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node-cron cron expression: every 6 hours
To run a node-cron 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 |
|---|---|
| node-cron (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 * * * |
| Apache Airflow | 0 */6 * * * |
| Azure Functions | 0 0 */6 * * * |
| Google Cloud Scheduler | 0 */6 * * * |
Need to translate a different expression? Use the cron converter.
Ready-to-use node-cron config
Drop this into your project. The expression is the one above.
import cron from 'node-cron';
cron.schedule('0 */6 * * *', () => {
console.log('running a task');
}, { timezone: 'UTC' });The node-cron fields, in order: second (0-59), 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 node-cron
- Steps restart at the top of each unit, as in standard cron, so */7 in minutes runs at 0, 7 ... 56 and then at 0 again.
- Five fields: minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week. Add a leading seconds field for sub-minute schedules.
- node-cron uses the server time zone unless you pass { timezone: "Asia/Kolkata" }. Its documentation advises timezone: "UTC" for jobs that must not skip or repeat when clocks change.
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 node-cron 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 node-cron use for this schedule?
node-cron uses the server time zone unless you pass { timezone: "Asia/Kolkata" }. Its documentation advises timezone: "UTC" for jobs that must not skip or repeat when clocks change.