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GitHub Actions Cron Expressions
Ready-to-use cron expressions for GitHub Actions scheduled workflows. From nightly builds to weekly dependency audits — copy and paste into your `.github/workflows/*.yml` file.
Featured Patterns
*/5 * * * *
GitHub Actions — Every 5 Minutes
Runs a GitHub Actions workflow every 5 minutes using schedule cron syntax. Useful for frequent CI health checks, automated polling workflows, and near-real-time GitHub Actions triggers.
GitHub Actions health check workflowFrequent CI polling
0 * * * *
GitHub Actions — Hourly Schedule
Runs a GitHub Actions workflow once every hour. The `schedule: cron: '0 * * * *'` syntax in `.github/workflows/` is one of the most common GitHub Actions cron expressions for recurring automation.
Hourly GitHub Actions workflowAutomated dependency check every hour
0 2 * * *
GitHub Actions — Nightly Build at 2 AM UTC
Runs a GitHub Actions nightly build workflow at 2:00 AM UTC daily. A standard schedule for nightly CI builds, overnight test suites, and daily automated releases in GitHub repositories.
GitHub Actions nightly buildOvernight test suite
0 9 * * *
GitHub Actions — Daily at 9 AM UTC
Triggers a GitHub Actions workflow daily at 9:00 AM UTC. Common for morning report generation, daily data refresh workflows, and scheduled notifications in GitHub Actions pipelines.
GitHub Actions morning reportDaily data refresh workflow
0 8 * * 1-5
GitHub Actions — Weekdays Only at 8 AM UTC
Runs a GitHub Actions workflow Monday through Friday at 8 AM UTC, skipping weekends. Ideal for business-day CI workflows, automated weekday deployments, and M-F scheduled GitHub Actions tasks.
GitHub Actions weekday workflowBusiness-day CI schedule
0 9 * * 1
GitHub Actions — Weekly on Monday at 9 AM
Triggers a GitHub Actions workflow once per week on Monday at 9:00 AM UTC. Used for weekly dependency updates, scheduled code audits, and recurring Monday GitHub Actions workflows.
Weekly GitHub Actions runMonday dependency update
0 */6 * * *
GitHub Actions — Every 6 Hours
Runs a GitHub Actions workflow every 6 hours: midnight, 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM UTC. A popular 4-times-daily GitHub Actions cron schedule for dataset refreshes, cache updates, and regular automation.
GitHub Actions 4x dailyEvery 6 hours workflow schedule
0 8,20 * * *
GitHub Actions — Twice Daily (8 AM and 8 PM UTC)
Triggers a GitHub Actions workflow at 8 AM and 8 PM UTC — a twice-daily schedule for morning and evening automated runs, dual-shift deployments, and bi-daily report generation.
GitHub Actions twice dailyMorning and evening workflow
0 0 1 * *
GitHub Actions — Monthly on the 1st
Runs a GitHub Actions workflow at midnight on the 1st of every month. Standard for monthly release workflows, first-of-month data exports, and recurring monthly GitHub Actions automation.
Monthly GitHub Actions releaseFirst-of-month automation
0 16 * * 5
GitHub Actions — Weekly Friday at 4 PM UTC
Triggers a GitHub Actions workflow every Friday at 4:00 PM UTC — ideal for end-of-week release workflows, weekly summary reports, and Friday afternoon automated GitHub Actions pipelines.
Friday release workflowEnd-of-week summary
0 8 * * *
npm Security Audit — Daily at 8 AM
Automated 'npm audit' or 'npm audit fix' running daily at 8:00 AM to check for vulnerable dependencies. Integrates with Slack or email notifications for newly discovered CVEs in your Node.js project.
npm audit daily security checkNode.js CVE detection
0 8 * * 2
Security Dependency Audit — Tuesday 8 AM
Weekly security audit of all project dependencies every Tuesday at 8:00 AM. Runs 'npm audit', 'pip-audit', 'bundler-audit', and 'go mod audit' to detect known vulnerabilities in transitive dependencies.
npm audit weekly Tuesdaypip-audit security weekly
Related Patterns
*/45 * * * *
Every 45 Minutes
Runs every 45 minutes. Note: because 45 doesn't divide 60 evenly, runs occur at :00 and :45 each hour.
15 * * * *
Hourly at :15
Runs at 15 minutes past every hour (:15), 24 times per day. Useful when you want to offset from other hourly jobs.
30 * * * *
Hourly at :30
Runs at 30 minutes past every hour (:30), 24 times per day.
45 * * * *
Hourly at :45
Runs at 45 minutes past every hour (:45), 24 times per day.
0 */4 * * *
Every 4 Hours
Runs every 4 hours (00:00, 04:00, 08:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00), 6 times per day.
0 3 * * *
Daily at 3:00 AM
Runs once per day at 3:00 AM UTC. Often used for heavy batch jobs during minimal traffic.
0 4 * * *
Daily at 4:00 AM
Runs once per day at 4:00 AM UTC.
0 0 * * 2
Weekly on Tuesday at Midnight
Runs once a week on Tuesday at midnight UTC.
GitHub Actions Notes
UTC only: GitHub Actions schedules always run in UTC. If you need 9am EST, use `14 * * * *` (UTC-5).
Minimum interval: GitHub recommends no more frequently than every 5 minutes. Shorter intervals may be throttled.
Delays: Scheduled workflows may be delayed by up to an hour during high GitHub load periods. Use `workflow_dispatch` for time-critical tasks.
Disable on forks: Scheduled workflows are disabled by default on forked repositories. Enable them in the Actions settings tab.