JSON Configuration

Quartz.NET supports hierarchical JSON configuration in appsettings.json, providing a modern alternative to flat property keys. This includes both scheduler properties and declarative job/trigger definitions.

Tips

Requires Quartz 4.1 or later. JSON configuration support is included in the core Quartz package.

Hierarchical Properties

Instead of flat property keys like "quartz.threadPool.maxConcurrency": "10", you can use a natural nested JSON structure:

{
  "Quartz": {
    "Scheduler": {
      "InstanceName": "My Scheduler",
      "InstanceId": "AUTO"
    },
    "ThreadPool": {
      "MaxConcurrency": 10
    },
    "JobStore": {
      "Type": "Quartz.Impl.AdoJobStore.JobStoreTX, Quartz",
      "DataSource": "default",
      "TablePrefix": "QRTZ_"
    },
    "DataSource": {
      "default": {
        "Provider": "SqlServer",
        "ConnectionString": "Server=localhost;Database=quartznet"
      }
    },
    "Plugin": {
      "jobHistory": {
        "Type": "Quartz.Plugin.History.LoggingJobHistoryPlugin, Quartz.Plugins"
      }
    },
    "Serializer": {
      "Type": "stj"
    }
  }
}

Mapping Rules

Each JSON path segment becomes a dot-separated segment in the flat property key, with PascalCase automatically converted to camelCase:

JSON Path	Flat Property Key
`Scheduler:InstanceName`	`quartz.scheduler.instanceName`
`ThreadPool:MaxConcurrency`	`quartz.threadPool.maxConcurrency`
`DataSource:default:Provider`	`quartz.dataSource.default.provider`
`Plugin:jobHistory:Type`	`quartz.plugin.jobHistory.type`

Usage with DI

services.AddQuartz(Configuration.GetSection("Quartz"), q =>
{
    // Additional code-based configuration still works alongside JSON
    q.AddJob<MyJob>(j => j.WithIdentity("codeJob").StoreDurably());
});

Usage without DI

var properties = QuartzConfigurationHelper.ToNameValueCollection(
    Configuration.GetSection("Quartz"));
var factory = new StdSchedulerFactory();
factory.Initialize(properties);

Backward Compatibility

Flat property keys still work. You can mix both styles in the same section:

{
  "Quartz": {
    "quartz.scheduler.instanceId": "AUTO",
    "ThreadPool": {
      "MaxConcurrency": 10
    }
  }
}

JSON Scheduling Data

Jobs and triggers can be defined declaratively in appsettings.json under a Schedule sub-section:

{
  "Quartz": {
    "Scheduler": {
      "InstanceName": "My Scheduler"
    },
    "Schedule": {
      "Jobs": [
        {
          "Name": "sampleJob",
          "Group": "sampleGroup",
          "JobType": "MyApp.Jobs.SampleJob, MyApp",
          "Description": "A sample job",
          "Durable": true,
          "Recover": false,
          "JobDataMap": {
            "connectionString": "Server=localhost",
            "retryCount": "3"
          }
        }
      ],
      "Triggers": [
        {
          "Name": "cronTrigger",
          "JobName": "sampleJob",
          "JobGroup": "sampleGroup",
          "Description": "Fires every 10 seconds",
          "Cron": {
            "Expression": "0/10 * * * * ?",
            "TimeZone": "UTC"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Trigger Types

Exactly one schedule type must be specified per trigger. The trigger type is determined by which nested object is present.

Simple Trigger

{
  "Name": "simpleTrigger",
  "JobName": "myJob",
  "Simple": {
    "RepeatCount": -1,
    "Interval": "00:00:10",
    "MisfireInstruction": "SmartPolicy"
  }
}

RepeatCount: Number of times to repeat. Use -1 for indefinite, 0 for fire once.
Interval: TimeSpan string (e.g., "00:00:10" for 10 seconds, "01:00:00" for 1 hour).

Cron Trigger

{
  "Name": "cronTrigger",
  "JobName": "myJob",
  "Cron": {
    "Expression": "0/30 * * * * ?",
    "TimeZone": "America/New_York",
    "MisfireInstruction": "DoNothing"
  }
}

Calendar Interval Trigger

{
  "Name": "calendarTrigger",
  "JobName": "myJob",
  "CalendarInterval": {
    "RepeatInterval": 1,
    "RepeatIntervalUnit": "Day",
    "MisfireInstruction": "SmartPolicy"
  }
}

RepeatIntervalUnit values: Second, Minute, Hour, Day, Week, Month, Year.

