Every 6 Hours Cron Expression — 0 */6 * * *
Cron Expression
0 */6 * * *What it means
Runs every 6 hours (midnight, 6am, noon, 6pm)
Well-suited for bulk data imports, automated report generation, or full-page cache invalidation where hourly is too frequent and daily is not fresh enough.
Next 8 Scheduled Runs (UTC)
- 1.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT
- 2.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 06:00:00 GMT
- 3.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT
- 4.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 18:00:00 GMT
- 5.Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT
- 6.Fri, 26 Jun 2026 06:00:00 GMT
- 7.Fri, 26 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT
- 8.Fri, 26 Jun 2026 18:00:00 GMT
Platform Snippets
GitHub Actions
- cron: '0 */6 * * *'
Kubernetes CronJob
schedule: "0 */6 * * *"
AWS EventBridge
cron(0 */6 * * ? *)
AWS uses a 6-field format with year and requires either DOM or DOW to be ?.
systemd Timer
[Timer] OnCalendar=*-*-* */6:00:00 Persistent=true
Want to decode a different expression or test your own?
Test this expression interactively →FAQ
What does the cron expression 0 */6 * * * mean?
Runs every 6 hours (midnight, 6am, noon, 6pm). Well-suited for bulk data imports, automated report generation, or full-page cache invalidation where hourly is too frequent and daily is not fresh enough.
How do I use 0 */6 * * * in GitHub Actions?
Add a schedule trigger under the "on" key in your workflow YAML: on: schedule: - cron: '0 */6 * * *'. This will run your workflow runs every 6 hours (midnight, 6am, noon, 6pm). Note that GitHub Actions uses UTC time.
Is the cron expression 0 */6 * * * valid for Kubernetes CronJobs?
Yes. Set the schedule field in your CronJob spec to "0 */6 * * *". Kubernetes CronJobs use standard 5-field cron syntax and run in UTC by default unless you configure a timeZone field.