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Kubernetes cron expression: on the last day of every month
To run a Kubernetes job on the last day of every month, use:
0 0 28-31 * *At 00:00 UTC, on the 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st of the month.
0 0 28-31 * * [ "$(date -d tomorrow +\%d)" = "01" ] && /path/to/jobYour week at a glance
Upcoming runs
| # | Local | UTC | From now |
|---|
Copy-ready code
Why use this schedule
Month-end closing jobs. Months have different lengths, so you cannot write a single fixed day.
- Month-end financial close
- Final monthly invoice run
- Monthly data snapshots
First runs, as an example
Starting from 1 January 2027, evaluated in UTC:
| # | Date and time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Thu, 28 Jan 2027, 00:00:00 |
| 2 | Fri, 29 Jan 2027, 00:00:00 |
| 3 | Sat, 30 Jan 2027, 00:00:00 |
| 4 | Sun, 31 Jan 2027, 00:00:00 |
| 5 | Sun, 28 Feb 2027, 00:00:00 |
| 6 | Sun, 28 Mar 2027, 00:00:00 |
On the last day of every month in every dialect
| System | Expression |
|---|---|
| Kubernetes (this page) | 0 0 28-31 * * |
| Quartz | 0 0 0 L * ? |
| Spring | 0 0 0 L * * |
| Crontab | 0 0 28-31 * * |
| AWS EventBridge | 0 0 L * ? * |
| Jenkins | H 0 28-31 * * |
| GitHub Actions | 0 0 28-31 * * |
| node-cron | 0 0 L * * |
| Apache Airflow | 0 0 L * * |
| Azure Functions | 0 0 0 28-31 * * |
| Google Cloud Scheduler | 0 0 28-31 * * |
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 28-31 * *"
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
- If both day fields are set, the job runs when either matches. This is standard cron behaviour.
- Kubernetes has no L, W or # support. Run the job on a broader schedule and check the date inside the container.
- 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
Unix cron has no "last day" symbol. The common 28-31 workaround fires up to four times a month, so the job must check that tomorrow is the 1st.
Frequently asked questions
How do I run a Kubernetes job on the last day of every month?
Use 0 0 28-31 * *. At 00:00 UTC, on the 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st of the month. This dialect has no native rule for it, so the job must also check the date (see the guard command above).
What is the on the last day of every month cron expression in other systems?
Quartz: 0 0 0 L * ?; Spring: 0 0 0 L * *; Crontab: 0 0 28-31 * *. 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.