// reference
Cron Syntax
How cron expressions work — the five fields, special characters, @macros and ready-to-use schedule examples.
A cron expression is five fields — minute, hour, day of month, month and day of week — that describe when a job runs. This reference explains each field and the special characters, then lists common schedules you can copy straight into a crontab.
The five fields
| Field | Allowed values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0–59 | Minute of the hour |
| Hour | 0–23 | Hour of the day (24-hour clock) |
| Day of month | 1–31 | Day of the month |
| Month | 1–12 or JAN–DEC | Month of the year |
| Day of week | 0–6 or SUN–SAT | Day of the week (0 = Sunday) |
Special characters
| Symbol | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
* | Every value in the field | * = every minute |
, | A list of specific values | 1,15,30 |
- | A range of values | 9-17 |
/ | Step values (every n) | */5 = every 5 |
Shortcuts (macros)
| Macro | Equivalent | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
@yearly | 0 0 1 1 * | Once a year, midnight on Jan 1 (also @annually) |
@monthly | 0 0 1 * * | Midnight on the first of every month |
@weekly | 0 0 * * 0 | Midnight every Sunday |
@daily | 0 0 * * * | Every day at midnight (also @midnight) |
@hourly | 0 * * * * | At the top of every hour |
@reboot | — | At startup (implementation-dependent) |
Common examples
| Expression | Runs |
|---|---|
* * * * * | Every minute |
*/5 * * * * | Every 5 minutes |
0 * * * * | Every hour, on the hour |
0 9 * * * | Every day at 09:00 |
0 9 * * 1-5 | At 09:00 on weekdays (Mon–Fri) |
30 8 1 * * | At 08:30 on the 1st of every month |
0 0 * * 0 | Midnight every Sunday |
15 14 * * 3 | At 14:15 every Wednesday |
0 22 * * 1-5 | At 22:00 on weekdays |
0 0 1 1 * | Midnight on Jan 1 (yearly) |
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