Cron every 6 hours
Every 6 hours in cron is 0 */6 * * * (Unix) or 0 0 */6 * * ? (Quartz, Spring): midnight, 6, noon and 18:00; next runs are calculated in your browser.
0 */6 * * *
0 0 */6 * * ?
cron(0 0/6 * * ? *)
Read by our parser as: Every 6 hours (12 AM, 6 AM, 12 PM, 6 PM), on the hour. Open in the cron checker
Next 10 runs
Calculating in your browser...
- 1
- 2
- 3
At a glance
- Accepts
- Nothing to enter - the schedule is preset on the page
- Outputs
- The expression in Unix, Quartz/Spring and AWS form, plus its next 10 run times
- Where it runs
- Entirely in your browser, on your device
- What leaves your device
- Nothing - what you type stays in this tab
- Limits
- Run times use your browser's timezone or UTC; real schedulers can start a run late
- Account
- Not required - there is no sign-up
- Price
- Free, with no watermark and no usage cap
- Made by
- Visrut
What it means
0 */6 * * * runs four times a day, at 00:00, 06:00, 12:00 and 18:00. Spelled out, it's 0 0,6,12,18 * * *. Because those are fixed clock hours, the job runs at the same local times every day, not six hours after the last deploy.
When this is the right schedule
Use it when you want four evenly spaced runs a day, like refreshing certificates, syncing a product catalogue, or pruning old files.
When to pick something else
Look elsewhere when the 00:00 run collides with nightly backups. Shift the whole set, for example 0 3,9,15,21 * * * or 0 3-23/6 * * *.
Things to watch
Shifting the four runs
0 2-23/6 * * * gives 02:00, 08:00, 14:00 and 20:00. A list (0 2,8,14,20 * * *) does the same and is easier to read later.
AWS: cron or rate?
cron(0 0/6 * * ? *) runs at fixed clock times in the schedule's timezone. rate(6 hours) runs every 6 hours from the schedule's start date. Pick cron if the clock times matter.
DST shifts the gap, not the times
With a local timezone, the runs stay at 00:00, 06:00, 12:00 and 18:00 local, so on the night the clocks change one gap is 5 or 7 real hours. Use UTC if you need exactly 6 hours between runs.
Frequently asked questions
What times does 0 */6 * * * run?
00:00, 06:00, 12:00 and 18:00 in the scheduler's timezone, every day.
How do I run every 6 hours starting at 3 AM?
0 3-23/6 * * * (or 0 3,9,15,21 * * *), which runs at 3:00, 9:00, 15:00 and 21:00.