$ echo -e "test1\ntest2" > logfile
$ echo -e "test1\ntest2" >> logfile
$ cat logfile
test1
test2
test1
test2
$ rm logfile
$ crontab -e
* * * * * echo -e "test1\ntest2" >> logfile
$ sleep 160
$ cat logfile
-e test1
test2
-e test1
test2
Why am I getting the -e in the output? Both crontab and bash are using /bin/echo
They're probably not both using /bin/echo. The environment used by cron is probably different from your interactive environment. Specify the full path to be sure.
* * * * * which echo > logfile -- it showed the same thing as which echo
This is one of the reasons people recommend using printf instead of echo for portability.
* * * * * printf "test1\ntest2\n" >> logfile
The shell that cron uses is sh rather than Bash. On my system, sh is really Dash and its echo doesn't have -e. So -e becomes just another string to be output. Other versions of the Bourne shell or shells that provide its functionality may have -e.
If you use echo without the full path in your crontab, you're getting the shell's builtin echo instead of /bin/echo. On the command line, if you're using Bash, then echo without the full path gives you Bash's builtin version.
