Cron every hour
0 * * * * — Minute 0 of every hour: 24 runs a day, at 00:00, 01:00 … 23:00. @hourly is shorthand for exactly this in Linux cron, Kubernetes and Spring (0 0 * * * *).
Runs
Try one
The same schedule in every dialect
| Where | Expression | |
|---|---|---|
| Linux / Unix crontab, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions | 0 * * * * | explain |
| Quartz Scheduler | 0 0 * ? * * | explain |
| AWS EventBridge | cron(0 * * * ? *) rate(1 hour) | explain |
Spring @Scheduled | 0 0 * * * * | explain |
| Jenkins | H * * * * | H calculator |
systemd timer OnCalendar= | hourly | test |
AWS rate(1 hour) repeats at a fixed interval from when the rule or schedule was created, so it is not aligned to the clock the way the cron() form is.
Things to know
- The minute field matters:
* * * * *with an hour of*is every minute, and* 3 * * *is sixty runs between 03:00 and 03:59. Hourly needs a single minute. - Jenkins spells hourly as
H * * * *(its@hourlyexpands to that), so the minute is fixed per job rather than :00. - Pick a minute other than 0 if many jobs share the machine:
17 * * * *runs hourly at :17.
Variations
| Expression | Runs |
|---|---|
| 17 * * * * | every hour at :17 |
| 0 9-17 * * 1-5 | every hour from 09:00 to 17:00 on weekdays |
| 0 */2 * * * | every two hours |
How to use this schedule
- Open your crontab with
crontab -e(or the scheduler's config file). - Add a line with the expression followed by the command:
0 * * * * /usr/local/bin/job.sh. Use absolute paths — cron runs with a minimalPATH. - Save. cron picks the change up automatically; check the next run times above, in the time zone your server uses.
- Redirect output if you want to keep it: append
>> /var/log/job.log 2>&1. The crontab line builder assembles the whole line.
FAQ
Is "0 * * * *" the same on every server?
The five-field form means the same thing in Linux cron, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions and most libraries. The clock it follows differs:
a Linux server uses its own time zone (or CRON_TZ on cronie), GitHub Actions and AWS EventBridge rules use UTC unless a time zone is configured, and Kubernetes uses the controller's zone unless .spec.timeZone is set.
Why do Quartz and AWS need a "?"
Both require exactly one of day-of-month and day-of-week to be ?, meaning "no specific value"; they refuse an expression that restricts both, or leaves both as *.
How do I check it will run when I expect?
The widget above lists the next runs in the time zone you choose, and flags any run that lands in a daylight-saving gap or a repeated hour. For a whole crontab, paste it into the crontab viewer.