Cron Every 20 Minutes
Create a cron job that runs every 20 minutes with */20 * * * *. Detailed field explanation, real-world scenarios, and scheduling guidance.
Cron Expression
*/20 * * * *
Field Breakdown
| Field | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | */20 | Every 20th minute |
| Hour | * | Every hour (0–23) |
| Day of Month | * | Every day of the month (1–31) |
| Month | * | Every month (1–12) |
| Day of Week | * | Every day of the week (Sun–Sat) |
Detailed Explanation
The cron expression */20 * * * * schedules a task to run once every twenty minutes, continuously throughout each day.
Field-by-field breakdown:
*/20(Minute): Every 20th minute, starting from minute 0. The step value/20triggers execution at minutes 0, 20, and 40 of each hour.*(Hour): Every hour from 0 through 23. No restriction on which hour.*(Day of Month): Every day from 1 through 31. No restriction on the day of the month.*(Month): Every month from January through December. No restriction on the month.*(Day of Week): Every day of the week from Sunday through Saturday. No restriction on the day.
This means your task will execute 72 times per day, or 3 times per hour. The twenty-minute interval is less common than every 15 or 30 minutes but offers a useful middle ground when you need updates more frequently than half-hourly but do not require quarter-hour precision. It divides each hour evenly into three windows, giving each run up to 20 minutes to complete. This expression is supported by standard cron on Linux/macOS, as well as cloud services like AWS CloudWatch, Google Cloud Scheduler, and GitHub Actions.
Use Case
Useful for checking a payment gateway for pending transactions and automatically reconciling them with your internal accounting system.
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Every 20 minutes
Next 10 Executions
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