Run a cron job every quarter
“At 00:00, on day-of-month 1, in January, April, July, and October.”
Midnight on January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1 — the calendar-quarter boundaries. The month list is the only standard-cron way to express quarters; there is no */3-months shorthand that starts in January (0 0 1 */3 * also works because steps count from month 1).
0 0 1 1,4,7,10 *Next 5 runs
Computing from your local clock…
Field by field
| Field | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0 | exactly 0 |
| Hour | 0 | exactly 0 |
| Day of month | 1 | exactly 1 |
| Month | 1,4,7,10 | at 1, 4, 7, 10 |
| Day of week | * | every value |
Typical uses
- Quarterly report kickoffs
- Rotating quarterly credentials or certificates
- Archiving the previous quarter's data
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.