Is there an (upstream) reason why cron is required by this package, and I can't just use systemd timers?
Update: https://github.com/kdave/btrfsmaintenance/issues/57
(In reply to Nathan Dehnel from comment #0) > Is there an (upstream) reason why cron is required by this package, and I > can't just use systemd timers? the btrfsmaintenance scripts itself need no cron to work at all, that's correct. Please do not confuse an upstream software repository with a specific implementation of this software - as we have here with the gentoo package of btrfsmaintenance. In this gentoo package, the btrfsmaintenance package depends on "virtual/cron" which is not the same as a dependency on "cron". This virtual package makes it possible to use sys-fs/btrfsmaintenance on a systemd-based system WITHOUT having a traditional cron installation, because systemd together with some support files fulfils this dependency. So the plain answers for your questions: > Is there an (upstream) reason why cron is required by this package, Yes, usability and convenience, and it's a dependency on a virtual package. > can't just use systemd timers? Yes you can. I have a server at home that does exactly this. Please look here for more information: https://devmanual.gentoo.org/general-concepts/virtuals/