Apache Airflow Schedule (Cron) Generator

Q: What is the difference between @daily and 0 0 * * *?

None. @daily is the preset for midnight, the same schedule as 0 0 * * *.

Q: How do I schedule the first Monday of each month?

Use 0 0 * * MON#1, the extended croniter syntax shown in the Airflow documentation.

Airflow parses cron expressions with croniter, which adds extensions such as L, W and MON#1, and also accepts presets like @daily. Try an expression to see when your DAG would be scheduled.

Apache Airflow (croniter) expression

Schedule time zone

Your week at a glance

fewer more runs

Upcoming runs

#	Local	UTC	From now

Copy-ready code

What to know about Apache Airflow cron

Airflow uses the five-field cron format. Presets include @hourly, @daily, @weekly, @monthly, @quarterly and @yearly, which are shorthand for ordinary cron expressions.
The croniter library supports L (last day of month), W (nearest weekday) and # (nth weekday). The Airflow docs show 0 0 * * MON#1 for the first Monday.
When both day-of-month and day-of-week are restricted, croniter's default (day_or=True) runs the DAG when either matches, like standard cron.
A scheduled run starts after its data interval ends. A daily DAG processes yesterday's interval just after midnight.
Airflow defaults to UTC. On a time-zone-aware DAG a cron schedule follows wall-clock time, so the UTC time moves with daylight saving.

Common Apache Airflow schedules

Ready-made expressions for the schedules people search for most. Each page explains the expression and shows the first run times.

Schedule	Expression
Every minute	`* * * * *`
Every 5 minutes	`/5 * * *`
Every 10 minutes	`/10 * * *`
Every 15 minutes	`/15 * * *`
Every 30 minutes	`/30 * * *`
Every hour	`0 * * * *`
Every 2 hours	`0 /2 * *`
Every 3 hours	`0 /3 * *`
Every 6 hours	`0 /6 * *`
Every 12 hours	`0 0,12 * * *`
Twice a day at 9am and 9pm	`0 9,21 * * *`
Every day at midnight	`0 0 * * *`
Every day at 2:00 AM	`0 2 * * *`
Every day at 9:00 AM	`0 9 * * *`
Every day at 6:00 PM	`0 18 * * *`
Every weekday at 9:00 AM	`0 9 * * 1-5`
Every weekday at 8:30 AM	`30 8 * * 1-5`
Hourly during business hours on weekdays	`0 9-17 * * 1-5`
Every 15 minutes during business hours on weekdays	`/15 9-17 * 1-5`
Every Saturday and Sunday at 10:00 AM	`0 10 * * 0,6`
Every Monday at 9:00 AM	`0 9 * * 1`
Every Friday at 5:00 PM	`0 17 * * 5`
Every Sunday at midnight	`0 0 * * 0`
On the 1st of every month at midnight	`0 0 1 * *`
On the 15th of every month at midnight	`0 0 15 * *`
On the last day of every month	`0 0 L * *`
On the first Monday of every month at 9:00 AM	`0 9 * * MON#1`
On the last Friday of every month at noon	`0 12 * * 5`
On the first day of every quarter	`0 0 1 1,4,7,10 *`
Once a year on January 1st	`0 0 1 1 *`

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between @daily and 0 0 * * *?

None. @daily is the preset for midnight, the same schedule as 0 0 * * *.

Why did my DAG run at midnight for yesterday's data?

Airflow triggers a run once its data interval has ended. A daily schedule covers 00:00 to 00:00, so the run for a day starts at the next midnight.

How do I schedule the first Monday of each month?

Use 0 0 * * MON#1, the extended croniter syntax shown in the Airflow documentation.

Moving a schedule between systems? Use the cron format converter, or read the cron error fixes.

More tools you might need

🐧systemd OnCalendar ⇄ cronTimer schedules both ways, checked ⏲️systemd timer generatorTimer and service unit files 🩺Paste-anything doctorPaste any snippet, we detect it and check it 🛡️AI-output verifierTrust report for what ChatGPT or Copilot gave you