Every automation has a schedule field that accepts a standard cron expression. This determines when the automation runs. All times are in UTC.
Cron Format
* * * * * | | | | | | | | | +--- Day of week (0-7, 0 and 7 = Sunday) | | | +-------- Month (1-12) | | +------------- Day of month (1-31) | +------------------ Hour (0-23) +----------------------- Minute (0-59)
Special Characters
| Character | Meaning | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| * | Every | * * * * * | Every minute |
| */N | Every Nth | */15 * * * * | Every 15 minutes |
| N-M | Range | 0 9-17 * * * | Hours 9 through 17 |
| N,M | List | 0 8,20 * * * | At 8 and 20 |
Common Schedules
| Schedule | Cron Expression | Runs At (UTC) |
|---|---|---|
| Every 15 minutes | */15 * * * * | :00, :15, :30, :45 every hour |
| Every 30 minutes | */30 * * * * | :00 and :30 every hour |
| Every hour | 0 * * * * | Top of every hour |
| Every 2 hours | 0 */2 * * * | Midnight, 2am, 4am, ... |
| Every 4 hours | 0 */4 * * * | Midnight, 4am, 8am, noon, 4pm, 8pm |
| Every 6 hours | 0 */6 * * * | Midnight, 6am, noon, 6pm |
| Daily at midnight | 0 0 * * * | 12:00 AM UTC |
| Daily at 6am | 0 6 * * * | 6:00 AM UTC |
| Daily at 8am | 0 8 * * * | 8:00 AM UTC |
| Twice daily | 0 8,20 * * * | 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM UTC |
| Weekdays at 6am | 0 6 * * 1-5 | Mon-Fri at 6:00 AM UTC |
| Weekdays at 8am | 0 8 * * 1-5 | Mon-Fri at 8:00 AM UTC |
| Weekly (Sunday midnight) | 0 0 * * 0 | Sunday 12:00 AM UTC |
| Weekly (Monday 6am) | 0 6 * * 1 | Monday 6:00 AM UTC |
| Monthly (1st at midnight) | 0 0 1 * * | 1st of every month |
| Quarterly | 0 0 1 1,4,7,10 * | 1st of Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct |
UTC Timezone Offsets
All cron schedules run in UTC. To schedule at a local time, subtract or add the offset.
| Local Time | UTC Offset | Cron for 8am Local |
|---|---|---|
| US Eastern (EST) | UTC-5 | 0 13 * * * |
| US Eastern (EDT) | UTC-4 | 0 12 * * * |
| US Central (CST) | UTC-6 | 0 14 * * * |
| US Pacific (PST) | UTC-8 | 0 16 * * * |
| US Pacific (PDT) | UTC-7 | 0 15 * * * |
| UK (GMT) | UTC+0 | 0 8 * * * |
| Central Europe (CET) | UTC+1 | 0 7 * * * |
Note: adjust when daylight saving time changes the offset.
Example in Config
{
"name": "Daily Inventory Sync",
"schedule": "0 6 * * *",
"type": "products",
"action": "import",
"..."
}
Tools
Use crontab.guru to interactively build and validate cron expressions.