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Kubernetes cron expression: every day at midnight
To run a Kubernetes job every day at midnight, use:
0 0 * * *At 00:00 UTC.
Your week at a glance
Upcoming runs
| # | Local | UTC | From now |
|---|
Copy-ready code
Why use this schedule
The default nightly slot. Everything that can wait until the day is over runs here.
- Daily reports for the previous day
- Archiving old records
- Resetting daily counters or quotas
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 | Sat, 02 Jan 2027, 00:00:00 |
| 3 | Sun, 03 Jan 2027, 00:00:00 |
| 4 | Mon, 04 Jan 2027, 00:00:00 |
| 5 | Tue, 05 Jan 2027, 00:00:00 |
| 6 | Wed, 06 Jan 2027, 00:00:00 |
Every day at midnight in every dialect
| System | Expression |
|---|---|
| Kubernetes (this page) | 0 0 * * * |
| Quartz | 0 0 0 * * ? |
| Spring | 0 0 0 * * * |
| Crontab | 0 0 * * * |
| AWS EventBridge | 0 0 * * ? * |
| Jenkins | H 0 * * * |
| GitHub Actions | 0 0 * * * |
| node-cron | 0 0 * * * |
| Apache Airflow | 0 0 * * * |
| Azure Functions | 0 0 0 * * * |
| Google Cloud Scheduler | 0 0 * * * |
Need to translate a different expression? Use the cron converter.
Ready-to-use Kubernetes config
Drop this into your project. The expression is the one above.
apiVersion: batch/v1
kind: CronJob
metadata:
name: my-job
spec:
schedule: "0 0 * * *"
timeZone: "Etc/UTC"
concurrencyPolicy: Forbid
jobTemplate:
spec:
template:
spec:
restartPolicy: OnFailure
containers:
- name: job
image: busybox
command: ["sh", "-c", "date"]The Kubernetes 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 Kubernetes
- A CronJob creates a new Job object each run. Set concurrencyPolicy and startingDeadlineSeconds so missed runs behave as you expect.
- Set spec.timeZone (Kubernetes 1.27+) to a name like Asia/Kolkata. Without it the schedule follows the controller's time zone, usually UTC.
The common mistake with this schedule
Midnight is the busiest minute on many shared systems. If your job is not time-critical, run it at 02:17 instead of 00:00.
Frequently asked questions
How do I run a Kubernetes job every day at midnight?
Use 0 0 * * *. At 00:00 UTC.
What is the every day at midnight cron expression in other systems?
Quartz: 0 0 0 * * ?; Spring: 0 0 0 * * *; Crontab: 0 0 * * *. The table on this page lists every dialect.
Which time zone does Kubernetes use for this schedule?
Set spec.timeZone (Kubernetes 1.27+) to a name like Asia/Kolkata. Without it the schedule follows the controller's time zone, usually UTC.