sp_help_job (Transact-SQL)

Returns information about jobs that are used by SQL Server Agent to perform automated activities in SQL Server. 

Topic link icon Transact-SQL Syntax Conventions

Syntax

sp_help_job { [ @job_id = ] job_id
[ @job_name = ] 'job_name' } 
     [ , [ @job_aspect = ] 'job_aspect' ] 
     [ , [ @job_type = ] 'job_type' ] 
     [ , [ @owner_login_name = ] 'login_name' ] 
     [ , [ @subsystem = ] 'subsystem' ] 
     [ , [ @category_name = ] 'category' ] 
     [ , [ @enabled = ] enabled ] 
     [ , [ @execution_status = ] status ] 
     [ , [ @date_comparator = ] 'date_comparison' ] 
     [ , [ @date_created = ] date_created ] 
     [ , [ @date_last_modified = ] date_modified ] 
     [ , [ @description = ] 'description_pattern' ]

Arguments

  • [ @job_id =] job_id
    The job identification number. job_id is uniqueidentifier, with a default of NULL.

  • [ @job_name =] 'job_name'
    The name of the job. job_name is sysname, with a default of NULL.

    Note

    Either job_id or job_name must be specified, but both cannot be specified.

  • [ @job_aspect =] 'job_aspect'
    The job attribute to display. job_aspect is varchar(9), with a default of NULL, and can be one of these values.

    Value

    Description

    ALL

    Job aspect information

    JOB

    Job information

    SCHEDULES

    Schedule information

    STEPS

    Job step information

    TARGETS

    Target information

  • [ @job_type =] 'job_type'
    The type of jobs to include in the report. job_type is varchar(12), with a default of NULL. job_type can be LOCAL or MULTI-SERVER.

  • [ @owner_login_name =] 'login_name'
    The login name of the owner of the job. login_name is sysname, with a default of NULL.

  • [ @subsystem =] 'subsystem'
    The name of the subsystem. subsystem is nvarchar(40), with a default of NULL.

  • [ @category_name =] 'category'
    The name of the category. category is sysname, with a default of NULL.

  • [ @enabled =] enabled
    A number indicating whether information is shown for enabled jobs or disabled jobs. enabled is tinyint, with a default of NULL. 1 indicates enabled jobs, and 0 indicates disabled jobs.

  • [ @execution_status =] status
    The execution status for the jobs. status is int, with a default of NULL, and can be one of these values.

    Value

    Description

    0

    Returns only those jobs that are not idle or suspended.

    1

    Executing.

    2

    Waiting for thread.

    3

    Between retries.

    4

    Idle.

    5

    Suspended.

    7

    Performing completion actions.

  • [ @date_comparator =] 'date_comparison'
    The comparison operator to use in comparisons of date_created and date_modified. date_comparison is char(1),and can be =, <, or >.

  • [ @date_created =] date_created
    The date the job was created. date_createdis datetime, with a default of NULL.

  • [ @date_last_modified =] date_modified
    The date the job was last modified. date_modified is datetime, with a default of NULL.

  • [ @description =] 'description_pattern'
    The description of the job. description_pattern is nvarchar(512), with a default of NULL. description_pattern can include the SQL Server wildcard characters for pattern matching.

Return Code Values

0 (success) or 1 (failure)

Result Sets

If no arguments are specified, sp_help_job returns this result set.

