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GitHub Actions cron expression: every day at 2:00 AM
To run a GitHub Actions 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 |
|---|---|
| GitHub Actions (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 * * * |
| node-cron | 0 2 * * * |
| Apache Airflow | 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 GitHub Actions config
Drop this into your project. The expression is the one above.
on:
schedule:
- cron: "0 2 * * *"The GitHub Actions fields, in order: minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day-of-month (1-31), month (1-12), day-of-week (0-6, 0 = Sunday).
Things to watch out for in GitHub Actions
- Scheduled workflows only run on the default branch, and public repos pause them after 60 days without activity.
- GitHub Actions schedules are always UTC. Convert your local time to UTC before writing the expression.
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 GitHub Actions 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 GitHub Actions use for this schedule?
GitHub Actions schedules are always UTC. Convert your local time to UTC before writing the expression.