Cron Three Times a Day
Configure a cron job to run three times a day at 8 AM, 2 PM, and 8 PM using 0 8,14,20 * * *. Detailed explanation and scheduling tips.
Cron Expression
0 8,14,20 * * *
Field Breakdown
| Field | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0 | At 0 |
| Hour | 8,14,20 | At 8, 14, 20 |
| 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 0 8,14,20 * * * schedules a task to run three times per day, at 8:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 8:00 PM.
Field-by-field breakdown:
0(Minute): At minute 0. The task fires at the start of each specified hour.8,14,20(Hour): At hours 8, 14, and 20. The comma-separated list specifies three exact hours spaced approximately 6 hours apart.*(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 exactly 3 times per day with roughly equal spacing. The chosen hours cover morning, afternoon, and evening, providing good coverage throughout waking hours. This schedule is ideal when you need periodic updates during the day but overnight runs are unnecessary. You can adjust the specific hours to match your business needs or timezone. 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 pulling social media analytics three times a day to track morning, afternoon, and evening engagement patterns.
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3 times a day: 8:00 AM, 2:00 PM, 8:00 PM
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