Jenkins Cron Schedule Guide

1. Jenkins Trigger Types

Jenkins has three main cron-based trigger types. They share the same 5-field syntax but serve different purposes:

2. The H Hash Syntax

Jenkins extends cron with the H symbol. Instead of running all jobs at exactly the same minute (which spikes controller load), Jenkins hashes the job name to pick a consistent-but-staggered time within the allowed range.

# BAD — all jobs fire at exactly midnight, controller overloaded
0 0 * * *

# GOOD — each job gets a random-but-stable minute in the midnight hour
H H * * *

# H in minute field = any minute (0–59), consistent per job
H * * * *

# H/15 = every 15 minutes (at H, H+15, H+30, H+45)
H/15 * * * *

# H(0-29) = any minute in the first half-hour
H(0-29) * * * *

# H H(6-7) * * 1-5 = weekday mornings between 6:00–7:59 AM
H H(6-7) * * 1-5

3. cron Trigger (Periodic Builds)

The cron trigger fires a build on a fixed schedule, regardless of whether the source code has changed. Use it for nightly integration tests, report generation, or cleanup jobs.

pipeline {
    agent any

    triggers {
        // Run nightly at some point during midnight hour
        cron('H H * * *')
    }

    stages {
        stage('Nightly Build') {
            steps {
                sh 'make test'
            }
        }
    }
}

properties([
    pipelineTriggers([
        cron('H H * * *')
    ])
])

node {
    stage('Nightly Build') {
        sh 'make test'
    }
}

4. pollSCM Trigger

pollSCM checks the repository on a schedule and only triggers a build if changes are detected. Use this when you cannot configure webhooks on the remote SCM.

pipeline {
    agent any

    triggers {
        // Poll SCM every 5 minutes; build only if changes found
        pollSCM('H/5 * * * *')
    }

    stages {
        stage('Build') {
            steps {
                checkout scm
                sh 'npm ci && npm test'
            }
        }
    }
}

5. Declarative Pipeline triggers{}

Declarative Pipelines define triggers in the top-level triggers block. You can combine multiple triggers in a single block.

pipeline {
    agent any

    triggers {
        // Nightly full build (always)
        cron('H 2 * * *')
        // Also poll SCM every 15 min for quick feedback
        pollSCM('H/15 * * * *')
    }

    stages {
        stage('Test') { steps { sh 'make test' } }
        stage('Package') { steps { sh 'make package' } }
    }
}

6. Scripted Pipeline (properties)

For Scripted Pipelines, use the properties() step at the top of your Groovy script to register triggers:

// Register schedule — runs every Sunday at a hash-staggered time
properties([
    pipelineTriggers([
        cron('H H * * 0')
    ])
])

node {
    stage('Weekly Report') {
        checkout scm
        sh './scripts/generate-report.sh'
    }
}

7. Common Schedule Patterns

8. Timezone Configuration

Jenkins cron runs in the system timezone of the Jenkins controller. By default this is often UTC, but it depends on how Jenkins was installed. Check with:

# In a Pipeline execute step to inspect the Jenkins timezone
sh 'date'
sh 'timedatectl'
# Or check in Jenkins: Manage Jenkins → System Information → user.timezone

To force a specific timezone for cron expressions, prefix the expression with a TZ= line:

triggers {
    // Run at 9 AM New York time regardless of controller timezone
    cron('TZ=America/New_York\nH 9 * * 1-5')
}

9. Common Gotchas

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