sp_help_job (Transact-SQL)

Article
05/16/2013

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.

Value	Description
ALL	Job aspect information
JOB	Job information
SCHEDULES	Schedule information
STEPS	Job step information
TARGETS	Target information

[ @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

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