FreePBX Error: retrieve_conf encountered an error: 255 — Fixed

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🛠 FreePBX Error: retrieve_conf encountered an error: 255 — Fixed

Just documenting this for future reference — and maybe it'll help someone else too.

If you're using FreePBX (especially older versions), you might run into this error when trying to apply changes:

retrieve_conf encountered an error: 255

You’ll see this when hitting “Apply Config,” and nothing happens.




🔍 Root Cause

This usually happens because FreePBX is trying to add a cron job for the asterisk user, but it fails to update the crontab.

To see more detailed output, run this in the terminal:

fwconsole reload

Here’s an example of what I saw:


Reloading FreePBX
Error(s) have occurred, the following is the retrieve_conf output:
exit: 255
Unable to continue. Cron line added didn't remain in crontab on final check
in /var/www/html/admin/libraries/BMO/Cron.class.php on line 113

✅ The Fix

This worked for me:

rm -f /var/spool/cron/asterisk

Then just reload FreePBX:

fwconsole reload

After that, everything went back to normal. The system recreated the cron file properly and I was able to apply changes again without errors.

🧠 Tip

This issue can happen if the crontab file is corrupted or has the wrong permissions. Deleting it is safe — FreePBX will rebuild it during reload.




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