Run a cron job every 2 hours
“At minute 0 past every 2nd hour.”
Fires at 00:00, 02:00, 04:00 … 22:00 — twelve runs a day on even hours. Note the shape: the step lives in the hour field while the minute stays pinned to 0; putting the step in the minute field is the most common way this schedule gets mistyped.
0 */2 * * *Next 5 runs
Computing from your local clock…
Field by field
| Field | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0 | exactly 0 |
| Hour | */2 | every 2 starting from 0 |
| Day of month | * | every value |
| Month | * | every value |
| Day of week | * | every value |
Typical uses
- Medium-weight data warehouse loads
- Refreshing caches with a long acceptable staleness
- Checking for software updates or config drift
Related schedules
Need a different schedule? Build and test any cron expression with live explanation and next-run preview, or read the complete cron syntax guide.