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Google Cloud Scheduler cron expression: every 6 hours
To run a Google Cloud Scheduler job every 6 hours, use:
0 */6 * * *At minute 0, every 6 hours.
Your week at a glance
Upcoming runs
| # | Local | UTC | From now |
|---|
Copy-ready code
Why use this schedule
Four runs a day at 00:00, 06:00, 12:00 and 18:00. A popular backup and report rhythm.
- Incremental backups
- Re-crawling sitemaps
- Recomputing leaderboards
First runs, as an example
Starting from 1 January 2027, evaluated in UTC:
| # | Date and time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fri, 01 Jan 2027, 00:00:00 |
| 2 | Fri, 01 Jan 2027, 06:00:00 |
| 3 | Fri, 01 Jan 2027, 12:00:00 |
| 4 | Fri, 01 Jan 2027, 18:00:00 |
| 5 | Sat, 02 Jan 2027, 00:00:00 |
| 6 | Sat, 02 Jan 2027, 06:00:00 |
Every 6 hours in every dialect
| System | Expression |
|---|---|
| Google Cloud Scheduler (this page) | 0 */6 * * * |
| Quartz | 0 0 */6 * * ? |
| Spring | 0 0 */6 * * * |
| Crontab | 0 */6 * * * |
| Kubernetes | 0 */6 * * * |
| AWS EventBridge | 0 */6 * * ? * |
| Jenkins | H */6 * * * |
| GitHub Actions | 0 */6 * * * |
| node-cron | 0 */6 * * * |
| Apache Airflow | 0 */6 * * * |
| Azure Functions | 0 0 */6 * * * |
Need to translate a different expression? Use the cron converter.
Ready-to-use Google Cloud Scheduler config
Drop this into your project. The expression is the one above.
gcloud scheduler jobs create http my-job \
--schedule="0 */6 * * *" \
--time-zone="Etc/UTC" \
--uri="https://example.com/run" \
--http-method=POSTThe Google Cloud Scheduler 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 Google Cloud Scheduler
- Cloud Scheduler uses unix-cron, so */15 runs every 15 minutes at :00, :15, :30 and :45.
- Pick the time zone explicitly (the default is UTC). Cloud Scheduler runs on wall-clock time, so a local zone can make jobs run or skip around daylight saving changes.
- Cloud Scheduler takes any tz database zone (default UTC) and runs on wall-clock time, so daylight saving can make jobs run or not run unexpectedly. Google recommends UTC to avoid that.
The common mistake with this schedule
The hours are fixed on the clock, not relative to when you deployed. Deploying at 07:00 does not make the next run 13:00.
Frequently asked questions
How do I run a Google Cloud Scheduler job every 6 hours?
Use 0 */6 * * *. At minute 0, every 6 hours.
What is the every 6 hours cron expression in other systems?
Quartz: 0 0 */6 * * ?; Spring: 0 0 */6 * * *; Crontab: 0 */6 * * *. The table on this page lists every dialect.
Which time zone does Google Cloud Scheduler use for this schedule?
Cloud Scheduler takes any tz database zone (default UTC) and runs on wall-clock time, so daylight saving can make jobs run or not run unexpectedly. Google recommends UTC to avoid that.