How Appcrons works
Before understanding how Appcrons works, it's important to first understand why it was created. This will provide better context for comprehending its purpose.
Why Was Appcrons Created?
The main purpose of Appcrons is to keep your backend instances/servers hosted on Render's free or hobby plan active. But why? Render typically shuts down instances/servers on this plan after 15 minutes of inactivity. Booting up an instance from a down state can take an average of 50 seconds or more. This can be frustrating when you need your server to be available all the time or during specific periods of the day. Appcrons solves this problem effectively.
How Appcrons Works
Now that you understand why Appcrons was created, let’s dive into how it works. Appcrons sends automated requests to your backend instance at intervals of 5, 10, or 15 minutes. Requests can be sent for 24 hours or within a specific time frame throughout the day. Additionally, requests can be stopped at any time for any given application, based on the user’s preferences. This gives developers control over the availability of their free backend servers, which can significantly improve the user experience.