Matomo Reports Not Updating (Archiving Cron Not Working)

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Create the cron job

   Copy steps
   1. As root, create /etc/cron.d/matomo-archive
   2. Add a line such as: 5 * * * * www-data /usr/bin/php /path/to/matomo/console core:archive --url=http://example.org/matomo/ > /home/example/matomo-archive.log
   3. Find the PHP path with 'which php'
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Test the command manually

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   1. Run it as the cron user, for example su www-data -s /bin/bash -c "/usr/bin/php /path/to/matomo/console core:archive --url=http://example.org/matomo/"
   2. Read the output for errors
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Disable browser-triggered archiving

   Copy steps
   1. Administration > System > General Settings
   2. Set 'Archive reports when viewed from the browser' to No and 'Archive reports at most every X seconds' to 3600
   3. Optionally add browser_archiving_disabled_enforce = 1 under [General] in config.ini.php
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. 4. Fix an old cron line

   Copy steps
   1. Replace archive.sh calls with console core:archive
   2. Check that cron is on the new server after a migration
   Did this fix it? Yes No

5. 5. Choose the right frequency

   Copy steps
   1. Run hourly by default
   2. If a run takes an hour or more, run every 2, 6 or 12 hours
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

Real-time and Visits log show traffic but summary reports, graphs and dashboards are flat, stale or empty.

Why it happens

• Browser-triggered archiving disabled and no cron job configured
• Cron still on the old server after a migration
• Old cron entry using archive.sh instead of console core:archive
• Cron user cannot run PHP or write to the Matomo directory
• Archiving also still active in the browser, causing mismatches

This guide also covers

• matomo archiving not working
• matomo reports not updating
• matomo core:archive cron

Other Matomo errors

• Matomo Shows No Data (There Is No Data for This Report)
• Matomo for WordPress Not Showing Statistics
• Matomo 'Oops... There Was a Problem During the Request' Error
• Matomo Archiving Slow or Out of Memory on Large Sites
• Matomo Blocked by Ad Blockers (Undercounting Visitors)
• Why Matomo Numbers Differ From Google Analytics and Search Console
• How to Exclude Your Own Visits in Matomo
• Matomo 'Keyword Not Defined' (Missing Search Keywords)