Column name

Data type

Description

job_id

uniqueidentifier

Unique ID of the job.

originating_server

nvarchar(30)

Name of the server from which the job came.

name

sysname

Name of the job.

enabled

tinyint

Indicates whether the job is enabled to be executed.

description

nvarchar(512)

Description for the job.

start_step_id

int

ID of the step in the job where execution should begin.

category

sysname

Job category.

owner

sysname

Job owner.

notify_level_eventlog

int

Bitmask indicating under what circumstances a notification event should be logged to the Microsoft Windows application log. Can be one of these values:

0 = Never

1 = When a job succeeds

2 = When the job fails

3 = Whenever the job completes (regardless of the job outcome)

notify_level_email

int

Bitmask indicating under what circumstances a notification e-mail should be sent when a job completes. Possible values are the same as for notify_level_eventlog.

notify_level_netsend

int

Bitmask indicating under what circumstances a network message should be sent when a job completes. Possible values are the same as for notify_level_eventlog.

notify_level_page

int

Bitmask indicating under what circumstances a page should be sent when a job completes. Possible values are the same as for notify_level_eventlog.

notify_email_operator

sysname

E-mail name of the operator to notify.

notify_netsend_operator

sysname

Name of the computer or user used when sending network messages.

notify_page_operator

sysname

Name of the computer or user used when sending a page.

delete_level

int

Bitmask indicating under what circumstances the job should be deleted when a job completes. Possible values are the same as for notify_level_eventlog.

date_created

datetime

Date the job was created.

date_modified

datetime

Date the job was last modified.

version_number

int

Version of the job (automatically updated each time the job is modified).

last_run_date

int

Date the job last started execution.

last_run_time

int

Time the job last started execution.

last_run_outcome

int

Outcome of the job the last time it ran:

0 = Failed

1 = Succeeded

3 = Canceled

5 = Unknown

next_run_date

int

Date the job is scheduled to run next.

next_run_time

int

Time the job is scheduled to run next.

next_run_schedule_id

int

Identification number of the next run schedule.

current_execution_status

int

Current execution status.

current_execution_step

sysname

Current execution step in the job.

current_retry_attempt

int

If the job is running and the step has been retried, this is the current retry attempt.

has_step

int

Number of job steps the job has.

has_schedule

int

Number of job schedules the job has.

has_target

int

Number of target servers the job has.

type

int

Type of the job.

1 = Local job.

2 = Multiserver job.

0 = Job has no target servers.

If job_id or job_name is specified, sp_help_job returns these additional result sets for job steps, job schedules, and job target servers.

This is the result set for job steps.

Column name

Data type

Description

step_id

int

Unique (for this job) identifier for the step.

step_name

sysname

Name of the step.

subsystem

nvarchar(40)

Subsystem in which to execute the step command.

command

nvarchar(3200)

Command to execute.

flags

nvarchar(4000)

Bitmask of values that control step behavior.

cmdexec_success_code

int

For a CmdExec step, this is the process exit code of a successful command.

on_success_action

nvarchar(4000)

What to do if the step succeeds:

1 = Quit with success.

2 = Quit with failure.

3 = Go to next step.

4 = Go to step.

on_success_step_id

int

If on_success_action is 4, this indicates the next step to execute.

on_fail_action

nvarchar(4000)

Action to take if the step fails. Values are the same as for on_success_action.

on_fail_step_id

int

If on_fail_action is 4, this indicates the next step to execute.

server

sysname

Reserved.

database_name

sysname

For a Transact-SQL step, this is the database in which the command will executes.

database_user_name

sysname

For a Transact-SQL step, this is the database user context in which the command executes.

retry_attempts

int

Maximum number of times the command should be retried (if it is unsuccessful) before the step is deemed to have failed.

retry_interval

int

Interval (in minutes) between any retry attempts.

os_run_priority

varchar(4000)

Reserved.

output_file_name

varchar(200)

File to which command output should be written (Transact-SQL and CmdExec steps only).

last_run_outcome

int

Outcome of the step the last time it ran:

0 = Failed

1 = Succeeded

3 = Canceled

5 = Unknown

last_run_duration

int

Duration (in seconds) of the step the last time it ran.

last_run_retries

int

Number of times the command was retried the last time the step ran.

last_run_date

int

Date the step last started execution.

last_run_time

int

Time the step last started execution.

proxy_id

int

Proxy for the job step.

This is the result set for job schedules.

