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Apache Airflow cron expression: every day at 2:00 AM
To run a Apache Airflow job every day at 2:00 AM, use:
0 2 * * *At 02:00 UTC.
Your week at a glance
Upcoming runs
| # | Local | UTC | From now |
|---|
Copy-ready code
Why use this schedule
A quiet, low-traffic hour, popular for backups and heavy maintenance. Most user-facing systems are at their lightest around this time, so a slow job is less likely to be noticed.
- Full database backups
- Reindexing and vacuum jobs
- Dependency or image rebuilds
First runs, as an example
Starting from 1 January 2027, evaluated in UTC:
| # | Date and time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fri, 01 Jan 2027, 02:00:00 |
| 2 | Sat, 02 Jan 2027, 02:00:00 |
| 3 | Sun, 03 Jan 2027, 02:00:00 |
| 4 | Mon, 04 Jan 2027, 02:00:00 |
| 5 | Tue, 05 Jan 2027, 02:00:00 |
| 6 | Wed, 06 Jan 2027, 02:00:00 |
Every day at 2:00 AM in every dialect
| System | Expression |
|---|---|
| Apache Airflow (this page) | 0 2 * * * |
| Quartz | 0 0 2 * * ? |
| Spring | 0 0 2 * * * |
| Crontab | 0 2 * * * |
| Kubernetes | 0 2 * * * |
| AWS EventBridge | 0 2 * * ? * |
| Jenkins | H 2 * * * |
| GitHub Actions | 0 2 * * * |
| node-cron | 0 2 * * * |
| Azure Functions | 0 0 2 * * * |
| Google Cloud Scheduler | 0 2 * * * |
Need to translate a different expression? Use the cron converter.
Ready-to-use Apache Airflow config
Drop this into your project. The expression is the one above.
from datetime import datetime
from airflow import DAG
from airflow.operators.empty import EmptyOperator
with DAG(
dag_id="my_dag",
start_date=datetime(2026, 1, 1),
schedule="0 2 * * *", # schedule_interval= before Airflow 2.4
catchup=False,
):
EmptyOperator(task_id="start")The Apache Airflow fields, in order: minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day-of-month (1-31), month (1-12), day-of-week (0-7, 0 and 7 = Sunday).
Things to watch out for in Apache Airflow
- A scheduled run starts after its data interval ends, so a daily 0 0 * * * run processes yesterday's interval just after midnight. Set catchup=False if you do not want backfills.
- Airflow defaults to UTC. On a time-zone-aware DAG a cron schedule follows wall-clock time, so a daily 00:00 US/Eastern run moves between 04:00 and 05:00 UTC across daylight saving changes.
The common mistake with this schedule
02:00 is a trap in daylight-saving zones: on the spring-forward night that hour does not exist, so the job may be skipped or run late. Run it in UTC or pick another time.
Frequently asked questions
How do I run a Apache Airflow job every day at 2:00 AM?
Use 0 2 * * *. At 02:00 UTC.
What is the every day at 2:00 AM cron expression in other systems?
Quartz: 0 0 2 * * ?; Spring: 0 0 2 * * *; Crontab: 0 2 * * *. The table on this page lists every dialect.
Which time zone does Apache Airflow use for this schedule?
Airflow defaults to UTC. On a time-zone-aware DAG a cron schedule follows wall-clock time, so a daily 00:00 US/Eastern run moves between 04:00 and 05:00 UTC across daylight saving changes.