Cron · Examples · Copy & paste
40 Common Cron Expression Examples
Updated: May 2026
A practical cheat sheet of the cron expressions people actually use. Find the schedule you need, copy the expression, and paste it into your crontab. Every line uses standard 5-field Unix cron syntax.
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Minutes and hours
| Expression | Runs |
|---|---|
* * * * * | Every minute |
*/5 * * * * | Every 5 minutes |
*/10 * * * * | Every 10 minutes |
*/15 * * * * | Every 15 minutes |
*/30 * * * * | Every 30 minutes |
0 * * * * | Every hour, on the hour |
0 */2 * * * | Every 2 hours |
0 */6 * * * | Every 6 hours |
30 * * * * | At 30 minutes past every hour |
15,45 * * * * | At :15 and :45 every hour |
Daily and twice daily
| Expression | Runs |
|---|---|
0 0 * * * | Every day at midnight |
0 3 * * * | Every day at 3:00am |
30 2 * * * | Every day at 2:30am |
0 9 * * * | Every day at 9:00am |
0 0,12 * * * | Twice a day, midnight and noon |
0 8,20 * * * | Twice a day, 8am and 8pm |
0 9-17 * * * | Hourly during 9am–5pm |
0 22 * * * | Every day at 10:00pm |
Weekdays and weekends
| Expression | Runs |
|---|---|
0 9 * * 1-5 | 9am, Monday to Friday |
*/15 9-17 * * 1-5 | Every 15 min, business hours, weekdays |
0 8 * * 1 | Every Monday at 8am |
0 18 * * 5 | Every Friday at 6pm |
0 0 * * 0,6 | Midnight on weekends |
0 9 * * 2,4 | 9am on Tuesday and Thursday |
0 9 1-7 * 1 | First Monday of the month at 9am |
Weekly, monthly and yearly
| Expression | Runs |
|---|---|
0 0 * * 0 | Weekly, Sunday at midnight |
0 0 1 * * | Monthly, 1st at midnight |
0 0 15 * * | Monthly, the 15th at midnight |
0 0 1,15 * * | Twice a month, 1st and 15th |
0 0 1 */3 * | Quarterly, 1st of every 3rd month |
0 0 1 1 * | Yearly, January 1st |
0 0 25 12 * | Every December 25th |
0 0 1 1,7 * | Twice a year, January and July 1st |
Special cases
| Expression | Runs |
|---|---|
0 0-6 * * * | Hourly overnight, midnight to 6am |
*/5 9-17 * * 1-5 | Every 5 min during work hours, weekdays |
0 12 * * 1-5 | Noon on weekdays |
0 0 28-31 * * | Late-month days (paired with a script check) |
@reboot | Once, at system startup |
@hourly | Once an hour (= 0 * * * *) |
@daily | Once a day (= 0 0 * * *) |
If any line does not behave the way you expect, paste it into the generator. It explains the schedule in plain English and lists the upcoming run times in your local time zone, which is the quickest way to confirm an expression before deploying it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I copy these straight into crontab?
Yes. Add your command after the five fields, for example 0 3 * * * /usr/bin/backup.sh, then save with crontab -e.
Why does "first Monday" use 1-7?
Restricting day-of-month to 1–7 limits the run to the first week, and the day-of-week 1 ensures it is a Monday. The two conditions together land on the first Monday.
Do nicknames like @daily work everywhere?
They work on most modern cron daemons but not all minimal ones. When portability matters, use the explicit 5-field form.