Cron job every 4 hours
0 */4 * * * On the hour, every 4 hours
Typical use: data warehouse loads. Try it below — change any field and see the next runs in your timezone.
On the hour, every 4 hours
Valid
- 1Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 4:00 PM
- 2Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 8:00 PM
- 3Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 12:00 AM
- 4Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 4:00 AM
- 5Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 8:00 AM
- 6Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 12:00 PM
- 7Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 4:00 PM
- 8Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 8:00 PM
- 9Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 12:00 AM
- 10Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 4:00 AM
Field by field
| Field | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0 | minute 0 |
| Hour | */4 | every 4 hours |
| Day of month | * | every day |
| Month | * | every month |
| Day of week | * | every day |
The same schedule on every platform
The five fields mean the same thing everywhere, but each scheduler wraps them differently — and AWS and Quartz number weekdays from 1 (Sunday), not 0.
0 */4 * * * /path/to/script.sh >> /var/log/job.log 2>&1spec:
schedule: "0 */4 * * *"GitHub ActionsRuns in UTC.
on:
schedule:
- cron: '0 */4 * * *'AWS EventBridgeEventBridge weekdays are 1–7 (1 = Sunday) and one day field must be ?.
cron(0 0/4 * * ? *)
# or, simpler:
rate(4 hours)Quartz (Java)Seconds first; weekdays 1–7 with 1 = Sunday.
0 0 */4 * * ?Spring @ScheduledSpring adds a seconds field but keeps Unix weekday numbers.
@Scheduled(cron = "0 0 */4 * * *")[TimerTrigger("0 0 */4 * * *")]Running a job every 4 hours
What is the cron expression for every 4 hours?
0 */4 * * *. In plain English: on the hour, every 4 hours. It works in standard 5-field cron — Linux crontab, Kubernetes and GitHub Actions.How do I schedule a job every 4 hours in AWS EventBridge?
Use
cron(0 0/4 * * ? *) or the simpler rate(4 hours). EventBridge needs six fields (a year at the end), a ? in one of the day fields, and numbers weekdays 1–7 starting on Sunday.What timezone does "0 */4 * * *" run in?
Cron uses the server's timezone. Kubernetes CronJobs default to the controller's timezone (set
spec.timeZone on 1.27+), GitHub Actions and AWS EventBridge rules always use UTC. Use the timezone picker above to see the next runs in your own time.