase because of cluster-wide locking.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Independent limits
- Gitnux says Java integration can be heavy and that threading and misfire behavior require careful tuning.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Independent praise
- Gitnux highlights cron and calendar triggers, persistent storage, clustering and separation of jobs from triggers.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Independent project description
- Wikipedia describes Quartz as a Java job-scheduling library used for enterprise workflows, system-management tasks and clustering.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Independent score
- Gitnux rated Quartz Scheduler 6.4 out of 10 overall, with 6.5 for features, 6.4 for ease of use and 6.2 for value.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Independent score: job scheduling
- WorldMetrics rated Quartz Scheduler 7.4 out of 10 overall, with 7.5 for features, 7.5 for ease of use and 7.2 for value.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Quartz can use JDBC data sources, application-server-managed JNDI data sources, or custom ConnectionProvider implementations.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- Quartz is a code library for applications that need to schedule application-related tasks for future or recurring execution.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Java integration
- Quartz is designed to embed in Java applications, including standalone programs and large e-commerce systems.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Job scale
- The site says Quartz can schedule tens, hundreds, or tens of thousands of jobs.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Job storage
- Quartz provides JDBCJobStore for storing jobs and triggers in a relational database and RAMJobStore for in-memory storage that does not persist between program executions.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Latest release requirements
- Quartz 2.5.1 requires Java 11 or newer and uses the jakarta namespace.checked 15 Oct 2026
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