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Convert Apache Airflow cron to GitHub Actions
Apache Airflow expressions look similar to GitHub Actions, but the differences matter. Paste yours below; the result is checked against the original run times.
What changes from Apache Airflow to GitHub Actions
- GitHub Actions has no
L,Wor#symbols. Schedules like "last day of the month" cannot be converted and are refused rather than silently changed.
Worked examples
| Schedule | Apache Airflow | GitHub Actions |
|---|---|---|
| every minute | * * * * * | * * * * * |
| every 5 minutes | */5 * * * * | */5 * * * * |
| every 10 minutes | */10 * * * * | */10 * * * * |
| every 15 minutes | */15 * * * * | */15 * * * * |
| every 30 minutes | */30 * * * * | */30 * * * * |
| every hour | 0 * * * * | 0 * * * * |
| every 2 hours | 0 */2 * * * | 0 */2 * * * |
| every 3 hours | 0 */3 * * * | 0 */3 * * * |
What cannot be converted
These common Apache Airflow schedules have no equivalent in GitHub Actions. The converter refuses them instead of guessing.
- on the last day of every month:
0 0 L * *. This schedule cannot be expressed in GitHub Actions: "L" is not a valid dom value. - on the first Monday of every month at 9:00 AM:
0 9 * * MON#1. This schedule cannot be expressed in GitHub Actions: "MON#1" is not a valid dow value.
Field layout and time zones
minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day-of-month (1-31), month (1-12), day-of-week (0-7, 0 and 7 = Sunday).
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.
minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day-of-month (1-31), month (1-12), day-of-week (0-6, 0 = Sunday).
GitHub Actions schedules are always UTC. Convert your local time to UTC before writing the expression.
Go the other way
Convert GitHub Actions to Apache Airflow, or open the Apache Airflow builder or the GitHub Actions builder.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a Apache Airflow cron expression to GitHub Actions?
Paste it into the converter above with Apache Airflow as the source and GitHub Actions as the target. For example, * * * * * becomes * * * * *.
Is every Apache Airflow expression convertible to GitHub Actions?
No. Out of 30 common schedules, 2 cannot be expressed in GitHub Actions: on the last day of every month; on the first Monday of every month at 9:00 AM.
Does GitHub Actions run in the same time zone as Apache Airflow?
Not necessarily. Conversion changes the syntax, not the time zone. Check where each system evaluates the schedule before you rely on the same clock times.