Tools · Free reference
Cron expression examples & cheat sheet
Common cron expressions explained — every 5 minutes, hourly, daily at midnight, weekdays, monthly, and more. Each with plain-English meaning and next run times.
How to read a cron expression
┌───────────── minute (0–59)
│ ┌─────────── hour (0–23)
│ │ ┌───────── day of month (1–31)
│ │ │ ┌─────── month (1–12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───── day of week (0–6, Sunday = 0)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * * * means "every",
*/n means "every n-th",
a-b is a range, and
a,b is a list.
Paste anything into the cron generator to decode it or build your own.
By the minute
- Every minute
* * * * *Every minute - Every 2 minutes
*/2 * * * *Every 2 minutes - Every 3 minutes
*/3 * * * *Every 3 minutes - Every 4 minutes
*/4 * * * *Every 4 minutes - Every 5 minutes
*/5 * * * *Every 5 minutes - Every 6 minutes
*/6 * * * *Every 6 minutes - Every 10 minutes
*/10 * * * *Every 10 minutes - Every 12 minutes
*/12 * * * *Every 12 minutes - Every 15 minutes
*/15 * * * *Every 15 minutes - Every 20 minutes
*/20 * * * *Every 20 minutes - Every 30 minutes
*/30 * * * *Every 30 minutes - Every 45 minutes
*/45 * * * *Every 45 minutes
Hourly schedules
- Every hour
0 * * * *Every hour - Every hour at minute 30
30 * * * *At 30 minutes past the hour - Every 2 hours
0 */2 * * *On the hour, every 2 hours - Every 3 hours
0 */3 * * *On the hour, every 3 hours - Every 4 hours
0 */4 * * *On the hour, every 4 hours - Every 6 hours
0 */6 * * *On the hour, every 6 hours - Every 8 hours
0 */8 * * *On the hour, every 8 hours - Every 12 hours
0 */12 * * *On the hour, every 12 hours
Daily schedules
- Every day at midnight
0 0 * * *At 00:00 - Every day at noon
0 12 * * *At 12:00 - Twice a day (00:00 and 12:00)
0 0,12 * * *At 00:00 and 12:00 - Every day at 1 AM
0 1 * * *At 01:00 - Every day at 2 AM
0 2 * * *At 02:00 - Every day at 3 AM
0 3 * * *At 03:00 - Every day at 4 AM
0 4 * * *At 04:00 - Every day at 5 AM
0 5 * * *At 05:00 - Every day at 6 AM
0 6 * * *At 06:00 - Every day at 7 AM
0 7 * * *At 07:00 - Every day at 8 AM
0 8 * * *At 08:00 - Every day at 9 AM
0 9 * * *At 09:00 - Every day at 10 AM
0 10 * * *At 10:00 - Every day at 11 AM
0 11 * * *At 11:00 - Every day at 1 PM
0 13 * * *At 13:00 - Every day at 2 PM
0 14 * * *At 14:00 - Every day at 3 PM
0 15 * * *At 15:00 - Every day at 4 PM
0 16 * * *At 16:00 - Every day at 5 PM
0 17 * * *At 17:00 - Every day at 6 PM
0 18 * * *At 18:00 - Every day at 7 PM
0 19 * * *At 19:00 - Every day at 8 PM
0 20 * * *At 20:00 - Every day at 9 PM
0 21 * * *At 21:00 - Every day at 10 PM
0 22 * * *At 22:00 - Every day at 11 PM
0 23 * * *At 23:00
Weekly schedules
- Every week (Sunday at midnight)
0 0 * * 0At 00:00, only on Sunday - Every weekday at 9 AM
0 9 * * 1-5At 09:00, Monday through Friday - Every weekday at midnight
0 0 * * 1-5At 00:00, Monday through Friday - Every weekend day at 10 AM
0 10 * * 6,0At 10:00, only on Sunday and Saturday - Every Monday at midnight
0 0 * * 1At 00:00, only on Monday - Every Tuesday at midnight
0 0 * * 2At 00:00, only on Tuesday - Every Wednesday at midnight
0 0 * * 3At 00:00, only on Wednesday - Every Thursday at midnight
0 0 * * 4At 00:00, only on Thursday - Every Friday at midnight
0 0 * * 5At 00:00, only on Friday - Every Saturday at midnight
0 0 * * 6At 00:00, only on Saturday - Every Sunday at midnight
0 0 * * 0At 00:00, only on Sunday - Every Monday at 9 AM
0 9 * * 1At 09:00, only on Monday
Monthly & quarterly
- Every month (1st at midnight)
0 0 1 * *At 00:00, on day 1 of the month - Every month on the 15th
0 0 15 * *At 00:00, on day 15 of the month - Twice a month (1st and 15th)
0 0 1,15 * *At 00:00, on day 1 and 15 of the month - Every quarter (1st day at midnight)
0 0 1 */3 *At 00:00, on day 1 of the month, every 3 months - Every 6 months (Jan 1 and Jul 1)
0 0 1 */6 *At 00:00, on day 1 of the month, every 6 months
Yearly
@-shortcuts
Most cron implementations (including Vixie cron and cronie) accept named shortcuts in place of a full expression:
| Shortcut | Equivalent |
|---|---|
| @hourly | 0 * * * * |
| @daily | 0 0 * * * |
| @weekly | 0 0 * * 0 |
| @monthly | 0 0 1 * * |
| @yearly | 0 0 1 1 * |
| @reboot | — runs once at startup (no cron equivalent) |