Every 12 Hours Cron Expression — 0 */12 * * *
Cron Expression
0 */12 * * *What it means
Runs twice a day at midnight and noon
Useful for twice-daily digest emails, off-peak database consistency checks, or syncing large datasets between systems without impacting business hours.
Next 8 Scheduled Runs (UTC)
- 1.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT
- 2.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT
- 3.Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT
- 4.Fri, 26 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT
- 5.Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT
- 6.Sat, 27 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT
- 7.Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT
- 8.Sun, 28 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT
Platform Snippets
GitHub Actions
- cron: '0 */12 * * *'
Kubernetes CronJob
schedule: "0 */12 * * *"
AWS EventBridge
cron(0 */12 * * ? *)
AWS uses a 6-field format with year and requires either DOM or DOW to be ?.
systemd Timer
[Timer] OnCalendar=*-*-* */12:00:00 Persistent=true
Want to decode a different expression or test your own?
Test this expression interactively →FAQ
What does the cron expression 0 */12 * * * mean?
Runs twice a day at midnight and noon. Useful for twice-daily digest emails, off-peak database consistency checks, or syncing large datasets between systems without impacting business hours.
How do I use 0 */12 * * * in GitHub Actions?
Add a schedule trigger under the "on" key in your workflow YAML: on: schedule: - cron: '0 */12 * * *'. This will run your workflow runs twice a day at midnight and noon. Note that GitHub Actions uses UTC time.
Is the cron expression 0 */12 * * * valid for Kubernetes CronJobs?
Yes. Set the schedule field in your CronJob spec to "0 */12 * * *". Kubernetes CronJobs use standard 5-field cron syntax and run in UTC by default unless you configure a timeZone field.