Cron Expression Examples
Browse 50+ real-world cron expression examples organized by use case. Search, filter, and load expressions into the builder with one click.
Database Backup (Nightly)
0 2 * * *Run database backup every night at 2 AM
Use case: Daily database backup during off-peak hours
Database Backup (Hourly)
0 * * * *Run hourly database backup
Use case: Frequent backups for high-transaction databases
File System Backup (Weekly)
0 3 * * 0Run file system backup every Sunday at 3 AM
Use case: Weekly backup of file systems and media assets
Incremental Backup
0 */6 * * *Run incremental backup every 6 hours
Use case: Incremental backups between full backups
Cloud Sync Backup
*/15 * * * *Sync files to cloud storage every 15 minutes
Use case: Real-time cloud synchronization
Health Check (Every 5 min)
*/5 * * * *Run health check every 5 minutes
Use case: Monitor application health and uptime
Server Monitoring
* * * * *Monitor server metrics every minute
Use case: Real-time server resource monitoring
API Endpoint Check
*/2 * * * *Check API endpoints every 2 minutes
Use case: Monitor API availability and response times
SSL Certificate Check
0 8 * * *Check SSL certificate expiration daily at 8 AM
Use case: Monitor SSL certificate validity
Disk Space Check
0 */4 * * *Check disk space every 4 hours
Use case: Monitor available disk space
Temporary Files Cleanup
0 3 * * *Clean up temporary files daily at 3 AM
Use case: Remove temporary files and cache
Old Logs Cleanup
0 4 * * 0Delete old log files every Sunday at 4 AM
Use case: Archive or delete logs older than retention period
Session Cleanup
*/30 * * * *Clean up expired sessions every 30 minutes
Use case: Remove expired user sessions
Cache Purge
0 */12 * * *Purge stale cache entries every 12 hours
Use case: Clear expired cache entries
Orphaned Files Cleanup
0 2 1 * *Clean up orphaned files on the 1st of each month at 2 AM
Use case: Remove files no longer referenced in database
Daily Report Generation
0 6 * * *Generate daily report at 6 AM
Use case: Daily business metrics and KPI reports
Weekly Report
0 9 * * 1Generate weekly report every Monday at 9 AM
Use case: Weekly summary reports for stakeholders
Monthly Invoice Generation
0 10 1 * *Generate monthly invoices on the 1st at 10 AM
Use case: Automated monthly billing and invoicing
Quarterly Report
0 8 1 1,4,7,10 *Generate quarterly report on Jan 1, Apr 1, Jul 1, Oct 1 at 8 AM
Use case: Quarterly financial and performance reports
Hourly Metrics Report
0 * * * *Generate hourly metrics report
Use case: Real-time operational metrics tracking
Daily Reminder Emails
0 9 * * 1-5Send reminder emails at 9 AM on weekdays
Use case: Daily task reminders to team members
Weekly Digest Email
0 18 * * 5Send weekly digest email every Friday at 6 PM
Use case: Weekly newsletter and updates
Alert Check
*/10 * * * *Check for alerts every 10 minutes
Use case: Monitor and send system alerts
Subscription Renewal Notice
0 10 * * *Check and send subscription renewal notices daily at 10 AM
Use case: Notify users of upcoming subscription renewals
Birthday Emails
0 8 * * *Send birthday emails daily at 8 AM
Use case: Automated birthday greetings to users
Database Optimization
0 3 * * 0Run database optimization every Sunday at 3 AM
Use case: Weekly database maintenance and optimization
Index Rebuild
0 2 1 * *Rebuild database indexes on the 1st of each month at 2 AM
Use case: Monthly index maintenance for performance
Security Scan
0 1 * * *Run security scan daily at 1 AM
Use case: Daily security vulnerability scanning
Software Updates Check
0 4 * * 1Check for software updates every Monday at 4 AM
Use case: Weekly check for available updates
Log Rotation
0 0 * * *Rotate logs daily at midnight
Use case: Daily log file rotation and archival
CRM Data Sync
0 */4 * * *Sync CRM data every 4 hours
Use case: Regular synchronization with CRM system
Inventory Sync
*/30 * * * *Sync inventory data every 30 minutes
Use case: Real-time inventory synchronization
Third-party API Sync
0 */2 * * *Sync with third-party API every 2 hours
Use case: Regular data synchronization with external APIs
Warehouse Data Sync
0 1 * * *Sync data warehouse nightly at 1 AM
Use case: Nightly ETL to data warehouse
Product Feed Import
0 6 * * *Import product feeds daily at 6 AM
Use case: Daily product catalog updates
Analytics Processing
0 5 * * *Process analytics data daily at 5 AM
Use case: Daily analytics data processing and aggregation
User Activity Report
0 23 * * *Generate user activity report at 11 PM
Use case: Daily user behavior analytics
Conversion Tracking
0 * * * *Process conversion tracking data hourly
Use case: Hourly conversion rate calculations
Revenue Calculation
0 0 * * *Calculate daily revenue at midnight
Use case: Daily revenue and profit calculations
Traffic Analysis
0 6 * * *Analyze website traffic daily at 6 AM
Use case: Daily traffic patterns and trends analysis
Staging Deployment
0 14 * * 1-5Deploy to staging at 2 PM on weekdays
Use case: Automated staging environment deployment
Content Publishing
0 8 * * *Publish scheduled content daily at 8 AM
Use case: Automated content publication
CDN Cache Refresh
0 */6 * * *Refresh CDN cache every 6 hours
Use case: Regular CDN cache invalidation
Build Trigger
0 2 * * *Trigger nightly build at 2 AM
Use case: Automated nightly builds
Asset Optimization
0 3 * * 0Optimize static assets every Sunday at 3 AM
Use case: Weekly image and asset optimization
End-to-End Tests
0 4 * * *Run E2E tests daily at 4 AM
Use case: Automated nightly E2E testing
Smoke Tests
*/15 * * * *Run smoke tests every 15 minutes
Use case: Continuous smoke testing of critical paths
Load Tests
0 1 * * 0Run load tests every Sunday at 1 AM
Use case: Weekly performance and load testing
Integration Tests
0 3 * * 1-5Run integration tests at 3 AM on weekdays
Use case: Nightly integration testing
API Tests
0 */6 * * *Run API tests every 6 hours
Use case: Regular API endpoint testing