Detailed explanation and examples for this cron schedule pattern
Standard 5-field cron expression for Unix systems, crontab, and most platforms
0 */4 * * 0,66-field format with seconds for Java Quartz, Spring Boot, and enterprise applications
0 0 */4 * * 0,60 */4 * * 0,6minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week
0 0 */4 * * 0,6second minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week
0 0 */4 * * 0,6 *second minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week year
0 */4 * * 0,6Using month and day-of-week names where applicable
0 */4 * * 0,6 /path/to/commandStandard Unix crontab entry format
cron: '0 */4 * * 0,6'GitHub Actions workflow schedule format
cron(0 \*/4 \* \* 0,6)AWS CloudWatch Events cron expression format
0 */4 * * 0,6Google Cloud Scheduler cron format
"schedule": "0 */4 * * 0,6"Azure Functions cron format
cron: '0 */4 * * 0,6'DigitalOcean App Platform cron format
schedule: "0 */4 * * 0,6"Kubernetes CronJob schedule format
placement: { constraints: [node.role == manager] }
labels: { cron: "0 */4 * * 0,6" }Docker Swarm service labels for cron scheduling
CronScheduleBuilder.cronSchedule("0 */4 * * 0,6")Java Quartz scheduler format
cron.schedule('0 */4 * * 0,6', function() {
// Your code here
});Node.js node-cron library format
from crontab import CronTab
cron = CronTab(user='username')
job = cron.new(command='/path/to/command')
job.setall('0 */4 * * 0,6')Python python-crontab library format
# config/packages/messenger.yaml
framework:
messenger:
transports:
cron: '%env(MESSENGER_TRANSPORT_DSN)%'
options:
cron_expression: '0 */4 * * 0,6'PHP Symfony Messenger cron expression format
This cron expression is composed of 5 time/date fields:
| Field | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0 | 0 |
| Hour | */4 | Every 4 hours (0-23) |
| Day of Month | * | Every day of the month (1-31) |
| Month | * | Every month (1-12) |
| Day of Week | 0,6 | 0,6 |
In Quartz, we add a seconds field (and can replace * with ? in day-of-week):
| Field | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Second | 0 | 0 |
| Minute | 0 | 0 |
| Hour | */4 | Every 4 hours (0-23) |
| Day of Month | * | Every day of the month (1-31) |
| Month | * | Every month (1-12) |
| Day of Week | ? | Any value (no specific value) |
AWS CloudWatch Events adds an optional year field:
| Field | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0 | 0 |
| Hour | */4 | Every 4 hours (0-23) |
| Day of Month | * | Every day of the month (1-31) |
| Month | * | Every month (1-12) |
| Day of Week | 0,6 | 0,6 |
| Year (Optional) | * | Every year |
Note that different systems interpret cron expressions slightly differently. The standard Unix format has 5 fields, while Quartz and AWS formats have additional fields. Some special characters like ?, L, W, and # are only supported in specific implementations.
This job runs every 4 hours