Cron Expression for Every 6 Hours
0 */6 * * *→Runs 4 times a day: 00:00, 06:00, 12:00, 18:000
Minute
0–59
*/6
Hour
0–23
*
Day
1–31
*
Month
1–12
*
Weekday
0–7
Quick Examples
How It Works
The expression
0 */6 * * * divides the day into four 6-hour windows. It fires at midnight, 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM. This is a natural fit for tasks aligned with business quarters of the day or shift changes.Common Use Cases
- 1SSL certificate renewal checks (e.g., certbot)
- 2Full database index rebuilds
- 3Pulling data from third-party APIs with rate limits
Linux Crontab Example
0 */6 * * * certbot renew --quietAdd this line to your crontab with crontab -e
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More Every X Hours
Runs once every hour at minute 0
0 * * * *
Runs every 2 hours at minute 0
0 */2 * * *
Runs every 3 hours at minute 0
0 */3 * * *
Runs twice a day: midnight and noon
0 */12 * * *
Runs every 4 hours at minute 0
0 */4 * * *
Runs every 8 hours at minute 0
0 */8 * * *
Runs at 15 minutes past every hour
15 * * * *
Runs at 30 minutes past every hour
30 * * * *
Runs at 45 minutes past every hour
45 * * * *
Runs every 5 hours at minute 0
0 */5 * * *
Runs every 7 hours at minute 0
0 */7 * * *