Daily Time Interval Trigger

{
  "Name": "businessHoursTrigger",
  "JobName": "myJob",
  "DailyTimeInterval": {
    "RepeatInterval": 15,
    "RepeatIntervalUnit": "Minute",
    "RepeatCount": -1,
    "StartTimeOfDay": "08:00:00",
    "EndTimeOfDay": "17:00:00",
    "DaysOfWeek": ["Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday"],
    "TimeZone": "America/Chicago"
  }
}

Common Trigger Fields

All trigger types support these optional fields:

Field	Description
`Name`	Trigger name (required)
`Group`	Trigger group (defaults to DEFAULT)
`JobName`	Associated job name (required)
`JobGroup`	Associated job group (defaults to DEFAULT)
`Description`	Trigger description
`Priority`	Trigger priority (integer)
`CalendarName`	Calendar to apply
`StartTime`	ISO 8601 start time (e.g., `"2024-01-01T00:00:00Z"`)
`StartTimeSecondsInFuture`	Start time as seconds from now (mutually exclusive with StartTime)
`EndTime`	ISO 8601 end time
`JobDataMap`	Key-value pairs for the trigger's data map

Multiple Named Schedulers

When the Quartz section contains a Schedulers sub-section, each child is automatically registered as a named scheduler:

{
  "Quartz": {
    "Schedulers": {
      "Primary": {
        "Scheduler": {
          "InstanceId": "AUTO"
        },
        "ThreadPool": {
          "MaxConcurrency": 10
        },
        "Schedule": {
          "Jobs": [
            {
              "Name": "primaryJob",
              "JobType": "MyApp.Jobs.PrimaryJob, MyApp",
              "Durable": true
            }
          ],
          "Triggers": [
            {
              "Name": "primaryTrigger",
              "JobName": "primaryJob",
              "Cron": { "Expression": "0/10 * * * * ?" }
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "Secondary": {
        "ThreadPool": {
          "MaxConcurrency": 5
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

// Registers "Primary" and "Secondary" named schedulers automatically
services.AddQuartz(Configuration.GetSection("Quartz"));
services.AddQuartzHostedService();

Each named scheduler section supports the same hierarchical properties, Schedule sub-section with Jobs/Triggers, and code-based overrides.

Warning

Defining both a Schedulers sub-section and direct scheduler configuration (e.g., Scheduler, ThreadPool at the top level) is an error. Use one or the other.

Standalone JSON Files (quartz_jobs.json)

For file-based scheduling with hot-reload support, use JsonSchedulingDataProcessorPlugin from the Quartz.Plugins package. See Quartz Plugins for plugin configuration.

Standalone JSON files use the same Jobs and Triggers format as the Schedule section above, wrapped in an envelope with optional PreProcessingCommands and ProcessingDirectives:

{
  "PreProcessingCommands": {
    "DeleteJobsInGroup": ["obsoleteGroup"],
    "DeleteTriggersInGroup": ["oldTriggerGroup"],
    "DeleteJobs": [
      { "Name": "oldJob", "Group": "DEFAULT" }
    ],
    "DeleteTriggers": [
      { "Name": "oldTrigger" }
    ]
  },
  "ProcessingDirectives": {
    "OverWriteExistingData": true,
    "IgnoreDuplicates": false,
    "ScheduleTriggerRelativeToReplacedTrigger": false
  },
  "Schedule": {
    "Jobs": [
      {
        "Name": "myJob",
        "JobType": "MyApp.Jobs.MyJob, MyApp",
        "Durable": true
      }
    ],
    "Triggers": [
      {
        "Name": "myTrigger",
        "JobName": "myJob",
        "Cron": {
          "Expression": "0/30 * * * * ?"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

PreProcessingCommands

Commands executed before scheduling. All fields are optional:

Field	Description
`DeleteJobsInGroup`	Array of group names. Use `"*"` to delete jobs in all groups.
`DeleteTriggersInGroup`	Array of group names. Use `"*"` to delete triggers in all groups.
`DeleteJobs`	Array of `{ "Name": "...", "Group": "..." }` objects. Group is optional.
`DeleteTriggers`	Array of `{ "Name": "...", "Group": "..." }` objects. Group is optional.

ProcessingDirectives

Field	Default	Description
`OverWriteExistingData`	`true`	Replace existing jobs/triggers with the same identity.
`IgnoreDuplicates`	`false`	When `OverWriteExistingData` is `false`, silently skip duplicates instead of erroring.
`ScheduleTriggerRelativeToReplacedTrigger`	`false`	Adjust new trigger timing based on old trigger's last fire time.