Column name

Data type

Description

schedule_id

int

Identifier of the schedule (unique across all jobs).

schedule_name

sysname

Name of the schedule (unique for this job only).

enabled

int

Whether the schedule is active (1) or not (0).

freq_type

int

Value indicating when the job is to be executed:

1 = Once

4 = Daily

8 = Weekly

16 = Monthly

32 = Monthly, relative to the freq_interval

64 = Run when SQLServerAgent service starts.

freq_interval

int

Days when the job is executed. The value depends on the value of freq_type. For more information, see sp_add_schedule (Transact-SQL)

freq_subday_type

Int

Units for freq_subday_interval. For more information, see sp_add_schedule (Transact-SQL)

freq_subday_interval

int

Number of freq_subday_type periods to occur between each execution of the job. For more information, see sp_add_schedule (Transact-SQL)

freq_relative_interval

int

Scheduled job's occurrence of the freq_interval in each month. For more information, see sp_add_schedule (Transact-SQL)

freq_recurrence_factor

int

Number of months between the scheduled execution of the job.

active_start_date

int

Date to begin execution of the job.

active_end_date

int

Date to end execution of the job.

active_start_time

int

Time to begin the execution of the job on active_start_date.

active_end_time

int

Time to end execution of the job on active_end_date.

date_created

datetime

Date the schedule is created.

schedule_description

nvarchar(4000)

An English description of the schedule (if requested).

next_run_date

int

Date the schedule will next cause the job to run.

next_run_time

int

Time the schedule will next cause the job to run.

schedule_uid

uniqueidentifier

Identifier for the schedule.

job_count

int

Returns the number of jobs that reference this schedule.

This is the result set for job target servers.

Column name

Data type

Description

server_id

int

Identifier of the target server.

server_name

nvarchar(30)

Computer name of the target server.

enlist_date

datetime

Date the target server enlisted into the master server.

last_poll_date

datetime

Date the target server last polled the master server.

last_run_date

int

Date the job last started execution on this target server.

last_run_time

int

Time the job last started execution on this target server.

last_run_duration

int

Duration of the job the last time it ran on this target server.

last_run_outcome

tinyint

Outcome of the job the last time it ran on this server:

0 = Failed

1 = Succeeded

3 = Canceled

5 = Unknown

last_outcome_message

nvarchar(1024)

Outcome message from the job the last time it ran on this target server.

Permissions

By default, members of the sysadmin fixed server role can execute this stored procedure. Other users must be granted one of the following SQL Server Agent fixed database roles in the msdb database:

  • SQLAgentUserRole

  • SQLAgentReaderRole

  • SQLAgentOperatorRole

For details about the permissions of these roles, see SQL Server Agent Fixed Database Roles.

Members of SQLAgentUserRole can only view jobs that they own. Members of sysadmin, SQLAgentReaderRole, and SQLAgentOperatorRole can view all local and multiserver jobs.

Examples

A. List information for all jobs

The following example executes the sp_help_job procedure with no parameters to return the information for all of the jobs currently defined in the msdb database.

USE msdb ;
GO

EXEC dbo.sp_help_job ;
GO

B. Listing information for jobs matching a specific criteria

The following example lists job information for the multiserver jobs owned by françoisa where the job is enabled and executing.

USE msdb ;
GO

EXEC dbo.sp_help_job 
   @job_type = N'MULTI-SERVER',
   @owner_login_name = N'françoisa',
   @enabled = 1,
   @execution_status = 1 ;
GO

C. Listing all aspects of information for a job

The following example lists all aspects of the information for the job NightlyBackups.

USE msdb ;
GO

EXEC dbo.sp_help_job
    @job_name = N'NightlyBackups',
    @job_aspect = N'ALL' ;
GO

See Also

Reference

sp_add_job (Transact-SQL)

sp_delete_job (Transact-SQL)

sp_update_job (Transact-SQL)

System Stored Procedures (Transact-SQL)