Cron expression
Every 5 minutes
*/5 * * * *
Runs every five minutes: at 00, 05, 10 and so on, 288 times a day.
Runs per month
≈ 8,640
Next run (UTC)
Thu 14:20
On CronEngine
From the Starter plan
What each part means
| Minute | */5 | every 5 minutes |
| Hour | * | every hour |
| Day of month | * | every day of the month |
| Month | * | every month |
| Day of week | * | every day of the week |
Next runs
- 1 Thursday 22 October 2026 14:20 UTC
- 2 Thursday 22 October 2026 14:25 UTC
- 3 Thursday 22 October 2026 14:30 UTC
- 4 Thursday 22 October 2026 14:35 UTC
- 5 Thursday 22 October 2026 14:40 UTC
See these in your own timezone, or change the schedule →
Good to know
- The most common interval for background work. 5 divides 60 evenly, so the rhythm never shifts from one hour to the next.
- Busy shared schedulers get a rush at the top of every hour. Starting at an odd minute, 2-59/5, keeps the same rhythm and avoids it.
Typical uses: Data syncs, WordPress cron (WP-Cron), feed imports, health checks.
Copy and paste
crontab -e
Crontab
*/5 * * * * /path/to/script.sh
.github/workflows/scheduled.yml
GitHub Actions
on:
schedule:
- cron: '*/5 * * * *'
GitHub Actions reads this in UTC, and scheduled runs can start late when GitHub is busy. How to start it on time.
routes/console.php
Laravel
Schedule::command('your:command')->everyFiveMinutes();
Variations
| 2-59/5 * * * * | Every 5 minutes, starting at minute 2 |
| */5 9-17 * * 1-5 | Every 5 minutes during office hours on weekdays → |
| */10 * * * * | Every 10 minutes → |
Questions
What is the cron expression for every 5 minutes?
*/5 * * * *. Runs every five minutes: at 00, 05, 10 and so on, 288 times a day.
Can GitHub Actions run every 5 minutes?
Yes, with cron: '*/5 * * * *'. GitHub Actions reads this in UTC, and scheduled runs can start late when GitHub is busy.
More schedules: minutes
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