Quickly delete one or more jobs from the at queue by job number and keep scheduled tasks tidy. 21.02.2026 | reading time: 2 min atrm is the small, decisive tool you call when a scheduled at job must disappear; it removes jobs from the at queue by job number so you can cancel one-off tasks without touching the daemon. Quick demo Try this sequence to schedule, list and remove a job; observe the job number and remove it with atrm. ```bash $ echo 'echo hello > /tmp/hello' | at now + 2 minutes job 5 at Thu Feb 21 10:00:00 2025 $ atq 5 Thu Feb 21 10:00:00 2025 a user $ atrm 5 $ atq ``` How it behaves Call atrm with one or more job numbers and it deletes those jobs from the at spool; root can remove any user's jobs while a normal user can remove only his own jobs, and atd must be running for the queue to be meaningful. Practical tips Combine atq to discover job numbers, use multiple arguments to delete several jobs at once, inspect the job contents with at -c jobnumber before removal, and be careful on shared systems where removing others' work may require superuser privileges. Wider scheduling toolbox atrm is ideal for canceling one-off scheduled tasks, while crontab and systemd timers handle recurring jobs; use batch for load-dependent deferred jobs and at/atrm for simple ad-hoc scheduling control. Close and next steps Knowing how to cancel scheduled jobs safely keeps systems predictable; practice with at, atq and atrm on a test host, then consider deeper study to manage scheduling and automation at scale and to prepare for certifications like CompTIA Linux+ or LPIC-1 with intensive exam prep at bitsandbytes.academy. Join Bits & Bytes Academy First class LINUX exam preparation. utilities processes scripting
